We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » the calculus changes
big picture

the calculus changes

September 1, 2008
Peter Bradley
No Comments

It has been more than 21 years since then-President Carter said of the energy crisis, "With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes." In calling for an energy policy aimed at reducing the nation's dependence on oil, he argued that action was needed to assure the country would be in charge of its own destiny. Little has been done since, and the consequences of inaction are becoming clearer.

Although as I write diesel prices have dropped by 10 cents a gallon from the previous week, prices remain at unprecedented levels, and transportation costs are causing managers to reconsider the structure of their supply chains. It is a trend notable enough that it has moved out of the business section and onto the front pages of U.S. newspapers.

A Page One article in the Sunday, Aug. 3, edition of The New York Times took a hard look at how the confluence of high transportation costs, concerns about global warming, and other factors—the politics of globalization not least among them—is changing the supply chain calculus. "Globe-spanning supply chains—Brazilian iron ore turned into Chinese steel used to make washing machines shipped to Long Beach, Calif., and then trucked to appliance stores in Chicago—make less sense today than they did a few years ago," wrote Times reporter Larry Rohter. He cited as evidence the decisions by Sweden's Ikea to build a manufacturing plant in Virginia and by some electronics OEMs to return to Mexico, which they had left for the lure of low wages in China.

It is probably far too early to know if we will have a wholesale return to the "neighborhood effect," as economists call the concept of locating plants and suppliers closer to consumers. It would be dubious at best to predict the end of globalization. It is far too potent a force, and transportation is but one—albeit critical—component of it.

Recognizing that efficient and effective physical distribution is crucial to economic health, we regularly write about these issues in DC VELOCITY. This month, for example, writer Mark Solomon provides insight into how the airfreight industry is coping with a host of economic pressures.

In the months ahead, we intend to address how forces like energy costs and sustainability initiatives are affecting supply chains. Our goal is to investigate how businesses and policymakers are addressing these challenges, be it through smarter shipping strategies, energy-saving technologies, revamped distribution networks, infrastructure investments, or other measures.

I won't go as far as President Carter, who called the energy crisis the moral equivalent of war. But for those who manage business supply chains, how they respond may prove to be the defining moments of their careers.

Transportation Supply Chain Services Trucking Global Logistics Business Management & Finance Logistics Network Design
  • Related Articles

    Basic Training: Oil prices change the calculus of offshoring

    New service from Jabil will analyze the impact of changes in trade, tax, and tariff policies on a company's supply chain

    merQbiz, C.H. Robinson help companies navigate big changes in the recycling market

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Roadrunner Freight bolsters LTL capabilities with $50 million in new backing

  • Southeastern Freight Lines Promotes Marty Cox to Service Center Manager in Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Pull back or go deeper—how the pandemic influenced shipper-3PL engagement

  • Boston Dynamics trials box-lifting robot for unloading trucks

  • The growing crisis in agriculture exports: interview with Peter Friedmann

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Ae46f19c 518e 4be0 a8b7 0fdf8f1f806c

PlastiCorr: Reusable, Sustainable Brown Box Replacement

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
PlastiCorr is a drop-in replacement for single-use corrugated fiber boxes with identical functionality and enhanced features. Its patented design offers repeatable, reliable performance for re-use up to 70 times.

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Special Report: Supply Chain Trends in Retail & Consumer Goods

  • Fortify Your Operational Resilience

  • Cold Storage Automation: Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Meet Increasing Demand

  • The modern warehouse: Maximizing productivity and capacity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing