James Cooke is a principal analyst with Nucleus Research in Boston, covering supply chain planning software. He was previously the editor of CSCMP?s Supply Chain Quarterly and a staff writer for DC Velocity.
Diversification may not be for everyone, but for Gibraltar Industries, it proved to be a prescient move. In the mid '90s, management at the Buffalo, N.Y.-based metal products maker decided the corporation had become overly reliant on business from the U.S. automotive industry. Over the next decade, Gibraltar pursued an aggressive diversification campaign, acquiring a string of smaller companies in order to expand into markets like building and construction products, farm equipment, and hand tools.
In light of recent developments, Gibraltar's decision to lessen its dependence on the auto industry is looking more prudent by the day. But the strategy has also created some complications. For one thing, the spate of acquisitions resulted in a sharp rise in the number of private fleets operated by Gibraltar companies. As the fleet tally rose, so did the associated challenges— including truck availability, trailer utilization, and empty return trips. Eventually, it became clear that the corporation was going to need some outside help.
"Gibraltar had grown through acquiring building products companies, all of which had their own trucks and fleets," explains John Wagner, Gibraltar's corporate vice president of supply chain management. "We weren't getting the optimization on the loads like an expert in the field no matter how we tried. So we decided to outsource this [so we could] do a better job and tap into a wider network of backhaul opportunities."
In fact, one of the corporation's building products companies had already tested the outsourcing waters. About five years back, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Metals Manufacturing Co. (SEMCO) had turned over management of its private fleet to a third-party logistics service provider (3PL).
SEMCO, which had hired the third party to address problems like lack of truck availability, was happy with the 3PL's performance. Nonetheless, Gibraltar decided to go with a different service provider when it expanded the outsourcing program. With fleets scattered throughout the country, it wanted a 3PL with a national presence.
After weighing its alternatives, Gibraltar chose a national player, Ryder Logistics of Miami, Fla. Under the arrangement the two parties worked out, Gibraltar owns most of the trailers, but leases the trucks from Ryder. Ryder maintains the equipment, and the drivers who operate the trucks are Ryder employees.
Today, Ryder Logistics manages a dedicated fleet of more than 50 trucks at four locations within Gibraltar's Building Products Group. Besides the SEMCO operation in Jacksonville, Ryder oversees fleet operations for Appleton Supply Co., which makes roofing and other metal products at a plant in Appleton, Wis. It also runs a fleet for Dot Metals, both at the company's manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas, and its distribution center in Houston. In December 2008, Ryder began taking over the operations of a nationwide fleet run by another Gibraltar subsidiary, Alabama Metal Industries (AMICO). Once Ryder assumes full control of AMICO's fleet, which is expected to be by the end of 2009, it will be managing 65 percent of Gibraltar's private fleets.
Cut costs, boost service, repeat
When it turned over its fleet management to Ryder, Gibraltar set three overall goals for its new partner. First, it wanted to stabilize fleet operations at various locations to improve service. Second, it wanted to reduce or eliminate costs. Finally, it wanted Ryder to pursue ongoing opportunities for further cost reductions and service improvements across multiple Gibraltar divisions.
To that end, Ryder instituted a number of efficiency programs. For example, at the SEMCO facility, which services distribution centers in Atlanta, Miami, and Lakeland, Fla., Ryder developed an order monitoring system that has improved the load planning process. In the past, SEMCO had little advance notice of upcoming orders, which meant it was often left scrambling to manually assign loads to trucks at the last minute. Now, when a customer places an order, that order is entered into a computer system, which then groups orders for optimal routing and load building.
At Appleton Supply, Ryder instituted a dynamic fleet routing application to improve shipping efficiency. Since the orders come from different customers in different locations, the fleet is unable to operate fixed routes. In the past, that lack of predictability made efficient routing difficult.
Under the new arrangement, when an order comes in, Appleton Supply determines whether there's product on hand in inventory. If there is, the order goes to Ryder for routing. If not, Appleton fabricates the item, notifying the warehouse when it's available for shipping. Ryder's routing application takes those make-to-order shipments, optimizes them for shipping, and then tells the warehouse what items to ship together on what day. As a result, Appleton's fleet has gone from an average of six stops per load to 12.
In addition to maximizing the daily fleet routes, Ryder has worked with Appleton Supply to improve trailer utilization and cut its transportation cost per pound. Among other initiatives, Ryder and Appleton designed special racks for Appleton's trailers that can accommodate 20- to 30-foot metal roofing strips, which are particularly vulnerable to damage during shipping. The racks, which can be collapsed for backhauls, have allowed Appleton Supply to get more weight on each flatbed truck. Since the racks were put into use, the average load per truck has risen to 25,000 to 30,000 pounds from 18,000 pounds, an increase of 40 percent.
