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

Jerry goes to Yellowstone

My friend Jerry Hempstead has been traveling out west with his bride and yesterday emailed me something that was a cross between a travel log review and a rant.  I found it humorous, but somehow reflective of Obama administration pending policy on health care.    Read on.

"In an effort to help stimulate the economy and to keep the Mrs. happy we spent the first 10 days of July touring Mt. Rushmore, Little Big Horn, Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

The trip had been one of my wife's dreams as she is a fairly accomplished photographer and this part of the country offers opportunities for great photos. I was taken aback while here to find that our government through the contractor here has learned the art of improving yield the way the transports do.  Accessorial fees...and not small ones.

When you check into your hotel at Yellowstone, for example, they offer you the use of a card so that you can charge things to your room such as meals in the dining facility. Well if you do use the card they charge a fee. I learned my lesson after the second day when I came to find out that the fee for a dinner of $56.06 was $8.50 and the fee for using the card for a $27.40 breakfast was $4.

Now that's not the best of it. They charge a "Utility Fee" for just about everything you buy here at the National Park. An it appears the utility fee is in some instances subject to a minimum charge just like the transports do. So that breakfast for $27.40 had a $1 "utility fee" applied to it. There was also the sales tax of $1.55. Now recall that I charged this to my room and got hit with the $4 fee for doing that. To add insult to injury when I checked out they charged me tax and a another utility fee on the grand total.

When I inquired as to what this utility fee was (at all three Yellowstone hotels I stayed at) nobody could explain it. They handled me a card with some mumbo jumbo about environmental stewardship and thats why I need to "participate" in the utility fee.

The reality here is that the services in the national parks are a monopoly managed by our government for "we the people".

The hotel room prices are some of the highest I have ever paid, and I've traveled the world over in 32 years of peddling freight.  The hotel at Lake Yellowstone is in my humble opinion a dump that should be demolished and rebuilt. It is past the point of repair for historic sentimentality.  $216 a night for a small room with the wallpaper pealing and a bathroom so dirty even the bugs would not go in it.

In an effort to be good stewards the light bulbs in the room I think were 25 Watt, just enough that you would not bump into things but not bright enough to recognize who was in the room with you.

Gasoline costs $3 a gallon here because there is no competition. That's true of the overcharging for everything.  All the stores are managed by the same company that manages the hotels and the dining. All overpriced.  So here I am on independence day in our national parks - which I as a citizen am told belongs to me, and I'm being ripped off by the government that I have elected to run the place."

Somehow this makes me think the Obama health care plan will be similar.

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Busy Week

This has been an interesting first two days of the week.  On Monday, June 21st,  I attended the graduation of a cousin of mine from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.

Kings Point cranks out experienced young people with more sea time than any other Maritime academy including Annapolis.   It was my first time to KP.  What an impressive place.  With a motto of "Acta non Verba" (Action, Not Words),  The USMMA trains young people who are ready for the operational end of our industry.  

The graduating class of 2009 was composed of only about 150 graduates.  However among them were an impressive number of young women. In fact the valedictorian of the class as well as the class president were both female, one of which was matriculating with a degree in intermodal logistics.   It's not unusual to find that the senior management of shipping companies, terminal operators and related firms all have Kings Point grads at or near the top.

My cousin will go directly to a destroyer based in Yokosuka, Japan for active duty with the Navy.   Given the crazies in North Korea, I worry our young man will be in Harms Way, sooner rather than later.

Kings Point is a small school, but they usually draw important visitors.   The kids graduating Monday received commissions from the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard.  In almost every case, there was a flag or general officer present to commission the new ensigns and lieutenants.    The graduation keynote speaker was US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.   LaHood is a career politician and Obama appointee new to his job.  As a result his comments were brief.   However, he did report that the 2010 federal budget would contain approximately 12 million dollars for KP to maintain and renovate facilities.   With that being the extent of his salient comments, I'm not sure what that means for our transportation department!

