LTL Rates - Going up!

Following the lead of UPS Freight, ABF Freight System announced today it will raise its rates by roughly 6.9 percent, effective July 25.

ABF said that this increase applies to its general rates and charges for its less-than-truckload (LTL) freight division, with the effect on specific lanes and shipments varying.

ABF officials were not available for further comment at press time, but a company statement noted that shippers will be able to view and download the new rates on or before July 25 at http://www.abf.com.

On July 1, UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary of UPS and the fourth-largest LTL carrier in the country, said it is rolling out a rate adjustment in the form of a general rate increase (GRI), effective August 1.

The GRI will be 6.9 percent and covers non-contractual shipments in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, according to UPS. It also applies to minimum charge, LTL rates, and accessorial charges. UPS added that shippers will be able to view and download the new rates at http://www.ltl.upsfreight.com.

(Jeff Berman - LM Editorial, picture by AA Direction Blog)

Quick Response (QR) barcodes - scan it to see where it takes you!

Initially used for tracking parts by Toyota, these next generation bar codes are appearing everywhere from supermarkets to concert posters.

A QR (Quick Response) code is a two dimensional code (matrix) that is readable by devices such as a dedicated QR reader device or Smartphones. Being a two dimensional matrix (horizontal and vertical) allows more data to be encode than a traditional barcode, where data is only encoded horizontally.

This increase in data representation, not only in size but also the ability to hold numbers and characters, allows for quicker data input where otherwise the same data would have been manually typed in.

Examples of usage range from business cards, parcel shipping labels, airline boarding passes to ‘like’ something on Facebook.

More over when scanned using a device such as a Smartphone, instructions can be embedded within the QR code to direct the phones web browser to launch to a specific website where more information can be found.

In today’s world where digital content can be accessed instantaneously via Smartphones, QR Codes allow convenience for both businesses and consumers to send and receive information quickly and accurately.

Bin Laden and the effect on Supply Chains

Hot on the heals of  U.S. President Barrack Obama announcing late last night that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was reportedly killed in Pakistan, global markets shot up today and prices of oil are down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 25 points after ending April at multi-year highs, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reported moderate gains. JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note to clients that the news of bin Laden’s death should also be a positive for stocks, as more investors are expected to buy into the market.

Crude oil prices also fell as much as three percent overnight before making a modest recovery on Monday morning.

If those trends continue, that could help spell relief for a global supply chain that’s been taxed by the Japan disasters. Cheaper oil prices could directly lead to cheaper travel, shipping and manufacturing costs, while a more confident market could lead to economic growth and job openings.

(Digital Supply Chain)

Volvo Partners with WWF to Reduce Carbon Emissions

The company, whose brands include Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Renault Trucks and UD Trucks, has become the world’s first vehicle manufacturer to join the WWF Climate Leaders program.

The public-private partnership consists of 24 of the world's largest companies that have committed to reducing their considerable carbon footprints, including Diversey, Johnson and Johnson, IBM, HP, Sony and Nike.

Volvo truck companies have vowed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced over the lifetime of the trucks they manufacture by 13 million tons. The emissions reduction applies to models built through 2014, with results verified by independent technical experts. Model year 2008 trucks will be used as the baseline for the emissions reductions.

Volvo plans to offer commercial trucks that can run on renewable fuel by 2014.
The company also plans to reduce its operational footprint by reducing emissions from its production plants by 12 percent by 2014.

Digital Supply Chain

Is your marine insurance up to date?

From SCDigest's On-Target e-Magazine A freak discovery of an ocean shipping container has led to a study on how the thousands per year that fall off cargo vessels might be impacting the oceanic ecosystem. According to DeVogelaere, several years ago scientists from the sanctuary were in a boat using a robotic submarine when they made a surprising find: a yellow, 40-foot shipping container, standing upside down with one corner stuck into the ocean floor.

The scientists marked the location and other information, and eventually they were able to tie the container to the merchant vessel Med Taipei, which had earlier lost 15 containers in a storm off Monterey Bay.

It turns out there are a lot more than 15 shipping containers in the briny deep - tens of thousands of them actually.

DeVogelaere told PBS that on average, about 10,000 containers fall off of ships every year. While that number may be high, the general consensus is several thousand containers are lost to the sea each year, adding up to tens of thousands over the decades. Naturally, they cluster around the paths taken on the key shipping lanes, and contain an incredibly wide range of goods, from benign to potentially toxic. The shipping container the sanctuary found was full of tires, as it turned out.

As we've known for centuries with regard to sunken ships, the containers are also not surprisingly an attraction for much marine life. The container the sanctuary first identified is now the home of a giant sea snail, which has recently laid eggs. Beneath the container was found an octopus and some crabs that have eaten some but not all of the sea snail eggs.

NPR's Joyce noted that "These containers are creating a new kind of habitat, with its own suite of creatures, in the middle of the seabed. Is that bad? Well, DeVogelaere says no one can say - the seabed is still a big mystery."

The containers might also "provide stepping stones for an invasive species that go from one coastal harbor to another," DeVogelaere.

Who knows what your lost containers are doing down at the bottom of the sea. Maybe we will soon find out.  Just make sure your marine insurance is up to date!

Possible delays to containers in China

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A two-day strike over rising fuel prices turned violent in Shanghai on Thursday as thousands of truck drivers clashed with police, drivers said, in the latest example of simmering discontent over inflation. About 2,000 truck drivers battled baton-wielding police at an intersection near Waigaoqiao port, Shanghai's biggest, two drivers who were at the protest told Reuters.

Truck drivers also staged strikes in other ports in Shanghai including Baoshan and Yangshan, the drivers said.

Inflation coupled with the sharp increases in fuel prices caused a stir that meant trucking companies had to launch strike action on the 20^th of April 2011. The initial strike action was only supposed to last 7 days but with clashes on the brink and the government keeping quiet so far, this could go on for longer.

As a result of this, the Shanghai port is facing serious congestion and containers are not being loaded on time. Therefore expect delays!

Piracy Risk Surcharge - going up!

The Japanese disaster, the Libyan conflict and now piracy! The global supply chain cannot seem to catch a break this year. “Figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea in the past three months are higher than we’ve ever recorded in the first quarter of any past” said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

In the first quarter of 2011, 18 vessels were hijacked, 344 crew members were taken hostage, and 6 were kidnapped. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and 45 more reported being fired upon. (Source: IMB).

The majority of these being Somali pirates in and around the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. At last count, on the 31^st of March, IMB figures showed that Somali pirates were holding captive 596 crew members on 28 ships.

To this end, Maersk Line, announced that piracy risk surcharges imposed earlier on containers moving between the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Europe and Central/South America, will be increased starting May 1^st 2011.