P.M. Executive Briefing - April 27
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Renault's Schweitzer Says Auto Sector Consolidation Has Reached its End
A wave of automotive consolidation that began with 1998's DaimlerChrysler merger has now concluded, Renault Chairman Louis Schweitzer told Le Monde newspaper.Having recently inked a truck deal with Volvo and a passenger-vehicle agreement with Samsung Motors, Renault's current focus is integration of the relevant operations. He also said turning over the truck division Renault RVI to Volvo in exchange for a stake in the Swedish firm was not intended to focus on passenger cars but to keep RVI and its U.S. unit, Mack Trucks, as "a major player in the heavy trucks market."
Officials Are Working Toward Solution to I-70 Overcrowding
Officials in Missouri expect to decide by June 1 on a means to alleviate congestion on highways crossing the state from St. Louis to Kansas City, a 199-mile corridor where daily truck trips number 12,000 – the number is expected to hit 22,000 in 30 years.Different proposals include widening Interstate 70, widening U.S. 60 and U.S. 36, constructing a parallel road, or improving traffic flow with demand-management and intelligent transportation systems. The parallel road could be a heavy-duty route constructed for trucks, a freeway with few interchanges along its route, or a toll highway.
The toll proposal is opposed by the Missouri Motor Carriers Association, whose president, George Burruss, says people will use the non-toll route instead, while the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association's Neil Schuster says motorists would pay a toll for improved patrolling and pavement and less congestion.
In addition, Schuster said, a large construction project may not be approved if there are no tolls to pay for it. Before June 1, several public meetings will be held on the issue. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (04/27/00) P. B1; Leiser, Ken
DuPont Holds Dominant Position in Chemicals Transport, Storage
DuPont is among the world's top chemical manufacturers, and, consequently, is one of the industry's biggest shippers, with roughly $1.6 billion in annual transportation and storage costs and about 400 shipping points around the globe.For bulk shipments, the company uses tank trucks, tank containers, intermediate bulk containers, rail tankcars, barges, and parcel tanks, all managed by a global logistics team.
To reduce the risk of distribution incidents, every business unit's logistics managers frequently do risk analyses and modal studies, and the global logistics team often has some say as well – a system that enabled the company to have no major incidents and only 67 minor incidents last year.
In addition, tank trailers, containers, and rail cars are checked for safety and cleanliness before anything is loaded. According to Donnelly, the company is looking into using trucks more due to the service disruptions caused by recent mergers, even though using rail reduces incident-risk-exposure problems; it is also looking into transloading and other options.
While DuPont currently contracts with 35 tank-truck firms for domestic service, the company keeps transport expenses in line thanks to joint ownership of Sentinel Transport with Conoco.
Bulk truck procurement manager Susan T. Shustack said the DuPont is worried that it will have less selection due to recent trucking mergers, and it has increased the amount of carriers it has approved to handle DuPont freight. In some places, DuPont is increasing productivity by using drop trailers, and certain plants are letting drivers do some loading, mostly in the case of nonhazardous products. Modern Bulk Transporter (04/00) Vol. 62, No. 10; P. 38
Coalition to Help Build Clean Fueling Stations
In November, an Illinois law went into effect mandating that fleets in the Chicago area with at least 10 vehicles follow clean-air guidelines in new vehicle purchases; however, the area lacks clean fuel stations at this time.However, Chicago and nine other municipalities have joined together to build compressed natural gas fueling stations starting this year with the help of a $2 million grant from the federal government.
Drivers in participating fleets will be able to fill up at any of the stations thanks to an accounting card that will be usable throughout the network. Next year, the group of municipalities will try to get additional grants. Crain's Chicago Business (04/17/00) Vol. 23, No. 16; P. 9; Gynn, Ann M.
Bekins Van Lines Motors Online
In response to growing customer dissatisfaction, Bekins Van Lines designed and launched its Web-based Shipping & Tracking System (STS) in only three months, with the help of in-house expertise, IBM development consultants, and consulting firm ISA Services to create a high-quality e-business application.STS has three core layers – presentation, enterprise logic, and enterprise data – and is structured to display Web pages based upon the authorization level of a user. The system is supported by IBM Application Framework for e-business, IBM WebSphere Application Server, IBM DB2, IBM Rational Rose, and VisualAge for Java.
STS also utilizes a multitier architecture that enables modifications to be made without significantly affecting the rest of the system or substantial segments of e-business users. Bekins employees concentrated on the system's front-end architecture, while IBM provided technical and educational support and ISA Services focused upon the back-end architecture.
The team established a schedule for development and divided the project into four stages, each one requiring sign-off by users and analysts before it was considered complete. Client input and feedback were carefully considered throughout the design process, and STS was tested continuously to ensure the system was problem-free before launch.
Bekins is quite pleased with the success of STS, and continues to look for ways to increase developer productivity and improve customer service. Application Development Trends (04/00) Vol. 7, No. 4; P. 29; Gates, Lana
Relationship of Carrier, Shipper Affects Customer Service Quality
Aristech Chemical director of corporate logistics Phil Rine, along with Deborah Allen, motor carrier and regulatory compliance manager at PCS Nitrogen, talked about the relationships between carriers and shippers at Chemical Week's Chemical Transportation and Distribution Conference in January.Long-term, preferred-provider deals received Rine's endorsement; he said this shows customer commitment and that shippers sometimes provide those carriers with in-house services. However, prior to beginning a relationship, shippers should decide what their requirements are, paying special attention rates, service, and safety, Allen said. They should also consider a carrier's equipment, ability to live up to expectations, and timeliness.
Regarding choosing a carrier, Rine suggested measuring the carrier's ability to partner effectively by asking about training and performance; carriers that refuse to be forthcoming may be the ones to avoid. Rine added that shippers should determine if carriers have required health, safety, and environmental training and should check on the carriers' reputations in their communities.
Rine said selection, implementation, and review of carriers should involve the shipper employees who work in departments where transportation is relevant.
Finally, Rine said to end any partnership on a positive note to leave the door open for future business. Modern Bulk Transporter (04/00) Vol. 62, No. 10; P. 42
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