by logisticsplus | Apr 13, 2018 | News
Each year, in its July issue, Inbound Logistics magazine publishes its definitive resource on third-party logistics and the outsourced logistics market. Prior to the issue, they ask their readers which third-party logistics companies provide excellent service, and publish the results. The results of this year’s 3PL Excellence Survey will be presented in its July 3PL issue. Give us your input and they’ll express their appreciation by entering you in a drawing for one of 10 free 18-carat gold Parker pens.
As a mid-sized 3PL, we know we’re a long shot; but we know that none of our competitors can beat us on Passion for Excellence! So, cast your vote for Logistics Plus today!
by Marketing | Apr 11, 2018 | News
Through its partnership with Erie Times-News and GoErie.com, Logistics Plus is being featured, once again, in the current issue of the publisher’s Lake Erie Lifestyles magazine. This new segment discusses the career opportunities Logistic Plus offers local college students through its ongoing internship program. A reprint of the feature, which is shown below, is also available online at www.goerie.com/lifestyle/lake-erie-lifestyle.
You can click the image below to see the larger, online version.
by logisticsplus | Apr 11, 2018 | News
A member of the Logistics Plus (LP) team recently appeared on the Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly podcast from Marketplace.org. Gretchen Blough, licensed customs broker and brokerage manager for Logistics Plus Customs Broker Solutions, was interviewed regarding her “front-row seat to the current international trade drama.” A link to a replay of the podcast is available below. Gretchen appears around the 7:20 mark.
Because none of us is as smart as all of us. Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly is a podcast about the economy, technology and culture. Hosts Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood use their expertise to connect the dots on the topics they know best, and get help from listeners and experts about the ones they want to know better.
Marketplace® is on a mission to raise the economic intelligence of the country. Its core programs — Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report®, Marketplace Weekend® and Marketplace Tech® — are broadcast on more than 800 public radio stations nationwide and heard by 14.6 million listeners every week.
by logisticsplus | Apr 11, 2018 | News
Logistics Plus was once again named in the annual Transport Topics magazine Top 3PL listings published on April 9, 2018. For the fourth-consecutive year, Logistics Plus was named as a Top Freight Brokerage Firm (83); for a second-consecutive year a Top Dry Storage Warehousing Firm (93); and for the first time, for our National Truckload (NTL) division, a Top Dedicated Contract Carriage Carrier (65). You can click the image below to read the full report and see all of the rankings.
by Marketing | Apr 10, 2018 | News
The primary goal of technology innovation is to make tasks less costly and more efficient. This is particularly the case in the logistics field, where capacity is short, labor is scarce, and customer demands more stringent than ever before. There have already been huge improvements made in the logistics industry and things will only progress as modernization continues to evolve. Here is a quick look at 6 technology trends for 2018 and beyond, the roles they play in logistics, and how they may shape the future.
Trends for 2018 and Beyond
1. Robotics & Automation
Forklifts have been a vital component to warehouses for decades, and we’re now seeing a shift toward programming this share of the supply chain. The primary goal is improved efficiency. Amazon is a leading example in this space, thanks to its acquisition of Kiva Systems, now known as Amazon Robotics. As Amazon and other companies have shown, implementing robotics and autonomous machinery into the fold can condense delivery times to just a 24 to 48-hour period. Autonomous forklifts and robots can pick products much sooner than humans, which means companies don’t have to pay human forklift operators. The combination of lower costs and a speedier assembly is a dream come true for any business owner.
2. Safety and Cybersecurity
Safety and logistics will also be on the radar in 2018. Recent hacks into national companies have exposed potential cybersecurity threats throughout some of the most protected organizations on the globe. As a result, logistics providers will be concentrating more on safety. Amplified demand for faster turnaround will also have an inevitable result of increasing the risk of accidents in transportation operations. Workers are going to be functioning quicker, and doing things faster tends to result in less-than-safe practice. National governing agencies also recognize that logistics companies will be doing overtime in 2018, so it is more likely that they will pass protocols sooner rather than later. This will require the use of more innovative analytics to monitor employee performance and obey safety standards.
3. Mobile Apps
The growth of new technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) will promote logistics service providers and shippers to increase adoption of mobile apps. These types of apps exist for inventory management, barcode scanning, fleet management, shipment tracking, order management, customer service and more. Logistics businesses can pull information and capabilities via an app to manage capacity and satisfy demand. Freight sharing apps are one of the prime app groupings that will see a significant boost throughout 2018.
4. Transportation Management Systems
The adoption and implementation of transportation management systems (TMS) is anticipated to climb in 2018 and beyond. A TMS has the value of being a “hub” for all logistics communications and processes, including route scheduling and optimization, freight auditing and payment processing, carrier management and more. Furthermore, TMS applications have shifted from terminal-based installs to cloud-based platforms, reducing postponements in implementation, removing bottlenecks from downtime and refining cybersecurity simultaneously. As a result, more companies will adopt such solutions throughout the year to keep up with growing demand and to integrate into the amplified use of the other logistics technology trends.