Flying back to Atlanta from New York wasn't without tribulation.   Having spent 20 minutes in a holding pattern over Greenville SC,  the rocket scientists at Air Traffic Control diverted our Delta MD-88 to Birmingham for fuel.   We sat there for an hour, before being vectored back to the ATL.   Total flight time from NY to ATL: 8 Hours.  That one made me wish our Secretary of Transportation could be aboard.  No such luck.  Guys at his level fly in private jets!

Eyefortransport 3PL Summit, Atlanta Georgia

On Tuesday,  I attended the Eyefortransport 3PL Summit here in Atlanta.  I'm on the board of the American Society of Transportation & Logistics, so I was asked if I would attend if given a free ticket.   I've attended various eyefortransport events over the years including events in Hong Kong and Amsterdam.  They are usually well attended by important folks on both the 3PL and customer sides of the fence.  Not so much this year.    Only about 145 people attended.   I suppose this is a result of the tight travel and entertainment budgets most firms have in place today.   Nobody has the extra cash to attend a business conference.    That would have been the case with me, but I live in Atlanta and the ticket was free!

On the whole the conference was valuable, with keynote speakers from Maersk Logistics (soon to be Damco), MeadWestVaco and other firms, subjects like compliance and risk management were discussed and presented.  These conferences are about people however.  It takes a quorum of industry professionals sharing their knowledge that keeps these things interesting and valuable.   In this regard I think EFT missed the mark this year.   For the most part I think that's not their fault.   In case you haven't noticed...the economy sucks.

In Obamaland All You Need Is The Willing Suspension Of Disbelief

Some people are just pathologically honest.  Check out the blog article written by my friend Mike Regan of Tranzact Technologies.   Mike calls em like he sees em.   I typically agree with his positions.  Check out his excellent article today at Logistics Managements web site.  Mike is a Chicagoan and highly familiar with the ways of our President.  Given that our SecTrans is also a Illinois career politician, some comments apply to Ray LaHood as well.

Eric

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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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Gone Fishin: Fall 2008

I take two trips a year that I look forward to more than anything else I do.  I go fishing with my 21 year old son Clint and a handful of other relatives or close friends twice a year.  We go to a very special place in the panhandle of north Florida called St. Marks. 

We've been both fresh and light saltwater fishing in this area for 50 years or more as a family.  It's the only time during the year that I "throw the cell phone in the river" and really appreciate the down time.  I consider it the most important mental health break I take.

I'll be back on Thursday the 30th. In the meantime, I'll be sharing again some "best of freightdawg.com" articles for you to enjoy. Some are more relevant now than when they were originally posted.

Eric

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Job Hunter: You NEED to Read This.

97 Job Search Tips

Career advice for Desperate Job Seekers

Whether you work in transportation and logistics, or any other field that happens to land you at freightdawg.com, there are certain special sites on the web that simply require a bookmark.   I've had this link available in the left side bar of my site for some time, but think it needs special highlighting given our current economic climate.  The US economy is a mess. Jobs are dear and household costs are brutal. 

My brother, Harry Joiner, is a highly successful executive search consultant with his own practice. He specializes in e-commerce and on-line marketing.  Harry also is committed to helping people improve themselves. In this regard he has published a brilliant reference article called "97 job search tips".   

The purpose of the list is to give job hunters a no BS list of what to do and how to do it, regarding looking for that next position, how to work with a head hunter, how to interview and generally how to do combat in what is a damn tough job market.

No Cost. Free of Charge. This is information you NEED to READ whether you are in the job market now, or thinking about your career future.

I, and others, have told Harry the information is simply so frank, and so honest that it ought to be a book.

(Folks, this isn't an advertisement. Read the information!)

Eric

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Cessna Prototype LSA C-162 Crashes

Late news that the prototype of the Cessna 162 Skycatcher has crashed in an apparent accident. The pilot managed to survive the crash. Cessna has sold a at least 1000 of these light sport aircraft so far, with the first to be delivered in 2009.   

