Armada Intelligence » Supply Chain

Anecdotes that May Shipment Volumes are Improving $

karen — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:45:37 +0000

Listening to a number of analyst conference calls and listening to friends in the transportation sector, we are getting some anecdotes that May volumes could be improving across the board. These sources all point out that it is very early and there could be some “first of the month” impacts that typically can help to improve volumes (companies unloading warehouse volumes before the end of the month, early spill-over orders for companies that have to delay deliveries of merchandise till after the first of the month, etc.). April was a dismal month for

Progress in Hong Kong Port Strike Negotiations $

karen — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:24:37 +0000

Hong Kong dockworkers at the Kwai Tsing terminal are into their third week on strike, causing heavy disruptions of port truck traffic and significant port delays, particularly for offloading. However, the union said today

Google Fiber going to Austin $

karen — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:37:41 +0000

Google will roll out its popular Google Fiber internet service to Austin, TX – the second market to receive the service. Fiber was first announced for Kansas City, KS in 2010 and has since rolled out to Kansas City and surrounding cities. The service offers internet access at 1 Gigabyte per second for $70 per month—roughly equivalent in price to current service offerings that are 100 times slower. The availability of Fiber has made Kansas City more attractive for tech entrepreneurs, and will likely do the same for Austin—although both cities already have a

Corporate Vulnerability to Cyber Terrorism: Your Supply Chain $

karen — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:31:51 +0000

You’ve taken every precaution in securing your technology and IT systems. You have rock-solid firewalls and keep financial data as secure as possible. But, you are vulnerable from an area we don’t think about much: the supply chain.

There is a strategic trend in the global supply chain for companies and their partners to get data sharing and connectivity as far upstream as possible. Linking your suppliers and their suppliers to a single supply chain allows for the flow of goods and information – shaving thousands (if not millions) off of operating and inventory carrying costs. Unfortunately, criminals also

Computer Sales Dropped Double Digits in Q1 $

karen — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:51:35 +0000

Sales of personal computers dropped by as much as 14% in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period last year – the largest drop in the industry’s history since tracking began in 1994. Additionally, sales have dropped for four

Hong Kong, Chile Port Strikes Continue $

karen — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:39:40 +0000

Dockworkers at the port of Hong Kong have now been on strike for over a week, disrupting container traffic at one of the world’s busiest ports. The workers are seeking a pay increase and want to negotiate directly with Hutchison International Terminals (HIT), the port owner. However, HIT says it will not negotiate with the workers because they are employed by a third party. According to the Hong Kong Shippers Council, the strike is causing issues, particularly for importers. The Council chairman spoke of perishable goods rotting because they cannot clear the dock quickly enough. The Council also said that exports have been

Enhancements to Internet Speeds Coming? $

karen — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:00:50 +0000

Fiberoptic cables are slowly gaining adoption as Internet infrastructure, and that adoption will likely speed up based on the recent reception of Google Fiber in the Kansas City area. Several recent enhancements to fiberoptic technology could make the investment in this infrastructure even more attractive. AT&T scientists recently showed off a new process to take existing fiber cables, and enable them to handle many times more information, even over extremely long distances. The scientists were able to transmit at 400 gigabytes per second over 7500 kilometers of cable, far faster than current cable or fiberoptic services provide. The biggest advantage to this enhancement is that it can be used in

Japan Successfully Mines Frozen Methane $

karen — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:55:01 +0000

According to Japanese officials, researchers there have successfully extracted methane gas from frozen undersea deposits of methane hydrate. There are large deposits of methane hydrate in various locations worldwide, but until now no one had been able to successfully mine this “fire ice” for usable methane gas. Japan Oil, Gas, and Metals National Corporation will continue conducting production tests for a few weeks to come, and if they go well could

ILA Negotiation Deadline Tomorrow

karen — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:46:46 +0000

The deadline for local negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and East and Gulf Coast ports is tomorrow. As mentioned Tuesday, the heaviest negotiations are currently focused on the port of New York and New Jersey. If the deadline is not met, the two sides would either need to extend negotiations, work without a contract, or face port shutdowns. If the contract is not agreed to, the most likely option is extending the negotiations—which has happened throughout the negotiation process several times. Without an extension, a port shutdown is possible—most likely limited to New York and New Jersey, but possible elsewhere as well. If there is a shutdown it would likely begin on Saturday. Again, the most likely option is that an agreement is reached or that there is an extension, although right now neither side is providing any signals as to what will happen tomorrow.

BNSF Testing LNG Locomotives $

karen — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:42:39 +0000

Natural gas is gaining increased steam as an alternative fuel source. Many trucking companies are testing the fuel in local and even long haul trucking operations, and it has already gained wide adoption in local bus and parcel routes. Now BNSF is testing liquefied natural gas as a fuel source for locomotives. Most of the current