The sun is out, the air is warm, and whether you know it or not, you’re going to a baseball game. Historically, labor disputes have been almost as popular as America’s favorite pastime.  This particular game is between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).  They are only weeks […]

I’d be hard pressed to deny that technology consumes my life today. At this very moment, I am writing this blog while streaming music using Pandora and monitoring my email on the same device that houses all of my documents, pictures, and embarrassing videos. Cisco, one of the world’s largest technology firms, estimates that the […]

Every winter as you prepare your budgets for the upcoming year, I imagine each of you Logistics Managers standing in front of a mirror and saying, “mirror, mirror on the wall, what are my ocean freights going to be next Fall?” While the image may be slightly comical, the thought highlights a very real problem.  […]

It snuck up on you, didn’t it?  Much like the dreaded summer bathing suit season – the one you keep saying you’ll start that diet for next week – that time of the year has arrived.  Maybe it was the gestational holiday season when you gained 15 pounds from fruit cake alone, or the collective sigh […]

What is CIF shipping? Cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) or CIF shipping is an international trade term that represents a contract where the seller will cover the goods’ transport to the port of origin, main carriage, and minimum insurance. Easy-peasy, right? I understand that the temptation to buy on a Cost, Insurance & Freight (CIF) […]

Worried about how container drayage costs will impact your supply chain next year?  You’re not alone. Here are seven reasons the chassis and driver shortage will impact your operations in 2014: Most major ocean carriers have either largely pulled out of the chassis business or intend to do so in 2014. Multi-carrier steamship pools are […]

While she would likely poison my dinner or make a chubby “Rob Doll” for her voodoo pins if she knew I was writing this in a public forum, my wife is lousy at math. I mean lousy. This woman is a great teacher for our children; she is impossible to beat at Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit; she is at least three times smarter than I am… and, she has a panic attack if you mention “square root” or “divisible” or (God forbid) “numerator.”