Logistics

I know we’re in a national recession, money and credit are very tight and the banks are hogging all the money and have put wicked restrictions on everyone’s cash flow. But despite these money problems, third-party people seem to expect the trucks they hire to run for nearly free — especially when it comes to hauling overdimensional freight.

WASHINGTON — The cost of moving and storing goods nationwide fell 3.5% last year, the first decline in logistics-related ex-penses in six years, despite 2% higher transportation expenses. Manufacturers and retailers slashed inventories and excess capacity limited the ability of freight carriers to raise prices, according to a new report.

Ryder System said that it has reached an agreement with Intelligent Global Pooling Systems to manage the flow of plastic pallets.

How can trucking and logistics companies — faced with new technology and endless updates to IT systems — avoid wasting money on uncoordinated solutions as they try to keep up with faster, more visible supply chains?

The national average price of regular gasoline continued to climb, gaining 17 cents in the past two weeks to $2.66 a gallon, according to the latest Lundberg Survey of filling stations released Sunday.

Echo Global Logistics said that it has acquired Raytrans Distribution Services, a transportation brokerage firm.

A grant by the Department of Labor will soon fund a production and supply chain logistics training program in Fort Worth, Texas, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

President Obama will nominate Deborah Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, to be the board's chairman, the White House said.