Nasstrac to Offer Best Practices, Networking
This story appears in the April 15 print edition of Transport Topics.
More than 100 exhibitors, including some of the nation’s largest package and truckload carriers, will join logistics and distribution executives in Orlando, Fla., next week for the annual Shippers Conference and Transportation Expo.
The April 21-24 event is sponsored by Nasstrac.
The focus of the event is always to provide education and networking for corporate executives that oversee transportation and other supply chain needs, said Brian Everett, the group’s executive director.
“We are very active in trying to create this as an effective venue for the shippers to be able to build relationships and alliances with their carrier partners and it’s really members of [American Trucking Associations] that are a big part of that as well,” Everett said.
Thomas Connery, chief operating officer at New England Motor Freight in Elizabeth, N.J., said he makes it a point to attend the conference every year because, beyond wanting competitive rates, shippers today want longer-term partnerships with their carriers.
“I think with all of the regulation going on in the industry, driver shortages, etc., shippers see the writing on the wall when it comes to capacity,” said Connery. “Just a small uptick in the economy is going to have companies scrambling for reliable transportation providers,” he said.
The carrier is part of the Shevell Group of Cos., which is located inside the Port of New York and New Jersey and offers U.S. customs clearance, logistics and distribution services for international shipments.
Several other carriers are sending representatives to the conference to mingle with big shippers and also to appear on panels that will address topics ranging from federal regulations to transportation cost management to fuel pricing.
“One of the main things our members are continually saying is that they’re looking for ways to squeeze costs out of transportation in their supply chains,” Everett said.
Conference participants seek ideas from the shippers who have re-engineered their supply chains or gotten creative in packing their freight to ensure it meets carrier needs, he said.
Labor issues will also be ad-dressed at the conference, where one panel will update shippers on the federal court battle over modifications that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration made to the hours-of-service rule for truck drivers December 2011.
Nasstrac intervened in the litigation to help ATA press its case against the new regulatory provisions that limit driver hours starting July 1.
