The cost of logistics in the United States rose by nearly $100bn in the past year, to $1.4tr, a record high for the fourth-consecutive year and the equivalent of 10.1 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. That represents a jump of 7 percent from the $1.3tr in costs for the previous year, and that's actually good news, since a year ago the increase was in the double digits (11 percent).
"For the second year in a row the U.S. supply chain industry has had to operate in a soft demand environment, with soaring fuel prices and even more pressure to perform efficiently," says transportation consultant Rosalyn Wilson, author of the annual State of Logistics Report for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The industry has reacted well, she observes, "with a more responsive supply chain that has enhanced visibility, added flexibility with dynamic rerouting and improved reliability." Pricing power, she adds, is now firmly in the hands of the manufacturers and retailers, rather than the freight carriers.
Source: Industry Week, http://industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=17017