The Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of Accessorial Charges assessed by carriers increased by a modest .4% in November versus October. Since March of 2011 Base Rates have risen 4.3% in aggregate.

An increase in Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers is the primary reason why Total Costs are increasing a a faster rate than Base Rates.   In November the Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers equated to 20.86% of Base Rates, up from 18.79% in March.

“We are starting to see increases in some sectors that have been hit the hardest during the economic downturn” said Doug Payne, President & COO, Nulogx. “This may be a sign that we are seeing both an increase in demand as well as continued operational and pricing discipline from carriers” continued Payne.

The CGFI is sponsored by Nulogx, a leading Transportation Management Solutions provider, and is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements. It was developed with the assistance of Dr. Alan Saipe. For more information visit the CGFI website: www.cgfi.ca.

Click Here to see the public results.

The CGFI is sponsored by Nulogx, a leading Transportation Management Solutions provider, and is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements. It was developed with the assistance of Dr. Alan Saipe. For more information visit the CGFI website: www.cgfi.ca.

As a member of the CGFI community your company can take advantage of access to this database to benchmark your company’s performance against the market. Please contact us for more information on how to gain access to this valuable service.

Almost all transportation and supply chain professionals  will agree that a well executed Freight RFP is both time consuming and analytically challenging.  With everyone’s resources stretched to the max, freight tenders are often delayed, or not completed at all.  So when you bite the bullet and invest in an RFP project, it pays to make sure you are getting the best result possible.

Based on our experience conducting numerous carrier sourcing engagements, we have discovered some key tactics that will ensure your next Carrier RFP generates the best results possible. Please join us on Thursday January 19th, 2012 at 12 noon, when we will reveal value tips, strategies and practical lessons learned as a result of our experience in this area.

Our special guest for this webinar will be Aaron Lalvani who is a leading industry expert on Freight RFP’s. A member of the Nulogx organization, he has over 15 years of experience and brings a fresh insightful approach to freight cost management strategies.

Click Here to Register

However the Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of Accessorial Charges assessed by carriers decreased by .1% for the same period.  This was the first decrease in Base Rates since March 2011.

Offsetting the decrease in Base Rates were slight increases in both Average Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers and Other Accessorial Charges.  During this period the Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers equated to 20.16% of Base Rates, up from 20.1% in August.  The combined effect of lower Base Rates and higher Accessorial Charges resulted in no change in average transportation costs for Canadian shippers.

“The slight decrease in Base Rates was predominantly driven by reduced costs in the Transborder Truckload sector,” said Doug Payne, President  & COO, Nulogx. “Over the summer these movements were subject to significant cost increases and it is possible that these are easing somewhat” continued Payne.

The CGFI is sponsored by Nulogx, a leading Transportation Management Solutions provider, and is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements. It was developed with the assistance of Dr. Alan Saipe.  The most recent results are available (after registering) at the CGFI website: www.cgfi.ca.

The Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers, has increased for 6 consecutive months including a .6% increase in August. However, Base Rates remain 4.8% below the same period a year ago.

Average Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers increased from 19.0% of Base Rates in July to 20.1% in August.

“The trend toward marginal increases in Base Rates we observed last month has continued,” said Doug Payne, President  & COO, Nulogx. “although it is interesting to note that they are still significantly below prior year levels” continued Payne.

Nulogx’s President Doug Payne credits the ability of its service and technology solutions to improve transportation processes and reduce costs with the company’s substantial revenue growth.  Payne said, “The ability of our team members to understand client needs and rapidly deploy technology-enabled solutions has resulted in significant improvements in supply chain efficiency for our customers and growth opportunities for Nulogx.”

“Nulogx and all the Technology Fast 500™ winners in 2011 have shown a remarkable drive for creativity and innovation, and of course growth, particularly when you look at their accomplishments in the context of current economic challenges” said Richard Lee, National Leader, Technology Media & Telecommunications Industry Group, Deloitte Canada. “Deloitte congratulates Nulogx for this significant achievement.”

“We are pleased to honor Nulogx as one of the 2011 Technology Fast 500,” said Mark Jensen, managing partner, technology and venture capital services, Deloitte & Touche LLP. “As one of the fastest growing tech companies in North America, Nulogx has demonstrated technological innovation, entrepreneurship and rapid growth.”

For additional detail on the Technology Fast 500™ including selection and qualifying criteria, visit www.fast500.com

“Canadian technology companies have demonstrated some very impressive growth numbers over the past year, amid the challenges of an uncertain global economic recovery,” said Richard Lee, National Leader, Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Group, Deloitte. “Nulogx is an example of the determination, drive and skill that will serve to position them for further growth and success in the years to come.”

Nulogx’s President Doug Payne, credits the ability of its service and technology solutions to improve transportation processes and reduce costs with the company’s substantial revenue growth. Payne said, “Our ability to understand client needs and rapidly deploy technology-enabled solutions has resulted in significant improvements in supply chain efficiency for our customers and growth opportunities for Nulogx.”

To qualify for the Deloitte Technology Fast 50^TM ranking, companies must have been in business for at least five years, have revenues of at least $5 million, be headquartered in Canada, own proprietary technology, and conduct research and development activities in Canada. A panel of industry experts evaluate and judge companies based on four key criteria: competitive advantage; size, growth, and market attractiveness; management effectiveness and organization; and financial performance.

