Wide access to U.S. roads granted to Mexican trucks in NAFTA would be terminated. Critics cite safety concerns, but a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy calls it ‘protectionism, plain and simple.’

(Source: LA Times)

(Source: Reuters) 

 This is ugly.For a picture of how rapid and steep the decline in U.S. manufacturing and retail sales has been in this recession, there are few better sectors to look at than transport.

Freight volumes — everything from raw materials to durable goods — have plummeted virtually across the board, making forecasting demand near impossible.

“We’ve downgraded our forecasts several times already this year — and it’s only March,” said John Levine, president of Pinsly Railroad Co, which owns short-line railroads in Florida, Massachusetts and Arkansas. “Business has fallen off in a way that none of us have seen.”

To weather the slump, Pinsly has cut back hours for workers so all of its 150 employees are still working, he added.

According to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR), rail carload traffic for the first two months of 2009 was down 15.8 percent.

Historical data shows the drop in U.S. manufacturing activity eclipses the recessions of the 1980s and 1970s and in terms of speed and scale it is comparable with — but not as bad as — the Great Depression before World War Two.

(Source: Outsourced Logistics)

There are six discussions of ways to better manage transportation and delivery costs in “Creativity and Flexibility are Keys to Managing Rising Logistics Costs,” a white paper from Purolator USA. With particular focus on cross border freight traffic between the US and Canada, as well as shipments moving within the US, here are a few suggestions from Purolator to aid in controlling costs while not sacrificing service or standards.

Rethink Shipping Options. For example, reserve air transport only for those shipments that are extremely time sensitive and must be delivered by a specific date. Weigh the costs and time window since there are available ground shipment options that might get the job done.

Take Advantage of Governmental Trade Program Incentives. There are programs beyond NAFTA offered by both the US and Canadian governments to help shippers widen their customer bases. They include the Non-Resident Importer and Duty Drawback programs, among others. These and other governmental matters are discussed in the white paper.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: AP via Forbes.com)

An older idea is experiencing a rebirth thanks to the truck traffic that increasingly chokes America’s highways: shift more of U.S. freight burden to boats that can traverse rivers, lakes, canals and coastal waters.

Increased concerns about fuel prices and global warming in recent years have revived interest in marine highways from the Erie Canal to the Chesapeake Bay to the coastal waters off Oregon, Massachusetts and Texas.

Proponents envision further expansion of the country’s 25,000 miles (40,230 kilometers) of navigational waterways by making greater use of the coasts and inland routes, such as the St. Lawrence Seaway (other-otc: STLS.PK – news –people ), the Great Lakes and the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

A significant expansion of the marine highway system faces several obstacles:

Many locks haven’t been updated in decades to accommodate increased freight traffic. Replacing America’s lock system would cost an estimated $125 billion.

Click here to read the entire article.