President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil plans to build 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles) of rail and grant wider access to existing privately operated lines to cut shipping costs by as much as 30 percent in the country. The auction of a concession to build and manage the first of a dozen railways costing a total $42bn will take place as early as October.
Packaging and paper products manufacturer Boise has cut CO2 emissions by 60 percent by switching from road to rail and packing its products more efficiently in rail containers, says a case study from Environmental Defense Fund.
A new reform-minded government, a stable economy and sound infrastructure are among the factors combining to make Mexico a good market for logistics operations, says Eric Markeset, who is based in Mexico City as principal of consulting firm Tsol.
Domestic container volume continued its steady performance in the second quarter of 2013 with 9 percent year-over-year gains, largely attributable to a strong big-box segment, with total intermodal traffic rising by 2.4 percent for the quarter, according to IANA, a trade association for the intermodal transportation industry.
Long waiting lines of incoming trucks at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach create an unacceptable drag on productivity, says Mike Stark, president and CEO of Pacer Distribution Services and an active member of the Harbor Trucking Association. Stark explains how adaptive appointment software could help remedy this situation.
