A monthly publication provided to members of the Office
Furniture Distribution Association -
978-249-0303 or fax 978-249-5937. Write to 739 Daniel Shays Hwy.
D16, Athol, MA 01331.
Our email address
is
kmiller@mass.rr.com
and website is
www.theofda.org.
VOL.
236
JUNE,
2007
MOTOR CARRIER NEWS
SOME INTERESTING
STATISTICS FROM LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
JUNE 2007 ARTICLE –
“GETTING THE RIGHT BALANCE”
While this article is a
great piece about how LTL carriers are seeking a “pricing
equilibrium” with UPS and FEDEX leading the way, it does contain
some great statistics about the industry as well.
In a pie chart they show 15 carriers making up 75.66% of
the LTL market and “others” making up 24.34%.
The top five are:
(1) FedEx Freight -
10.23%
(2) Yellow -
9.45%
(3) Roadway -
9.23%
(4) Con-Way -
8.51%
(5) YRC Regionals (USF)
-
6.53%
The LTL industry is
less than 5% of the $560 billion U.S. trucking market - $33.6
billion of $560 billion.
And it is a “mere fraction” of the total U.S. freight
market - $713 billion.
And a sobering statistic:
Of the top 60 carriers operating in 1980 when the
industry was deregulated – only six (10%) are still with us.
They are Yellow, Roadway, Overnite, ABT, Old Dominion and
Central Freight Lines.
As the article says, “Today’s top LTL executives can best
be described as survivors” – see Pgs. 57T to 66T for a great
article on where pricing is headed.
LOGISTICS NEWS
LOGISTICS COSTS ROSE TO
9.9% OF GDP IN 2006 FROM 9.4% IN 2005.
TRANSPORTATION COSTS INCREASED TO 6.1% OF GDP –
UP FROM 5.9% IN 2005
AND 5.5% IN 2003
According to the 18th
Annual State of Logistics report from the Council of Supply
Chain Management Professionals transportation costs grew 9.5%
and were up across all modes.
Rosalyn Wilson, an independent consultant and author of
the report, said the figures suggest shippers feel the increase
due to global sourcing.
“Business as usual isn’t really business as usual,” she
said. How do you
hold down transportation costs when you buy parts from China
instead of Michigan and when you ship and receive smaller
shipments in order to hold down inventory and the cost to carry
it? At the same
time, companies are forced to hold more stock in order to
minimize “disruption risks” posed by supply chains reaching out
6.000-10,000 miles.
Inventory reached 3.4% of GDP in 2006 – up from 3.1% in 2005.
It appears the transportation managers job is tougher
than ever – trying to hold down costs while his/her company buys
parts from farther away and makes smaller shipments as well as
more urgent / next day shipments.