About the Deloitte Technology Fast 50^TM – The Deloitte Technology Fast 50^TM program is Canada’s pre-eminent technology awards program. Celebrating business growth, innovation and entrepreneurship, the program features four distinct categories including the Technology Fast 50^TM Ranking, Companies-to-Watch Awards (early-stage Canadian tech companies in business less than five years, with the potential to be a future Deloitte Technology Fast 50^TM candidate,) Leadership Awards (companies that demonstrate technological leadership in four industry subcategories: hardware/semiconductor, software, telecommunications and emerging technologies) and the Deloitte Technology Green 15^TM Awards (Canada’s leading GreenTech companies that promote a more efficient use and re-use of the earth’s resources in industrial production and consumption.) Program sponsors include Deloitte, Gowlings, Wellington Financial, TMX Group, HKMB Hub International, National Angel Capital Organization, CVCA, MaRS and IGLOO Software. For further information, visit www.fast50.ca

As the management consultant Peter Drucker once said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!”  This is definitely true for anyone involved in Transportation.  Large shippers will have a huge number of shipments, on a variety of carriers, going to thousands of places, creating a mind-boggling array of data points.

Even if we can get the data to measure this activity, we also need to summarize and organize it into insightful Transportation Management Reports that provide  “actionable information”.   Here are the 5 most important Transportation Management Reports we believe all shippers need.

1. On-Time Performance

A certainty in the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail industries is that the value of the product and the customer relationship you are managing far exceeds the cost of the freight to get it to them.   Unfortunately a lot of shippers are not aware they have a delivery problem until they hear about it from their Sales team – usually because the customers are complaining – loudly!

Ensuring that your product is delivered within the time-frames expected by your customer is the single most important measure of success for many shippers.  Leading shippers measure their performance proactively – breaking down results by mode, carrier, customer and region.  Worrisome trends can be identified and corrected before they translate into customer relationship issues.  And when it does become an issue, shippers have the data they need to isolate the root cause and ensure that the solutions have the desired impact.

Unfortunately a lot of shippers compile this information by aggregating (a fancy word for “cutting & pasting”) reports submitted by carriers.  This is tedious and time consuming for both carriers and shippers.   However this information can also be generated by collecting it electronically either via a TMS or Freight Audit solution.

2. Productivity

The objective of a company’s Transportation team is to safely ship the most amount of freight at the least amount of cost, while meeting delivery expectations, minimizing damage or defects – and still understanding and addressing associated supply chain impacts.  This is basically a fancy way of saying “you need to be as productive as possible”.

Measures of productivity are usually financial (i.e.  $/lb, $/Case, $/Load)  but can also be operational (i.e. Lbs/Load, Cases/Order).   These can be hard variables to benchmark, because so much can change from period to period.  Sales volumes change, order sizes change, and the mix of customers and locations change.  However over the long term, good transportation managers will show a consistent trend of improved performance because they are actively managing each factor that affects productivity.  This will include modal utilization, carrier rates, order sizes, consolidation strategies, and systems adoption.

The key to managing this is a daily/weekly/monthly report that shows current productivity and changes in the primary drivers that are impacting this.  Breaking this information down by customer, region, line of business and so on will allow trends and potential solutions to be more easily identified.

3. Product or Business Level Costing

The tight economy we have been experiencing for the last few years has resulted in sharpened focus on costs and profitability.   In the past it may have been possible to allocate transportation costs broadly across all product lines or locations.  However, with the need to understand and manage costs, these allocations are becoming much more specific.   Without this information, it is very possible that the actual or real cost of transportation makes some of your product lines or customers unattractive, or even unprofitable.

Also, with increasing fuel surcharges affecting everyone, knowing how these are impacting your COGs will be vital in establishing pricing strategies to pass these increases along to customers.

4. Customer Cost-To-Serve

Not all customers are created equal.  They order in different quantities, from different geographies and have different policies for receiving products that can result in fines, detention or claims.  All of these factors can roll up into a vast difference in Cost-To-Serve, which should be taken into account when managing customer relationships and pricing products.

Another reason why this report is so important is the growth in Customer Pick-Up (CPU) orders.  In this situation the receiver will often ask for a Freight Allowance (discount) to be applied to the cost of the product.  A solid Cost-To-Serve report will arm your company with the correct information to strike a beneficial agreement with your customer.

5. Accessorial Reports

While there are some accessorial charges that are just part of doing business, many of these are avoidable and result from volatility in a firm’s transportation process.

Unlike some cost-reduction opportunities that may take months to implement because they require contract re-negotiations or changes in shipping policies, eliminating certain accessorial charges can be done in a matter of days or weeks.

A good example is Detention, which could result from a number of service related factors caused by a shipper, carrier or even consignee. Getting a weekly and monthly report on all accessorial charges incurred is the first step in enabling a Transportation Manager to focus improvement efforts and reduce these costs.

How we can Help

Nulogx is a leader in enabling shippers to gain visibility into their transportation activities, which results in an improved ability to manage and improve operations.  If you would like to learn more about how we can assist your business, please contact us.

The Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers, has increased for 4 consecutive months including a 1.4% increase in July. However, Base Rates remain 3.6% below the same period in July 2010.

Average Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers declined from 19.3% of Base Rates in June to 19.0% in July.

“It appears there is a trend toward marginal increases in Base Rates,” said Doug Payne, President  & COO, Nulogx. “If carriers continue to manage their capacity and price rationally we may see this trend continue, however that could be offset if there is a slowing economy” continued Payne.

Nulogx Inc

The CGFI is published monthly and is used by shippers, carriers and other interested parties to benchmark costs, develop business plans and structure beneficial agreements.  These insights are developed using the data generated by its sponsor, Nulogx Inc, Canada’s largest processor of freight invoices.  As a Data Partner, Ryder will benefit from receiving the same highly detailed reports on freight cost behaviour currently provided to Nulogx customers.

“The CGFI represents the leading indicator of changes to freight costs for Canadian shippers” stated Doug Payne, President and COO of Nulogx. “We are very pleased that Ryder recognizes the value of this service and are partnering with us to grow its importance in the Canadian Transportation Industry” continued Payne.