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

C&W comments on Commercial Property Trends

Cushman & Wakefield are global commercial real estate brokers specializing in commercial real estate space.  Their interests in both commercial office space and warehouses are substantial.  As a result, C&W have produced an interesting white paper that documents trends in commercial warehouse space in both the Americas and globally.  

Interesting findings include:

• Global industrial rents declined by an average of 5.5% in 2009
• While the Asia Pacific region saw the largest decline in rents (-6.4%), it is also the first to show signs of stabilizing due to an up tick in exports and rise in production
• Ottawa now replaces San Francisco as the most expensive city for industrial space in the Americas
• In the US, an increase in consolidation has caused a trickle down effect including an increase in supply of space and a downward pressure on rental rates
• Upturn in domestic consumption and regional trade will be the determining factors in the strength of recovery in occupational demand

The global info in the C&W white paper didn't surprise me.  However, some of the trends in the Americas were of interest. In particular the expense of commercial property in Canada and Mexico.  Both are growing markets, but the cost of commercial buildings surprised me given the downturn in the global economy.

Download the white paper here.

Eric

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DUI Lawyers, Student Loans, SEO and Google

Freightdawg.com has been active for a little over a year. The content is deep and generally of high quality. There were nearly 300 articles published on unique topics here in the last year.

What's interesting is that the more I know about blogs, and especially how Google Adsense advertising works, the less I believe that "logistics" oriented blogs will ever directly pay for themselves as a web blog.

Thats ok. I don't do this to make money directly from blog advertising. This is a niche blog.  My reasons for producing Freightdawg.com are much more personal.  I simply believe there's a lot to say about an industry I have spent 25 years of my life in.  I also have directly gained from new and deeper industry contacts, industry association relationships and customer contacts. Those things alone made freightdawg.com highly valuable.

What I find hugely revealing however, is how much different advertisers pay for online advertisements. Check this site out.  Top Paying Adsense Keywords. This site lists the amounts paid by Google Adsense advertisers for click throughs by specific subject.   Logistics and supply chain aren't anywhere near the top of the list. Like I said, thats ok. What surprises me is what IS at the top of the list.

DUI lawyers and Student Loans. Check the link above.  "DUI Lawyer Long Beach" pays $87.88 per click through.  I guess that's because Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears hang out near there. To be honest, I thought mortgages would be at the top. They used to be.

There is a concept called long tail SEO (search engine optimization), that looks at what words generate the most searches at Google, then using that list to determine what you should to write about on your blog in order to maximize ad revenue.. Typically, those topics which generate the most demand also command the highest advertisement revenue.  Unfortunately, I find it only modestly useful if you have a niche market you want to serve (like freightdawg.com).

Guess what? This entire article is an SEO exercise just by the nature of how Google will deal with it. I mentioned top rated advertising topics, so thats likely to impact the banner ads on this site.  I also bolded topics that Google likes.  I also mentioned SEO (search engine optimization).

These days it's not only about the quality of the content, but what you write about.  Logistics and supply chain might not be the most popular blog topic, but it is strategic to real world economics.  Thats why I write about it.   

Meanwhile I'll chuckle a little about figuring out how to include Lindsay and Britney into a Freightdawg article. If you see banner ads with those topics on freightdawg soon, now you will know why and see the proof of what I'm talking about.  By all means, CLICK THOSE ADS!!!

Cha Ching!!!

Eric

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Delta launches Airline Blog

As I was flying this past week to South Florida, I reached into the back of the airline seat in front of me to see what the airline magazine contained.  Flying as often as I do, I look forward to the new airline mag issues each month.  Pathetic I know, but you can only read these things so many times before actually memorizing them.

(Perez Hilton mode ON) The Same Goes with Airline Movies If I see "Georgia's Rules" one more time on a Delta airplane, there might be a reason to ban me from the flight.  Forgetting the fact that it "stars" Lindsay Lohan AND Jane Fonda, I couldn't take watching it again. It's sort of like having to decide (again) whether to have the Biscoff cookies, Sun Chips, peanut butter crackers or whatever tasteless granola bar Delta has on board. These choices are simply so lousy, that frankly I'd rather pay money to get a REAL mini-meal. I had that experience on US Airways recently. (Perez Hilton mode turned OFF)

I was most interested however in the Delta SKY Magazine for October.  On page 8 was Delta's announcement of their new Blog, blog.delta.com.    This is good stuff.   Airline passengers suffer so often at the hands of a poor ATC system, overcrowding, increased fares, poor to non-existent meals, that an outlet that gives passengers a direct way to communicate with airline management about the whole cattle car experience, somehow seems to make the whole angst somehow more tolerable. 

Southwest Airlines and some others also have blogs. 

It is a great way to nip travel complaints in the bud as well as understand how difficulties influence travelers buying behavior.   Face it, folks like me who travel a lot are going to put their problems with the airlines ONLINE.  Just have a look around freightdawg.com and you'll see and read about my travel exploits.   

I welcome Delta's Blog.

I also plan to participate actively on it.   I fly Delta almost every week.  I see them at their best, and at their worst.  As a logistics professional, who also works for a cargo airline,  I know something about what makes things good or bad in reality.   I think Delta also needs to add a blog to deltacargo.com.   Delta hasn't been taken seriously by air freight forwarders in the last 3 or 4 years because of lousy service.   Now that Delta is reinvigorating itself and its cargo services as well, a blog for the cargo crowd would also be welcomed.

Delta will be in for some good feedback.  By "good" I mean positive and negative.   Both are valuable.  Much has to do with whether the airline will learn from its errors and correct issues where found.    The same goes for any business, especially those in the service business.

I will be adding blog.delta.com to the dawg blawg roll.  

One thing I did learn:  "blogosphere" in spanish is "blogosfera".   

Eric

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