5. Artificial Intelligence
The potential to utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve decision-making, transform business models and networks, and modify the customer experience will drive the payoff for digital enterprises. A recent industry survey indicated that 59% of establishments are still assembling data to shape their AI tactics, while the rest have already made advancements in directing or implementing AI solutions. While using artificial intelligence appropriately will result in a great digital business reward, the promise of general AI to perform any intellectual duty that a human can do, and vigorously absorb and comprehend as much as humans, is uncertain.
6. Blockchain Technology
Blockchain is a public, dispersed, and decentralized archive that eliminates business friction by being autonomous of individual applications or contributors. The technology has the promise to transform industries, including the government, healthcare, content dispersal, supply chain and more. An applied approach to blockchain requires a clear understanding of the business opportunity, the draw backs, a dependable architecture, and a solid implementation strategy. BiTA (Blockchain in Transport Technology) is an organization that is leading the charge to help develop and set standards for blockchain technology within the transportation industry.
If you’re looking for world-class technology solutions, look no further than Logistics Plus. Our technology is built on industry-standard platforms with customized portals and unique functionality designed to provide our clients with valuable tools, information, and dashboards. Our team of development, integration and business intelligence (BI) experts integrate best-in-class and custom-built platforms to provide an overall ecosystem that can be seamlessly integrated into global supply chains.
by Marketing | Apr 6, 2018 | News
Import Tariff and Exemptions
On March 8, 2018, the President issued proclamations 9704 and 9705 on regulating imports of steel and aluminum into the United States, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The tariff provides for extra import obligations for steel mill and aluminum articles, effective March 23, 2018. US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, announced that certain countries will have temporary tariff exemptions while they negotiate with the United States. The areas included on the list are the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Korea. The president had already granted exemptions to Mexico and Canada when he signed the tariffs earlier last month.
Controversy With the EU
Trump’s tariffs had initiated dispute among European officials, who petitioned hard for an exemption, mentioning the continent’s long-standing military cooperation and close economic ties to the United States. The European Commission had threatened to strike back by forcing trade penalties on a long-list of American goods, worth up to $3.4 billion in annual trade. Though Trump has continually singled out China for unfair trade practices, the European Union appeared to lose more than Beijing from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. This is due primarily because the European Union is one of the biggest sources of U.S. steel imports. The 28-nation bloc distributed 5.3 million metric tons of steel to the U.S. in 2017, ranking second to Canada.
How Will This Affect Consumers?
American consumers could end up paying more money from President Donald Trump’s oath to enforce tariffs of 25% on imported steel and 10% on imported aluminum. The proposal is anticipated to help U.S. steel and aluminum manufacturers that have long complained about unfair competition from overseas. However, for American consumers it may not be so simple. As a result, U.S. industry influencers say consumers could face higher costs for trucks and automobiles, beer and soft drinks, canned goods and more. At minimum, these tariffs will upset those firms, industries, regions, and states that depend on steel and aluminum imports, which is still a moderately small segment of U.S. trade, as of today. However, if trade partners answer with their own punitive tariffs on a wider set of export industries, exposure to the latest Trump trade shock will spread.
Additional comments from CNBC are here:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/22/trump-to-exempt-eu-from-steel-and-aluminum-tariffs-us-trade-rep.html
A complete list of EU member states is here:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/national-customs-websites_en
The request for exclusion of steel imports included under the Section 232 tariffs are here:
https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-steel
For steel, these are the HTSUS codes included: For the purposes of this proclamation, “steel articles” are defined at the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 6 digit level as: 7206.10 through 7216.50, 7216.99 through 7301.10, 7302.10, 7302.40 through 7302.90, and 7304.10 through 7306.90, including any subsequent revisions to these HTS classifications.
The request for exclusion of aluminum imports included under the Section 232 tariffs are here:
https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-aluminum
For aluminum, these are the HTSUS codes included: For the purposes of this proclamation, “aluminum articles” are defined in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) as: (a) unwrought aluminum (HTS 7601); (b) aluminum bars, rods, and profiles (HTS 7604); (c) aluminum wire (HTS 7605); (d) aluminum plate, sheet, strip, and foil (flat rolled products) (HTS 7606 and 7607); (e) aluminum tubes and pipes and tube and pipe fitting (HTS 7608 and 7609); and (f) aluminum castings and forgings (HTS 7616.99.51.60 and 7616.99.51.70), including any subsequent revisions to these HTS classifications.
Additional Details Regarding China Imports
Also, as reported in Wednesday’s International Trade Alert, here is some updated information regarding tariffs on imports from China
The full USTR statement is here:
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2018/april/under-section-301-action-ustr
The list of proposed commodities are on pages 14-58 here, while the comment procedure is on pages 1-2:
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/301FRN.pdf
How Can We Help?
We can review your current list of imported commodities to determine if they fall under Section 323 in order for you to accurately determine your landed costing and make better sourcing decisions.
