For March, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI reading came in at -10.5, a slight improvement from the matching -11.1 readings for January and February. kwhorisk@ehpub.com

On a year-to-date basis through the first 20 weeks of 2018, U.S. carloads are up 1.1% annually at 5,141,257, and intermodal units are up 5.9% at 5,443,730. kwhorisk@ehpub.com

A report published this week in The Hill indicated that Rep. Bud Shuster (R-PA), the outgoing House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman, is working on a national infrastructure bill. This leads to one basic question, given the relatively historical glacial pace of national infrastructure plans, bills, or otherwise: does it really matter? I say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but, seriously, I am pretty sure we have heard it all before at this point. kwhorisk@ehpub.com

Learn how to take advantage of mobile printers in the warehouse environment and how to choose the correct mobile printer. Download the complimentary white paper. Sato White Paper, Mobile Printing Case Study, Mobile Printers in the warehouse` kwhorisk@ehpub.com

Authorities at the Port of Oakland heralded the coming of “a one-stop, online gateway” this morning, ushering in what they believe to be the first-ever digitized operational platform. Port of Oakland,the oakland portal launches. kwhorisk@ehpub.com

Gartner, Inc.’s annual Supply Chain Executive Conference held last week in Phoenix, AZ provided the platform for the release of its Supply Chain Top 25, which identifies industry “best practices.” Rankings of the top 25 supply chain, companies with the strongest supply chain, supply chain reliability rankings, Top 25 Supply Chain Companies 2018, Gartner Supply Chain Rankings kwhorisk@ehpub.com

In its semiannual forecasts, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) always does an excellent job of laying out its estimates in terms of what to expect for things like capital expenditures, production, prices, and utilization rates, among other metrics for the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. One component of the report, which does not always get a ton of attention, are the “special questions” included at the end, which are always interesting and relevant while helping to provide some perspective, too. ISM Report on Manufacturing kwhorisk@ehpub.com

The division is responding to strong growth in demand for air cargo, chiefly for outbound services out of Asia and on the conventional transpacific route, fueled by almost all industries. kwhorisk@ehpub.com