Gibraltar and Ryder have also begun working together to find backhauls for the fleets, whether the loads come from Gibraltar sister companies or from outside sources. Ryder has implemented a global positioning system on all of the trucks, giving it up-to-the-minute visibility of the vehicles. As a result, it's now in a position to seize the opportunity if a load becomes available.
Costs down, service up
The outsourcing arrangement with Ryder has allowed Gibraltar to rein in its shipping expenses. In fact, Wagner reports that the corporation's freight costs are now on a par with or lower than they were with for-hire carriers.
The third party has also improved fleet performance, enabling Gibraltar to meet tight delivery windows from exacting retail customers like Home Depot and Menards. On top of that, the company has seen improvements in its order-to-delivery times. The 3PL also provides Gibraltar with access to real-time transportation metrics to guide improvement strategies.
Finally, Ryder has helped Gibraltar increase its backhaul revenues, which has helped offset rising fuel and transportation costs. Before contracting with the 3PL, Gibraltar wasn't taking full advantage of backhaul opportunities, Wagner admits. Ryder, however, has made a big push in that regard, he says, often going the extra mile to find a load. In addition to canvassing other Gibraltar locations to locate suitable freight, he says, Ryder takes the added step of using its brokerage arm to locate outside loads.
Warehouse automation orders declined by 3% in 2024, according to a February report from market research firm Interact Analysis. The company said the decline was due to economic, political, and market-specific challenges, including persistently high interest rates in many regions and the residual effects of an oversupply of warehouses built during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research also found that increasing competition from Chinese vendors is expected to drive down prices and slow revenue growth over the report’s forecast period to 2030.
Global macro-economic factors such as high interest rates, political uncertainty around elections, and the Chinese real estate crisis have “significantly impacted sales cycles, slowing the pace of orders,” according to the report.
Despite the decline, analysts said growth is expected to pick up from 2025, which they said they anticipate will mark a year of slow recovery for the sector. Pre-pandemic growth levels are expected to return in 2026, with long-term expansion projected at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% between 2024 and 2030.
The analysis also found two market segments that are bucking the trend: durable manufacturing and food & beverage industries continued to spend on automation during the downturn. Warehouse automation revenues in food & beverage, in particular, were bolstered by cold-chain automation, as well as by large-scale projects from consumer-packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers. The sectors registered the highest growth in warehouse automation revenues between 2022 and 2024, with increases of 11% (durable manufacturing) and 10% (food & beverage), according to the research.
The Swedish supply chain software company Kodiak Hub is expanding into the U.S. market, backed by a $6 million venture capital boost for its supplier relationship management (SRM) platform.
The Stockholm-based company says its move could help U.S. companies build resilient, sustainable supply chains amid growing pressure from regulatory changes, emerging tariffs, and increasing demands for supply chain transparency.
According to the company, its platform gives procurement teams a 360-degree view of supplier risk, resiliency, and performance, helping them to make smarter decisions faster. Kodiak Hub says its artificial intelligence (AI) based tech has helped users to reduce supplier onboarding times by 80%, improve supplier engagement by 90%, achieve 7-10% cost savings on total spend, and save approximately 10 hours per week by automating certain SRM tasks.
The Swedish venture capital firm Oxx had a similar message when it announced in November that it would back Kodiak Hub with new funding. Oxx says that Kodiak Hub is a better tool for chief procurement officers (CPOs) and strategic sourcing managers than existing software platforms like Excel sheets, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, or Procure-to-Pay suites.
“As demand for transparency and fair-trade practices grows, organizations must strengthen their supply chains to protect their reputation, profitability, and long-term trust,” Malin Schmidt, founder & CEO of Kodiak Hub, said in a release. “By embedding AI-driven insights directly into procurement workflows, our platform helps procurement teams anticipate these risks and unlock major opportunities for growth.”
Here's our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.
For the sixth consecutive year, dedicated contract carriage and freight management services provider Transervice Logistics Inc. collected books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines for Book Fairies, a nonprofit book donation organization in the New York Tri-State area. Transervice employees broke their own in-house record last year by donating 13 boxes of print and video assets to children in under-resourced communities on Long Island and the five boroughs of New York City.
Logistics real estate investment and development firm Dermody Properties has recognized eight community organizations in markets where it operates with its 2024 Annual Thanksgiving Capstone awards. The organizations, which included food banks and disaster relief agencies, received a combined $85,000 in awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
Prime Inc. truck driver Dee Sova has donated $5,000 to Harmony House, an organization that provides shelter and support services to domestic violence survivors in Springfield, Missouri. The donation follows Sova's selection as the 2024 recipient of the Trucking Cares Foundation's John Lex Premier Achievement Award, which was accompanied by a $5,000 check to be given in her name to a charity of her choice.
