TT Logistics 50: Global Events Alter 3PLs’ Strategies, Practices
This story appears in the Nov. 7 print edition of Transport Topics.
Natural disasters, political upheaval and financial woes are forcing shippers to reevaluate their supply chains and, in some cases, change the way they procure parts and materials and the way they distribute goods.
Shippers are also weighing the level of inventory needed to support their operations and to protect against supply disruptions, according to logistics industry executives interviewed by Transport Topics.
The new focus on creating more flexible and agile supply chains can be traced, in large part, to a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan that led to shortages of key materials and parts for automotive and electronics manufacturers throughout the world.
Closer to home, extensive flooding in parts of the United States and Mexico caused transportation delays, while uprisings in the Middle East and Africa caused oil prices to jump and a debt crisis in Europe led to shifts in demand.
“Companies with complex global and extended supply chains . . . have learned through hardship that they need to have contingency plans to keep their business up and running,” said Stephen Dean, a senior vice president for Ryder Supply Chain Solutions.
The subject serves as a backdrop for Transport Topics’ 2011 Top 50 Logistics Companies list — which has changed little from 2010 in terms of who is listed but shows evidence that consolidation has begun among the nation’s largest third-party logistics firms.
Two companies on the Top 50 list — Ryder Supply Chain Solutions and Genco ATC — acquired firms previously listed on the Top 50, and several other companies made similar moves to expand their service offerings and geographic range.
Logistics firms also continue to attract investment, with CI Capital Partners’ purchase of Transplace Inc. and Jacobs Private Equity’s $135 million investment in XPO Logistics being among the most prominent deals completed over the past year.
According to Richard Armstrong, chairman of Armstrong & Associates, an industry research and consulting firm in Stoughton, Wis., revenue for U.S.-based logistics firms is projected to top $141.2 billion in 2011.
To read more on developments in logistics, see the special section after page 18.
Editor’s Note: The 2011 TT Logistics 50 is now available online.
