With today being Manufacturing Day 2016, Logistics Plus would like to acknowledge and celebrate the positive impact that manufacturers and the manufacturing industry have to our global economy. Manufacturing Day℠ (MFG Day) is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. As a part of this year’s Manufacturing Day celebration, the Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA) – in conjunction with Techfest (and with the support of numerous other sponsors) – hosted its third annual all-day Erie MFG Day event at the Bayfront Convention Center this past Wednesday (October 5th).
This year’s Erie MFG Day event featured more than 50 exciting exhibits, programs and demonstrations designed for participants to experience innovative manufacturing technology in a hands-on, interactive environment, as well as luncheon keynote speaker Easton LaChappelle. LaChappelle, whose appearance was presented by Howard Industries, is an inspirational inventor and founder and chief executive officer of Unlimited Tomorrow.
The Erie MFG Day event preceded the MBA’s 111th Annual Event which showcased keynote speaker and “Shark Tank” star Robert Herjavec. Since Logistics Plus was a major sponsor for the event, our owner and CEO, Jim Berlin, was proudly recognized during the ceremonies. The Flickr photo album has some photos from the evening.
This week is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW) – a time when America honors all professional truck drivers for their hard work and commitment in tackling one of our economy’s most demanding and important jobs.
Logistics Plus was founded by a truck driver; and so our 400+ employees are especially proud to extend our collective thanks to all truck drivers across America (and around the world, for that matter). These 3.5 million professional men and women not only deliver our goods safely, securely and on time, they also keep our highways safe.
In honor of NTDAW, here are some interesting facts about truck drivers and the trucking industry published by the American Trucking Association (ATA):
Professional truck drivers drove over 279 billion miles in 2014, more than double 25 years ago. Those miles accounted for 14.2% of all motor vehicle miles and 29.8% of all truck miles.
The trucking industry paid $39.9 billion in federal and state highway taxes in 2014, and represented 12.1 percent of vehicles on the road. The trucking industry paid $18.4 billion in federal highway-user taxes and $21.6 billion in state highway-user taxes in 2014.
The trucking industry consumed 54.3 billion gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline in 2015. Based on consumption and price, ATA reported that motor carriers spent $142.9 billion in 2015.
The federal fuel tax for diesel in 2015 is 24.4 cents per gallon; the average state tax for diesel fuel was 27.4 cents per gallon.
There are 3.63 million class 8 trucks on the road in the United States and 11.7 million commercial trailers were registered in 2015.
There are 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States. Total industry employment is 7.3 million or one out of every 16 people working in the United States.
There are 586,014 for-hire carriers and 747,791 private carriers in the United States; 97.3 percent of them have fewer than 20 trucks and 90.8 are operating six trucks or less.
In 2015, the trucking industry hauled 10.49 billion tons of freight, or 70.1 percent of total U.S. freight tonnage. Rail was the next busiest mode, moving 13.8 percent of the nation’s freight tonnage.
In 2015, the trucking industry was an astounding $726.48 billion industry, representing 81.5 percent of the nation’s freight bill.
More than 80 percent of U.S. communities depend solely on trucking for delivery of their goods and commodities.
A new truck produces one-tenth the fine particulate emissions and smog-forming NOx emissions as a similar truck manufactured just seven years ago.
Fine particulate emissions from on-road diesel trucks have been cut by more than half over the past decade.
New online video documents the company’s history, growth and success.
ERIE, Pa. (August 23, 2016) – Logistics Plus Inc., a leading worldwide provider of transportation, logistics and supply chain solutions, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. Two decades of growth and experience have transformed Logistics Plus from a three-person operation, supporting the GE Transportation division of General Electric, into a $135 million global solutions company with over 400 employees in 20 countries serving thousands of customers around the world.
