Supply Chain by the Numbers for Week of Jan. 15, 2015

      Supply Chain by the Numbers                 Never Again $100 Oil? Target Abandons Canada after Just Three Years – at Big Cost; Just One-Third of Needed Crane Operators at La-Long Beach; Here Come the Mexican Truckers – Maybe 20 The number of miles into the US that Mexican trucking companies had to date been limited to travel, resulting in the need for costly transfers to US truckers at warehouses or transload centers. But that’s over now, as the US DOT finally gave approval for Mexican carriers to operate in the US as required by the NAFTA agreement some 30 years after the trade agreement was signed. That came after a second pilot program wrapped up in October. The DOT decision has plenty of critics, notably the Teamsters union and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association. It’s not clear how many Mexican carriers will venture into the US – since they are not allowed to carry US domestic freight, if the carrier cannot book a return load to Mexico, the trips would involve lots of expensive deadhead miles after dropping off the load in the US. 67% That’s the reduction in the number of yard crane operators that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has sent to work the ships at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach since Nov. 3, according to data recently presented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents West Coast ports and terminals in labor negotiations. The PMA has been accusing the ILWU of an intentional work slowdown as part of a negotiations strategy, an allegation the union has been denying. With dramatic gridlock at LA-Long Beach and several other ports, operators also dramatically reduced containing unloading during overnight hours, saying there was nowhere […]