Here is a link to an article I wrote on July 28th, 2007 on the Cessna roll out of the Skycatcher.   This is one scwheet little airplane.  I hope the crash doesn't delay the delivery of the first production models too much!   

clipped from www.avweb.com Federal investigators are on their way to Douglass, Kansas to investigate the crash of a Cessna Skycatcher LSA prototype Thursday. The pilot of the test aircraft was able to parachute to safety and was reportedly taken to hospital with minor injuries. Cessna media relations personnel were unable to immediately respond to AVweb's request for more detailed information, but KAKE Television is reporting the aircraft crashed into a treeline near the boundary of Butler and Cowley Counties. The television station is quoting witnesses as saying they heard a loud pop and then saw sparks and the plane spiraling down. The pilot landed in a field about 400 yards from the aircraft. The TV station quoted a Cessna spokesman as saying the crash aircraft had about 150 hours on it.

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Good News! JoC Online is now Free!

Just a quick post to point everybody to The Journal of Commerce Online web site.  Stuart Chirls, Editor of the JoC online wrote me the other day to tell me that the JoC online is now FREE.   This previously was a subscription service.   

The JoC is has great content and has long been the definitive source for transportation news, especially maritime news.  I love the fact that its now free, because I can now link to their content and comment on it. I've been reading the JoC for 25 years.   Back in the days before the internet, it was common to read the newspaper of our industry cover to cover.   

Eric

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Skip Caray: Death of a Baseball Icon

This blog is about logistics and I try to stay on topic, but I love baseball. In particular, as an Atlantan, I have always loved the Braves. Today was a very sad day with the unexpected death of Atlanta Braves legendary announcer Skip Caray.  Friends, this loss hurts.

As a kid I remember listening to Braves games on the radio.  First with Milo Hamilton in the late 60's and early 70's, later to go on to the Houston Astros. Hamilton announced the famous 715th home run of Henry Aaron in 1974. I was at that game with my Dad and brother. Interestingly, I later went to high school with Hank Aaron's sons, Henry and Larry.  Both were great athletes.

In 1976 Caray came to Atlanta to announce games with the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.  He subsequently joined the Braves announcing team for WTBS, the Super Station, who would make the Braves "America's team" through nationwide cable broadcasts. In those days, you only had WOR, WGN and TBS as the big independent cable TV stations. That made the Yankees, Braves and Cubs big teams for national cable audiences.   With Satellites, it also put the Braves on TV in Latin America, which would also serve them well later in signing Latin American players like Andruw Jones.

Skip Caray came from good genes.  His father, Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, was an icon on his own. Later Skips kids Josh and Chip, took up the microphone as well in the Braves organization and elsewhere.  The thing about Skip, at least in the early days,  was that he was a major league party boy. He caroused his way to legend in the 70's and 80's in Atlanta. That is, until his liver started to fail him in the 1990's and he stopped drinking. Unfortunately the toll on his health was already under way. 

As a sales rep in the 1980's and 90's I spent a lot of time in my car driving around the south. I came to love the Braves and the voices that brought their games to me as I drove around in late September in places like Muscle Shoals, Alabama and eastern Tennessee.   I loved Caray's pregame show. I think Skip himself hated it.  Some Gomer from Sandersville or Conyers or wherever, would call in and ask the most inane questions. 

Lets just say Skip Caray didn't suffer fools well. A kid asking about the infield fly rule, or a middle aged woman asking about Tom Glavine's hang nail were both likely to be met with derision or at the minimum a sarcastic wit. Caray's intellect and his tongue were directly connected, sometimes to his detriment. 

The fact that Skip had a periodic hangover didn't always help that connection.  Nevertheless, the pregame show became very entertaining because you KNEW that when some fool dialed in a dumb remark, Skip was going to go "off".   Believe me, when you are half way home on a long drive,this stuff takes on a baseball version of Jerry Springer.   Later Pete Van Wieren would take over the pregame show.  Pete was much more politically adept at handling fans loving, but stupid questions.

