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— May 30, 2006

3PLs

Shipping Executive Renews Warning About Transport System
Logistics services can be no better than the transportation system that supports them, and according to John Bowe, President of The Americas for global transportation leader APL and its sister company APL Logistics, America's aging transportation infrastructure isn't up to the job. At a presentation made at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bowe warned that if the U.S. infrastructure isn't overhauled, consumers and the U.S. economy will pay a steep price.
"The U.S. economy has been transformed by unprecedented growth in containerized imports," Bowe told an audience of academic, business and transportation industry leaders at the third annual Innovations in Transportation symposium held at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. "Growth in the transportation infrastructure hasn't kept pace. If we don't fix this, supply chains will bog down, consumer prices will go up and the economy will suffer."
To address the problem, Bowe called for public-private collaboration leading to:
1. A national freight policy;
2. Significant new investment in the U.S. rail network
3. Increased productivity at U.S. ports.
He cautioned, however, that government can't be counted on to pick up the massive cost of infrastructure improvement. "The private sector will have to play a larger role," said Bowe. "But we'll look to government to provide incentives that stimulate investment."
The message that Bowe and other APL executives have been making in speeches over the past year is that containerized U.S. imports from Asia will grow by about 30% in the next three years, but ports aren't improving productivity fast enough to keep pace and railroads aren't adding enough track, equipment or terminal capacity to handle the load.
APL isn't alone in calling for collaborative action to fix the transportation system. Executives from the nation's largest and best-known retailers have joined the container carrier in the effort. Many were in the audience Monday to hear Bowe warn of longer transit times and higher inventory costs if infrastructure inadequacies aren't addressed.
"We've worked with shippers on temporary solutions," Bowe pointed out. "We've made better use of alternative U.S. gateway ports, we've improved planning and forecasting, and we continue to work closely with our rail partners to manage through rail congestion.
"But there'll come a time in the not too distant future when even these measures won't be enough," he added. "We're pushing too much cargo through a pipeline that is not growing fast enough. Eventually it will be overwhelmed. We need to act now to prevent gridlock."
http://www.seaportspr.com/

TNT Logistics UK Wins Disney Store Contract
The Disney Store Ltd has awarded TNT Logistics its UK distribution contract - and TNT is utilizing vehicles assigned to another customer to benefit both of its clients. The TNT liveried vehicles are used to deliver Nissan Renault spare parts to 450 dealerships throughout the UK at night, and then part of the fleet is used to deliver merchandise to the 59 Disney stores in the UK during the day.
For the Disney Store, TNT Logistics will make about 120 deliveries a week from January to October and then double that number in the run-up to Christmas. There are more than 4,500 product lines, delivered in roll cages, including! soft toys, stationery, dress-up clothing and dvds. The operation, previously in-house, is run out of The Disney Store's European Distribution Center at Magna Park, where stock is also held for the company's other retail outlets throughout the rest of Europe.
http://www.tntlogistics.com/

Pacer Partners with Efill America to Expand Warehouse Capacity
Pacer Distribution Services, the warehousing and distribution unit of Pacer International, said it will expand its warehousing capability to a national scope through a strategic alliance with Efill America, Inc. (Efill). Efill, which operates more than 50 million square feet of warehouse capacity in approximately 100 cities, is one of the nation's largest providers of warehousing space and services.
According to Kent Prokop, president of PDS, the agreement also opens the door for PDS and other Pacer operating companies, including Pacer Global Logistics, Inc., based in Dublin, Ohio, to provide transportation and logistics services to Efill's customers. PDS itself operates more than 800,000 square feet of warehousing and cross-dock capacity in the Los Angeles area, the primary gateway for Asian imports to the United States. Its affiliates provide trucking, rail brokerage, intermodal and other transportation and supply-chain management services.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/

