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As the economy begins to rebound from an extended shutdown, the need for warehouse space is only going to increase. This increase can be primarily attributed to a move away from traditional retail and toward order fulfillment centers. However, it is not often that 90,000 square feet of quality warehouse space with easy rail access comes available. The vacancy rate for industrial property in the Toledo market remains very low at 4 percent, indicating a shortage in warehouse space. As a result, manufacturers may struggle to find space to store their products and will look to locate a 3PL provider.  Read More

Topics: Warehouses in Toledo Ohio, Rise of 3PL Services, Rise of 3PL Fulfillment Services, Warehouses with rail capacity

Railways keep most industries moving, quite literally. Unloading rail cars in a warehouse setting need to be executed quickly and safely upon arrival, so they are well on their way. So How Does Spartan Logistics Unload Rail Cars While Reducing Risk and Improving Production? With a collaboration of Spartan's Warehouse Manager, a local vendor with a national equipment manufacturer account, and a Director of Maintenance at the Spartan corporate level — the overall solution agreed upon was centered almost exclusively around the safety and increased productivity of a high-end rotating clamp truck to unload 2-3 ton paper rolls from rail cars from the Fort Smith, AR rail access warehouse.  Read More

Topics: Rise of 3PL Fulfillment Services, Supply Chain Strategy, Logistics News, Warehouses with rail capacity, Logistic Leaders

Capacity remained the most pressing logistics issue across the supply chain as the new year began. This is especially true within the transportation sector, where the driver shortage, ELD mandate, and other factors severely impacted the trucking industry’s ability to handle increased freight volumes. Because of this, more shippers are looking to intermodal (rail) transport for capacity. According to the Association for American Railroads (AAR), intermodal volume rose by 3.9% in 2017. Through the first 28 weeks of 2018, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads are up 1.5% annually at 7,259,135 and intermodal units are up 6.1% at 7,686,093. Part of the volume growth in intermodal was due to the capacity issues that challenged trucking as the electronic logging device mandate took hold and some carriers strained to find enough drivers to carry loads. We are experiencing a market with low truck supply and high freight demand. One of the reasons for tightened capacity is the ongoing driver shortage. Year after year, skilled truck drivers are retiring with fewer younger experienced drivers taking their places. Fewer drivers mean fewer trucks on the road to haul the increase in freight, which, in turn, drives up the cost of your freight and eventually that increase will have to be passed along to your customer. U.S. shippers are desperate for capacity and turning to modes they previously shunned as a result.  Read More

Topics: Warehouses with rail capacity, Intermodal transportation