DG&A's Transportation Consulting Blog
Transportation Consulting Blog
Welcome to my blog. This is the place where I write my thoughts and opinions about the issues affecting the North American Transportation industry.
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Carriers and the transportation media have laid out a compelling case as to why transport companies should be receiving rate increases in 2012. As the Great Recession of the late 2000’s unfolded, shippers put significant pressure on their carriers to roll back their rates. For many carri...
In the most recent Transportation Buying Trends Survey undertaken by Canadian Transportation & Logistics magazine, there is an interesting set of questions that pertain to fuel surcharges. Over 68% of shippers support the view that “fuel surcharges are necessary as long as fuel costs continue to...
The world of freight transportation is changing rapidly. The signs are there and they are unmistakable. Recognizing and responding effectively to these signals may help determine which shippers and carriers will survive in the years ahead. Let’s examine the components of the new pa...
This is a very interesting year in the world of freight transportation. The economy is improving but at a very slow pace. Supply and demand for freight transportation services are pretty much in balance. Trucking companies are all singing the same song. Their number one probl...
This past week I had the opportunity to speak with some of North America’s leading truckers. Other than the “head shots” in this year’s National Hockey League playoffs, the other number one topic of discussion on everyone’s mind is the issue of driver shortages. I also had an opportunity...
At a recent Driving for Profit Seminar in Toronto, Lou Smyrlis, Editorial Director of Canadian Transportation & Logistics Magazine, led two trucking company investment advisors, Doug Nix, Vice Chairman of Corporate Finance Associates and Doug Davis, Independent Director, Pro-Trans Ventures Inc. ...
Two experts in trucking company acquisitions predicted this week that we are in store for an upswing in industry consolidation in 2012. This was one of the highlights of the Driving for Profit event that was held in Mississauga this past week. Lou Smyrlis, Editorial Director of Can...
As the cost of diesel fuel hovers around $4.00 a gallon in the United States and $1.30 a liter in Canada, trucking companies (and politicians) are again focusing on strategies to control energy costs that have risen forty percent since 2010. President Barack Obama firmly defended his reco...
Last weekend I was struck by an interview on leadership lessons in The New York Times. It appeared in the “Corner Office” column of the Sunday Business section. The interview was conducted with Tracy Matura, general manager of the Smart car division of Mercedes-Benz USA. During the...
For the past several years I have been a participant in and fan of LinkedIn. It is an amazing social media tool for business. Recently I have joined and studied the discussions in a variety of LinkedIn freight transportation groups. There are many of them available to transportatio...
CSA 2010 was created by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to remove unsafe commercial drivers from the America's roads. CSA, short for "Compliance, Safety and Accountability," uses a complex methodology to rate motor carriers on safety....
Much has been said and written about the Great Recession and its impact on the freight market. The question on the minds of many shippers, carriers and consultants as we approach the end of quarter 1, 2012 is what is the current state of the freight recovery and where are freight rates going?&...
Over the past week, there has been a barrage of comments posted in one of the Procurement groups in LinkedIn on the topic of why so many of these activities fail. For those of you interested in this topic, please sign in to the group or read the following blog prepared by Tony Colwell, Executi...
I have written about intermodal transportation several times over the years that I have been preparing this blog. I became a big fan of intermodalism during the 90’s when I ran Canada’s largest IMC (Intermodal Marketing Company). Each time I wrote a blog on this topic, I felt that the se...
I have been writing a blog on the transportation industry for five years. During this period I have received hundreds of postings and e mails from readers. Every now and then I receive an e mail that stands out. This week I received a thoughtful and interesting e mail and article f...
Over the past two months Stephen Harper has presented a clear and compelling vision of where he wishes to take Canada during his tenure as Prime Minister. First there was the border Security and Trade Agreement with the United States that he and President Obama announced to the world in Decemb...
It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since I sat in on a presentation on Social Media in Transportation at the 2011 SMC3 Winter Conference. This past week David Tuttle, VP, Digital Strategy at TMP Worldwide (who spoke last year) was back again and joined by Bobby Harris, President and...
As I reach my 30th anniversary in the freight transportation industry, I continue to be struck by the lack of innovation in this business. While we have had some changes over the past three decades (e.g. transition from 48 to 53 foot trailers and containers, scheduled train service, the rise o...
For the past decade, the Canada-U.S. model of economic integration has been deteriorating - - a victim of a border chocked with traffic, an overreaction to the 9/11 attacks, steep fees and erratic regulation. FAST trade has become thick trade. Canada – U.S. trade peaked in 2000 and has s...
We enter 2012 with a lot of unknowns. Will the European debt crisis be resolved effectively and expeditiously or will it lead to another recession? Will the American economy that is showing some signs of improvement, be able to strengthen during a U.S. election year that will likely prod...
Most Recent Posts
- How Should Shippers Manage Carrier Rate Increases in 2012?
- How should Shippers Manage Carrier Fuel Surcharges?
- A Look at the New Paradigm of Freight Transportation
- Trying to Save Money on Freight - - - Perform an objective Transportation Audit
- Some thoughts on the Driver Shortage Issue