Vector SCM Rolls Out Visibility Solution for GM Europe
Vector SCM, the global logistics management joint venture between Con-way and General Motors, has successfully rolled out its European Vehicle Visibility program for General Motors Europe (GME), providing comprehensive outbound logistics visibility and exception management of finished vehicles to all GME dealers across Europe covering all modes.
In directing a complex network of more than 70 outbound service providers moving some 1.7 million GM vehicles to 54 countries annually, Vector provides visibility to some 11 million shipments per year, supporting finished vehicle delivery for two GM brands. The management program, which leverages Vector's process-driven methodologies, engineering capabilities and operations expertise in automotive logistics, has generated benefits across several key areas, among these:
1. Reduction of 2.5 days in average transit time (ALT)
2. Better cash flow based on shorter ALT
3. Improved delivery consistency and contract reliability
4. More accurate and timely network visibility
5. Improved prioritization of vehicles and customer satisfaction
http://www.menloworldwide.com/

GoodYear Dunlop Tires Selects Wincanton to Take Care of Central European Logistics
Leading European supply chain solutions provider, Wincanton, has acquired a major new customer, the well-known tire manufacturer Goodyear Dunlop Tires. Wincanton is set to operate a newly-built central warehouse for the company in the Slovak town of Senec and manage the distribution of tires from this warehouse throughout Slovakia, to the Czech Republic and to Hungary. The project is already underway and is a five year contract between Wincanton, Goodyear Dunlop Tires Czech, Goodyear Dunlop Tires Slovakia, and Goodyear Dunlop Tires Hungary.
The central warehouse in Senec has storage space of 6000 m2 and is equipped with the latest information and communication technology. This, the most modern logistics centre in Slovakia, will provide new job opportunities for a significant number of people from the surrounding areas.
http://www.wincanton.co.uk/

Wal-Mart Contract with Schneider Logistics Subsidiary For Import Distribution Center
Schneider Logistics's American Port Services subsidiary has signed a significant warehousing contract with Wal-Mart Stores. Under the contract, American Port Services will provide the world's largest retailer with full operating services in their 3.4 million square feet of warehousing space, creating a new Import Distribution Center in Elwood, Ill., and bringing more than 300 new jobs to the area.
The American Port Services contract supports Wal-Mart's import business flowing from West Coast ports by rail to the Greater Chicagoland area. Products moving through the corridor are en route to Wal-Mart distribution centers and stores throughout the Midwest.
The Elwood, Ill., contract comes on the heels of a major Mira Loma, Calif., transloading and warehousing contract awarded to American Port Services by Wal-Mart earlier this year. Under the Elwood contract, American Port Services will provide warehousing services out of the CenterPoint Industrial Park, adjacent to the BNSF Logistics Park-Chicago. Operations at the facility will begin mid-summer.
http://www.schneider.com/

UPS Sets $1 Billion Expansion of Global Air Hub
Four years after opening the most technologically advanced air package sorting hub in the world, UPS today announced a dramatic expansion that will increase sorting capacity over the next five years by 60 percent to 487,000 packages per hour.
The expansion plan for UPS Worldport the sophisticated mega hub at the heart of the company's global transportation network, calls for the addition of three aircraft load/unload "wings" to the hub building followed by the installation of high-speed conveyor and computer control systems.
The expansion plan reflects continued robust growth in UPS's air package volume around the world. In the United States, the overnight package market is strong, generally tracking with the Gross Domestic Product. UPS Next Day Air® package volume has grown on average almost 5% since 2003. The strength of global trade also is having a significant impact. For UPS, international import volume into the United States has grown at a double-digit rate for the last four years.
While the final configuration of the work has yet to be set, the expansion will cost at least $1 billion. Work will begin later this year and be completed by 2010. Despite the mammoth size of Worldport, the innovative "smart label" technology that drives its sort process can propel packages through the building's 197 miles of conveyors in as little as eight minutes.
The expansion is expected to create more than 5,000 additional jobs. Many of those workers will be eligible to participate in the Metropolitan College program in which UPS and Kentucky jointly pay for the higher education of employees. The expansion will increase Worldport's footprint by 1.1 million square feet to 5.1 million square feet - the equivalent of more than 113 football fields. The project also will embrace construction of new ramp space to accommodate the giant A380 and 747-400 cargo planes now on order, plus a new vehicle loading facility for the ground network that serves Louisville.
http://pressroom.ups.com/

