Eric Joiner's Freightdawg.com - The Logistics and Supply Chain Blog!

Happy Thanksgiving America

Today is Thanksgiving day in the United States.  It's my favorite holiday bar none.  Most Americans, regardless of whom they are, enjoy family togetherness on Thanksgiving; though sometimes a family is just whom you are with today.

In 1621, the first "thanksgiving" meal was a modest celebration of just surviving a harvest by Plymouth settlers and their Wampanoag Indian neighbors. The initial celebrants shared what they had and prayed for future blessings. (It's not even clear if they ate turkey or not!)  387 years later, most families today enjoy a common meal, most often a great feast by colonial standards, as well as each others company.  The opportunity to share a meal and prayer remains the same. Ultimately, Thanksgiving is a simple and humble holiday. 

This year, the US has much to pray about and a new administration to anticipate in 2009.   I didn't vote for Sen. Obama.  But, because this is the United States, starting on January 20th, 2009, he is our President.   The Democrats won the election.  I hate it because I oppose liberal philosophy,  but lets see what they do with the opportunity. 

I agree it is time for Change.  Lets see what change actually is. Senator Obama didn't do a great job of defining that during the election, but I have been intrigued by the speed with which he has acquired former Washington insiders to be his main agents.  I give him credit for a desire to act quickly.   We need that.   I am nervous however about what he will act upon, as well as the people he has chosen to lead with him. I remain one of the voices Obama has said he will also hear.   We will see.

Our economy, and by extension, the global economy, need both commitment and investment by all Americans.  We're a main cog in the global engine, but not the only cog.  We will see if the mandate given to President-Elect Obama will translate into leadership.

I normally do not write about political matters, but as this is a day of reflection and family commitment, I wish all Americans a blessed holiday season, which commences in America with Thanksgiving. 

We've handed our future to a new set of leaders.  Prayer is required here if anywhere.

Eric

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More Ocean Freight History and Humor...

A friend and colleague of mine sent me this in response to my link to the Felixstowe Customer Service Agent joke.

Historical information you need to know about shipping Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship. It was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen.

Methane began to build up below decks, and the first time someone came below at night, with a lantern, BOOOOM!  Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening. After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term," Ship High In Transit" which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.  Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T," which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

You probably did not know the true history of this word.

Neither did I. I always thought it was a golf term.

Eric

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Now THIS is funny.

It is rare that I find humor these days in the work that we do in container shipping.  However I found this joke on Zainfeb13.  I found this one hilarious..and pretty much true!

Eric

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Hard Times: Ocean Carriers taking steps to deal with economic downturn

Anybody who follows freightdawg.com has noticed a lack of posts for the previous two weeks. I work for DHL, so needless to say I've been "busy". Having said that, I was interested to see that one of my old employers (APL) is taking steps to meet difficult economic times head on.  

Logistics Management Magazine published a story yesterday that NOL group was taking significant steps to contain costs.  These included relocation from their US Headquarters in Oakland, Ca. to a less costly location (TBA), a major head count reduction of up to 1000 people, increased focus on productivity, and if I know anything about APL/NOL, an increased use of technology to support business activities.  All smart moves, but painful ones. I never thought I'd see APL leave Oakland.  APL is a historic, west coast carrier.  To think about their headquarters being some place else, just feels weird. Somehow when Sea-Land relocated to Charlotte that didn't seem strange considering Malcom McLain was a North Carolina boy who started the whole container shipping industry in the first place!

Most people understand that container shipping is an asset heavy industry with ships, chassis, containers, depots, repair facilities, terminals, etc. What many don't realize is that there are not that many people in the trade. Major ocean carriers may have as few as four or five hundred employees in the US and less than 10,000 globally. Compare that with the airlines or  integrators who have hundreds of thousands of employees. Putting that into perspective, when NOL says its going to cut 1000 people that is a significant cut.

APL isn't the only carrier taking cost cutting measures.

Maersk announced this week that they would be laying up ships to outlast the poor forecasts for 2009 and taking cost cutting measures themselves. Ocean shipping has always been a balance between available capacity and cargo demand. Demand is down.  Capacity is up. The other cycle of life in ocean shipping are new vessel orders.  Carriers order ships when the markets are good. Invariably they wind up taking delivery two years later when the market may have turned. The lag creates a capacity/demand gap.   That happens in normal times. Now add a global economic crunch combined with massive financial market strain in the US and globally,  and its a recipe for difficult trading in the container business.

I used to tell my customers "If you cant sell it, I cant ship it."   That maxim is home to roost for the next two years at least.

Eric

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Far afield: The Dangers of Far flung International Operations

 I don't talk about my employer a lot, but I'm proud to work for DHL.

We have global operations in over 220 countries worldwide. Usually when I say that, it's in the context of telling customers that we can get their goods from one point to another worldwide. That's an abstract concept generally because most people haven't been to the far corners of the earth. Its an abstract concept to me too. I'm pretty well traveled, but I haven't been to all of the "high risk" parts of our global operations.

DHL has always had extensive operations in the Middle East. On Saturday, October 25th, the risks of working in this environment became very real. Two DHL Express executives were murdered in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan by a security guard hired to protect them.

David Giles of Great Britain was deputy director for DHL Afghanistan. David died in the company of Jason Bresler from South Africa, who was the Kabul station manager. The security guard, who had been a DHL employee for a month, took his own life as well.  Somewhere now, three mothers grieve.

Folks forget that shipping is an art. Getting goods from point A to point B across the globe engages challenges with weather, politics, time, machinery reliability, human frailty and many other factors.  Much of that hasn't changed since man first set out upon the seas.  Nevertheless, demands are made to track packages, send data to ERP systems and feed databases. In the quest to do just that, people in far away lands do many things to satisfy customer and company needs.  In every country on every continent, there are guys like David and Jason, doing the job. 

DHL is the only express parcel company with an office in Kabul. 

Eric

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