PLS Logistics attended the NASSTRAC 2014 Shippers Conference & Transportation Expo on April 13-16 in Orlando, Florida at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel. NASSTRAC, the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council, provides education, advocacy, and provider relations opportunities. The conference was attended by numerous Fortune 500 companies, the government sector and all modes of transportation.

The recent turmoil in Iraq caused world oil prices to increase by about 4% last week. Iraq is the second biggest exporter of oil in the world, recently hitting a 30-year-high in production. World oil demand is increasing, oil production from Iraq is vulnerable to attack, and nobody has the reserves to pick up the slack. Oil price increases will drive the price of unleaded gasoline up 5 to 10 cents a gallon in the next couple of days. Read the full story here.

Omnichannel defines the way in which customers use several different methods to buy products (i.e. mobile devices, tablets, and computers). Retailers are heavily focused on creating a seamless consumer experience on any platform. It is not an easy task.

There’s been a lot of negative talk about the latest Safety Regulations in the motor freight industry: they’re too strict, too many, too much. But what nobody seems to be talking about is that they’re saving lives.

In April, less than truckload (LTL) freight carriers announced 4-6% general rate increases for non-contract shipments. General rate increases are typically announced anywhere from late May to early July. The April announcement came much earlier than usual. What does this mean to shippers and why did this occur? GRI, or general rate increase, is the average amount by which carriers’ tariff rates increase applied to base rates. It is extremely difficult for an individual shipper to calculate how this rate increase will impact their bottom line. The percentage increase will vary based on shipping region, weight breaks, zip codes and freight classes. Working with a logistics broker can help shippers understand the rate increase and even help keep their costs down.

Many companies today are working in an environment of fierce competition and razor-sharp profit margins, and trying to achieve LTL freight savings.

Over the years since federal deregulation in the late 1970s, LTL transportation has morphed from a heavily unionized group of carriers operating in a largely non- competitive environment into today’s high tech, cost-effective and service-oriented transportation industry. Today’s national, regional, and inter-modal providers must vie for their share of a 30 billion dollar market.