Another business segment of Konica Minolta handled by NYK Logistics (Belgium)
As reliable logistics service provider in different business segments of the Konica Minolta group, NYK Logistics (Belgium) was nominated as logistics partner for yet another segment, namely for Konica Minolta Sensing: the measuring instruments branch of Konica Minolta.
Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc. offers a wide range of high-accuracy instruments for measuring color, light and temperature to contribute to maintaining and improving product quality in a variety of industries. Konica Minolta is also very active in the medical sector and in the field of 3D shape digitization. Konica Minolta Sensing is an innovating company, utilizing the latest high-accuracy sensing technology to provide solutions which meet the ever-changing needs in diverse fields.
For years, NYK Logistics (Belgium) is the Belgian and European partner for Konica Minolta products: copiers, faxes, photographic products, spare parts for the previous products and medical films. Out of the NYK warehouses in Genk and Antwerp, NYK Logistics (Belgium) manages inbound, storage, value added logistics, technical configuration and distribution for the various products.
The new operation concerns a European stock operation for the various measuring instruments for industrial, photographic and medical fields. The entire operation will be managed out of the NYK Logistics (Belgium) Head Quarters in the port of Antwerp.
http://www.nyklogistics.com/

Cat Logistics To Provide Logistics Services To Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC
Mosaic Fertilizer the world's leading producer of phosphate fertilizer, and Caterpillar Logistics Services, have announced plans for Cat Logistics to provide an integrated logistics solution through a master distribution facility and satellite facilities supporting maintenance, repair, and operations at Mosaic's Central Florida facilities.
As part of the 10-year agreement, Cat Logistics will provide Inventory Management, Transportation Management, Warehousing, Operations, and MRO Purchasing. The 80,000 ft_ master distribution facility will be located near Lakeland, Florida, and staffed by Cat Logistics professionals serving Mosaic Fertilizer throughout all major operating facilities.
http://www.catlogistics.com/

Ryder Awarded 3rd Party Logistics Contract With Lear Corporation
Lear Corporation, one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive interior systems and components, has selected Ryder as its third-party logistics (3PL) provider for North America.
Under the multi-year contract, Ryder will provide logistics engineering and network design for product into Lear's 75 plant locations. Ryder will also provide procurement of transportation, thereby leveraging its buying power in the industry to provide Lear with the best negotiated rates and service, routing instructions and compliance management. Combining leading technology, a dedicated account team and a clear understanding of Lear's requirements, both parties are moving towards developing a footprint for a world-class integrated logistics network.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/

New Breed—Targeted Growth in Action
New Breed's supply chain capabilities and business focus far exceed the basic pallet in/ pallet out warehouse operation. For nearly 30 years, they have focused on building and executing comprehensive programs for customer order, inventory and distribution management. Their typical customer demands a high-level of value-added services, such as inventory management, inspection, product testing, assembly, refurbishment, packaging and labeling, and product life-cycle management. New Breed has developed capabilities to provide these services through substantial investment in information technology, developing their people and becoming highly integrated with their customers' business processes.
For example, in late 2000, New Breed won a bid to distribute cell phones for Verizon Wireless on the basis of its plan to consolidate 8 existing distribution centers into one, merge customer orders from four legacy order management systems with a custom developed order and inventory management system, receive orders via the web, and expedite over 25,000 direct-to-consumer and direct-to-retail orders per day. In addition to the outbound challenge, New Breed took on the task of processing returns, which required extensive training to properly receive product from various suppliers and test units to determine their condition and disposition. Dispositions include return to vendor, replacement and repair. New Breed has been successful in executing these plans and continues to serve Verizon Wireless.
New Breed also continues to acquire similar customer accounts by this approach of integrating with customer processes and systems, by gaining product knowledge, by developing efficient supply chain networks and facilities, and managing orders, inventory and distribution. Some of their work includes maintenance and deployment of hazmat equipment for the U.S. military, replenishing manufacturing kits for Boeing, and distributing critical repair parts for Siemens Medical Solutions a medical imaging equipment manufacturer. Through its approach, New Breed develops long-term relationships with customers and is an indispensable link in customers' supply chains.
For the complete report, go to:
http://www.3plogistics.com/

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