A.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 30
Today's Headlines:
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Theft Drives Firms to Armor Trucks
Due to the proliferation of armed cargo thieves in Mexico, many companies in that country have outfitted trucks with armor.
Armor for a truck can cost between $4,000 and $40,000, but Salvador Canedo of the armor installer Pavesi Mexico says companies can spend $500 each month for a security guard and additional charges for truck escorts.
Pavesi Mexico's charge for armoring a big-rig cabin is around $14,000, he says. The $4,000 product from Protekt involves steel and bulletproof glass the company makes itself.
Canedo says that armoring a truck keeps the trucker from being able to say he feared being shot, so truckers who are in cahoots with criminals -- which he says is the case in 60 to 65 percent of thefts -- will not have that as an excuse.
Krauk says leaked company information leads to "70 percent, 80 percent, or 90 percent of the cases of cargo theft."
Krauk says insurance companies often do not lower premiums for armored trucks; however, Canedo says premiums can go down 20 percent to 25 percent.
An unnamed cargo-insurance executive says armed escorts and tracking equipment are more likely to cut the cargo-theft deductible. Journal of Commerce (08/30/99) P. 1; McCosh, Daniel J.
Shippers Seek More than Low Rates
At the Intermodal Association of North America's San Francisco meeting, logistics director Victor Tellez of Eagle Picher Minerals says that while low rates for intermodal are extremely important, carriers should also learn about clients so they can provide the most efficient service and tailor their sales pitches.Tellez says that rather than describe all of a company's services to prospective shippers, an intermodal carrier should concentrate on just how much money a shipper can save by going with their company.
Nestle USA purchasing and transportation director Joseph Lombardo told the meeting that his company rejects carriers whose equipment is dirty or has jagged edges that can harm products and packaging.
Lombardo says Nestle also likes intermodal since it offers reduced emissions and highway damage compared to trucking.
Yellow Freight System Senior Vice President of Operations Mike Smid says railroads now have more need to have dependable operations as part of a guaranteed on-time intermodal service.
While Lombardo says intermodal service is plagued with troubles that eliminate the possibility of such premium offerings, Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Vice President Steve Branscum says his company's premium intermodal service is expanding faster than its other intermodal services and has revenue close to $1 billion a year.
ombardo says intermodal operators should consider protective services as well as standby freight that hinges upon the amount of space on the railroads. Journal of Commerce (08/30/99) P. 15; Watson, Rip
Faster to Mexico
Circle International, a California logistics provider, and the North Carolina LTL carrier Billings Freight Systems have teamed up for expedited door-to-door U.S.-Mexico freight service called "Service Beyond the Border," which employs dedicated driver teams.Joe Ridlehoover, purchasing manager at the clothing/textiles firm Single Source, says the new service has cut two to three days off shipments from the eastern United States to Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Also, Single Source now needs to pay only one company rather than U.S. and Mexican carriers, as well as two or more Customs brokers.
"Service Beyond the Border" takes approximately two to three days from the East and South, where Billings operates, to Circle's border operations in Laredo, Tex. From there service to 22 cities in Mexico takes up to three days. Shipments are monitored with satellite tracking and onboard GPS uplinks.
Management of the operation integrates Billings employees with sales, logistics, and customs specialists at Circle. Traffic World (08/30/99) Vol. 259, No. 9; P. 18; Schulz, John D.
Editor's note: There will be no "P.M. Executive Briefing" for Aug. 30.
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