Company milestones:
1996: Founded with a one-year, $120,000 purchase order to manage inbound logistics for GE Transportation
1997: Recognized as a GE six-sigma best practice by Jack Welch
1997: Expands into Mexico, Czech Republic, Poland and Russia
1999: Adds new clients and diversifies into other industries
1999: Global expansion continues with new offices in India, China, and Indonesia
2003: Company purchases and renovates historic Union Station in Erie, Pa. and makes it its global headquarters
2004: Receives Pennsylvania Governor’s Export Excellence Award
2004: Jim Berlin named an EY Regional Entrepreneur of the Year
2007: Receives Inner City 100 and Wall Street Journal Top Small Workplace Finalist Awards
2011: Acquires Horizon Logistics, expanding global freight forwarding capabilities
2014: Named Employer of the Year (non-manufacturing) by the DevelopErieeconomic agency
2015: Named a top 50 freight brokerage firm by Transport Topics magazine
2015: Named a Great Supply Chain Partner by SupplyChainBrain magazine
2016: Receives SDCE 100 award from Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine for top supply chain project
2016: Selected by Amazon® for its third-party Solutions Provider Network (SPN)
2016: Expanded services for the solar, aviation and pharmaceutical industries propel additional company growth
2016: Company celebrates its 20th anniversary!
“I am so proud of what our team has accomplished over the past 20 years. We’ve done a lot of cool things over the years, transporting everything from locomotives to solar panels. We have a lot of satisfied customers, both big and small, and we have a lot of pride in the work we do here,” said Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus talking about the company’s success. “The ‘plus’ in Logistics Plus represents all of the extra things we do to help our customers be successful. Our slogan is ‘passion for excellence’ because of our drive to find ways of doing things better. The only plan we’ve ever had was to keep growing, take care of our customers, and try and figure things out as they come. We’re not your typical logistics company and, as goofy as it seems, it’s worked well for us. We’ve had 20 years of consecutive growth, and we’ve been profitable every single year. Logistics is in our DNA.”
To commemorate its 20th anniversary, and as a thank you to its customers, vendors and employees, Logistics Plus has released a new, online video in which employees discuss the company’s early years, rapid growth, and prospects for the future. The video can be viewed online at www.logisticsplus.com/20years (or by clicking below).
About Logistics Plus Inc. Logistics Plus Inc. provides freight transportation, warehousing, global logistics, and supply chain management solutions through a worldwide network of talented and caring professionals. Founded in Erie, PA by local entrepreneur, Jim Berlin, 20 years ago, Logistics Plus is a fast-growing and award-winning transportation and logistics company. With a strong passion for excellence, its 400+ employees put the “Plus” in logistics by doing the big things properly, and the countless little things, that together ensure complete customer satisfaction and success.
The Logistics Plus® network includes offices located in Erie, PA; Alma, AR; Little Rock, AR; Los Angeles, CA; Riverside, CA; San Francisco, CA; Visalia, CA; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Kansas City, MO; Charlotte, NC; Lexington, NC; Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, OH; Charleston, SC; Greenville, SC; Nashville, TN; Dallas, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Houston, TX; Laredo, TX; Madison, WI; Bahrain; Belgium; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Egypt; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Libya; Mexico; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Turkey; and UAE; with additional agents around the world. For more information, visit www.logisticsplus.com or follow @LogisticsPlus on Twitter.
Thank you to the employees and family members that helped us celebrate LP’s 20th anniversary this weekend at Peek’n Peak Resort. Click below to view a Flickr photo album for the event.
Last week, Logistics Plus representatives attended the Twig Talk 2016 annual meeting in Paradisus Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Logistics Plus was a key sponsor for this year’s Twig Network event which featured independent freight forwarders from more than 60 countries. The attendees came together for face-to-face meetings, social events, meetings, and workshops. As promised, Twig Talk offered countless opportunities to develop new partnerships and strengthen existing ones.
ERIE, Pa. (August 23, 2016) – Logistics Plus Inc., a leading worldwide provider of transportation, logistics and supply chain solutions, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. Two decades of growth and experience have transformed Logistics Plus from a three-person operation, supporting the GE Transportation division of General Electric, into a $135 million global solutions company with over 400 employees in 20 countries serving thousands of customers around the world.
Last week, Logistics Plus representatives attended the