Employees of dedicated contract carrier Lily Transportation donated dog food and supplies to a local animal shelter at a holiday event held at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, location. The event, which benefited City of Saginaw (Texas) Animal Services, was coordinated by "Lily Paws," a dedicated committee within Lily Transportation that focuses on improving the lives of shelter dogs nationwide.
Freight transportation conglomerate Averitt has continued its support of military service members by participating in the "10,000 for the Troops" card collection program organized by radio station New Country 96.3 KSCS in Dallas/Fort Worth. In 2024, Averitt associates collected and shipped more than 18,000 holiday cards to troops overseas. Contributions included cards from 17 different Averitt facilities, primarily in Texas, along with 4,000 cards from the company's corporate office in Cookeville, Tennessee.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales have seen slow and steady growth, as the vehicles continue to gain converts among consumers and delivery fleet operators alike. But a consistent frustration for drivers has been pulling up to a charging station only to find that the charger has been intentionally broken or disabled.
To address that threat, the EV charging solution provider ChargePoint has launched two products to combat charger vandalism.
The first is a cut-resistant charging cable that's designed to deter theft. The cable, which incorporates what the manufacturer calls "novel cut-resistant materials," is substantially more difficult for would-be vandals to cut but is still flexible enough for drivers to maneuver comfortably, the California firm said. ChargePoint intends to make its cut-resistant cables available for all of its commercial and fleet charging stations, and, starting in the middle of the year, will license the cable design to other charging station manufacturers as part of an industrywide effort to combat cable theft and vandalism.
The second product, ChargePoint Protect, is an alarm system that detects charging cable tampering in real time and literally sounds the alarm using the charger's existing speakers, screens, and lighting system. It also sends SMS or email messages to ChargePoint customers notifying them that the system's alarm has been triggered.
ChargePoint says it expects these two new solutions, when combined, will benefit charging station owners by reducing station repair costs associated with vandalism and EV drivers by ensuring they can trust charging stations to work when and where they need them.
New Jersey is home to the most congested freight bottleneck in the country for the seventh straight year, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), released today.
ATRI’s annual list of the Top 100 Truck Bottlenecks aims to highlight the nation’s most congested highways and help local, state, and federal governments target funding to areas most in need of relief. The data show ways to reduce chokepoints, lower emissions, and drive economic growth, according to the researchers.
The 2025 Top Truck Bottleneck List measures the level of truck-involved congestion at more than 325 locations on the national highway system. The analysis is based on an extensive database of freight truck GPS data and uses several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations, to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location. The bottleneck locations detailed in the latest ATRI list represent the top 100 congested locations, although ATRI continuously monitors more than 325 freight-critical locations, the group said.
For the seventh straight year, the intersection of I-95 and State Route 4 near the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey, is the top freight bottleneck in the country. The remaining top 10 bottlenecks include: Chicago, I-294 at I-290/I-88; Houston, I-45 at I-69/US 59; Atlanta, I-285 at I-85 (North); Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East); Atlanta: I-75 at I-285 (North); Los Angeles, SR 60 at SR 57; Cincinnati, I-71 at I-75; Houston, I-10 at I-45; and Atlanta, I-20 at I-285 (West).
ATRI’s analysis, which utilized data from 2024, found that traffic conditions continue to deteriorate from recent years, partly due to work zones resulting from increased infrastructure investment. Average rush hour truck speeds were 34.2 miles per hour (MPH), down 3% from the previous year. Among the top 10 locations, average rush hour truck speeds were 29.7 MPH.
In addition to squandering time and money, these delays also waste fuel—with trucks burning an estimated 6.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel and producing more than 65 million metric tons of additional carbon emissions while stuck in traffic jams, according to ATRI.
On a positive note, ATRI said its analysis helps quantify the value of infrastructure investment, pointing to improvements at Chicago’s Jane Byrne Interchange as an example. Once the number one truck bottleneck in the country for three years in a row, the recently constructed interchange saw rush hour truck speeds improve by nearly 25% after construction was completed, according to the report.
“Delays inflicted on truckers by congestion are the equivalent of 436,000 drivers sitting idle for an entire year,” ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster said in a statement announcing the findings. “These metrics are getting worse, but the good news is that states do not need to accept the status quo. Illinois was once home to the top bottleneck in the country, but following a sustained effort to expand capacity, the Jane Byrne Interchange in Chicago no longer ranks in the top 10. This data gives policymakers a road map to reduce chokepoints, lower emissions, and drive economic growth.”