For pretty much all of my youth, the Braves were losers. Bad losers. Awful losers. To be their announcer made you (de facto) also a loser.  For the longest time in the mid 80's, Skips voice reminded me of losing.  Soon, I thought he was a loser.  I hated the guy. Then in 1991, something magical happened. Some young pitchers showed up, named Smoltz, Glavine and (poison) Avery as well as some new leadership with a third baseman named Terry Pendleton. My family was in the middle of relocating from Charlotte to Atlanta that summer.  I specifically recall turning on a Braves game in Charlotte just to see what the Atlanta Losers were doing.  I was going to reconnect before moving and figured I better know how bad the Braves were... Holy SHIT! I was surprised, something was different. These guys were actually good.

On moving back to ATL, not only did I get into the Braves, but I also started collecting baseball cards. (much to my wife's disagreement.) Suddenly, the Braves were cool.  They were winners.  They had discovered the magical key to the chemistry of winning. The Bravos went on to the World Series that year only to lose to the Minnesota Twins in Game 7. What happened from there was 14 years of at least divisional championship as well as the 1995 World Series championship.  Throw in some gold gloves, and a few Cy Youngs when a fellow named Maddux joined the rotation.

Skip Caray and a broadcast team of Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton and Joe Simpson were the backbone of that decade and a half.  I love all those guys.  Corporate schmucks may rearrange the broadcast teams, but we fans know who the real voices of the Braves brand are.

Skip Caray died in his sleep and is survived by his wife Paula and his children, who continue the Caray baseball announcing tradition.  Skip will be missed by his family as well as his baseball team, fans and anybody who knows anything about baseball. 

I only have one thing to add on the life of Skip Caray.  Listen to THIS.   It still gives me a major adrenalin rush. I believe it is one of the greatest moments ever in MLB history.

Nuff said.

Eric

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Global Logistics: Global 4D Education

Today I want to share something amazing. The video below is about a new type of earth globe called Global4D.  It uses simple materials and very clever programming to show the planet Earth in three dimensions as well as an additional dimension...time.  Of the dimensions, time is critical. It allows both historical perspective and education. 

Want to see what the Earth looked like 2 million years ago?  How about 5 million years ago?    What if you want to look at weather or seismic events back in history?   Globe4D can do this.   

The software isn't restricted to Earth only.  You can check out other planets and the Sun as well.  In an era when many high school students can't find China on a map, this learning tool is amazing for education.

The developers used extremely simple hardware to make this work. Hopefully this will be picked up and professionally manufactured for schools and industry in the future.

I saw this and immediately wanted to look at a few things. Can technology development be shown through a time line that literally shows globalization and cultural shrinkage?   Also can real time streaming supply chain visibility be shown on this tool?   What if the Chief Supply Chain Officer of a major conglomerate could spin a globe and check his network in real time?  This isn't much different from  some of the cool add ons for Google Earth that have been developed.  What if it could be used to highlight strategic bottlenecks? Now overlay global sales on the map by market.  How do the supply chains and the markets align? 

My imagination lights up looking at this.

(Note: Some corporate proxy servers ban video from youtube.com. If you see white space below...you may be on such a network.  Please revisit from home or a connection that does not go through your company VPN.)

Eric

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Link Luv: Blogging Bro's and Sisters.

Blogging is a personal exercise.  It's an expression of those thoughts that you believe (and hope) are most relevant to the market you are addressing.  People tend to scribe what they care about.  Having said that, I my younger brother and sister both are active and extremely "relevant" bloggers.    Blogging is a voice.  It is a way to express your personal opinion in a way that many others can relate to.  I like to think It is an ultimate expression of democracy.   

Freightdawg.com is about supply chain and logistics related issues.  That's my thing.   My brother Harry is a highly successful executive recruiter in the e-commerce field.  His blog and web site is www.marketingheadhunter.com. My sister Susanna not only works with and supports Harry's efforts, but also runs her own blog called Barefoot Stamper.com.  All of us write about divergent subjects, but have links to each other as important sites worth visiting.

I'll be honest, the fact that we all have on-line voices creates some interesting dinner conversations.   Right now, there isn't much of an idea on how to monetize the Von Trapp family of bloggers, but I bet something is out there.  We'd appreciate all the feedback we we can get on this one.

Eric

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