KANE’s new Chief Operating Officer is Richard McDuffie, a 30-year logistics industry veteran with a strong track record of driving operational excellence in logistics across the retail, manufacturing and 3PL industries. We recently sat down with Richard to discuss some of the changes he has seen in the industry over the years and what the future might hold.
An Interview with Richard McDuffie, KANE’s New Chief Operating Officer
Posted by Kane Is Able on July 25, 2019
Topics: Supply Chain Challenges, Consumer Goods Logistics, Logistics Labor Management, Warehouse Operations, KANE Company, Ecommerce Fulfillment, Freight Transportation
Distribution Network Optimization: Modeling Tools Won’t Give You the Answer
Posted by Alex Stark on June 27, 2019
Distribution network optimization has become a white-hot topic these days as “the Amazon effect” leads businesses to evaluate how quickly they can get products to customers.
Warehouse optimization modeling exercises examine the upside of being closer to customers versus the downside of carrying more inventory in more locations. The biggest mistake companies make in this area is relying too much on the modeling software itself to provide an answer to the question: “How many warehouses should I have and where should they be?”
Topics: Supply Chain Challenges, Logistics Technology, Warehouse Operations, 3PL Outsourcing, Freight Transportation
Regional Carriers Are Great Source for Owner Operator Trucking Jobs
Posted by Kane Is Able on June 06, 2019
Owner-operators are freedom-loving entrepreneurs. They own their trucks and want to earn a good living, while remaining independent. Some may choose to hunt profitable freight on load boards, while others align with carriers to provide dedicated capacity.
In recent months, Kane Freight Lines has had an increasing number of inquiries from drivers seeking owner-operator trucking jobs. That’s because currently, in the spot market, load-to-truck ratios are down and rates are down. The owner operators who rely on load boards are working hard to find profitable driving opportunities. Two-way freight would help, but that’s nearly impossible to find in the spot market. And, if you get it, the rates will need to be dirt cheap.
Topics: Supply Chain Challenges, Freight Transportation, Truck Drivers
Damage losses and claims increase your transportation costs and can also damage your relationship with shipping partners. To reduce freight damage, monitor claims closely and take proactive steps to continuously drive down damage incidents.
Topics: Freight Transportation
In our “Dispatches from the Road” feature, the KANE blog will periodically publish interviews with our drivers – the men and women who live and breathe the transportation topics we often write about. In our newest installment, we interview KANE driver John Shepherd, III.
Topics: KANE Company, Freight Transportation, Truck Drivers
Freight capacity has historically been viewed as a commodity. The onus has been on the trucking company to position itself as the customer’s “carrier of choice.”
But if you haven’t noticed, that’s changing. The combination of a growing U.S. economy and the chronic truck driver shortage is turning freight into more of a seller’s market, requiring shippers to examine how they can become “shippers of choice” for carriers, who are now more selective about the loads they haul.
Topics: Freight Transportation
Last month, 1,401,081 trailers and containers were transported via intermodal rail -- the highest monthly total ever. Intermodal numbers are up for the year as well, with volumes 3.4% higher than this point in 2016 and 0.3% higher than 2015, which was the highest-volume year on record.
Why all this record-setting growth in intermodal? Let’s find out.
Topics: Freight Transportation
Should the State DOT Mandate Weather-Related Commercial Vehicle Bans?
Posted by Larry Catanzaro on March 05, 2019
On February 11, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced plans for a commercial vehicle ban on all major highways in Eastern Pennsylvania in anticipation of a predicted snow-ice mix the following day. Thankfully, the severity of the storm fell short of predictions and roads remained safely drivable for the duration of the weather event.
But by the time DOT administrators caught up with Mother Nature’s exact plans, it was too late for trucking companies to avoid major financial losses related to pulling trucks off the road.
Topics: Supply Chain Challenges, Logistics Safety, Freight Transportation, Truck Drivers