World Trade - September 2008 - (Page 27) is I-35, which is the NAFTA corridor going down to Laredo. So it is ideally located for Mexican imports.” Bringing international containers to Dallas where they can transload into domestic containers will help balance the network while achieving better total landed costs, explains Liss. “You are closer to the eastern markets and you have carriers looking for backhauls, so the economics are there. You have to be loading in both directions, so you can create domestic capacity with import loads and then turn the boxes around with export cargo.” He notes that the cotton industry is one major segment looking for export boxes. Anticipating increased export volumes, Liss recently met with container leasing companies to negotiate a supply of guaranteed containers into Dallas. The railroads are investing in updated infrastructure to handle increasing volumes in their high-density lanes. “Railroads are improving their tracks to be servicecompetitive with trucks,” says Liss. “BNSF and UP are double-mainlining high-density intermodal corridors. This will increase their capacity and improve service.” He adds that Norfolk Southern is investing millions into the Meridian Speedway to connect into Dallas from Meridian, Mississippi and KCS has invested over a billion dollars in its rail lines in the U.S. and Mexico. Down the road part of the supply chain that works in both directions. With the falling dollar and the growth of exports requiring containerized boxes, there will have to be a bit of fine-tuning of the supply chain.” In conclusion, it is accurate to say that the global supply chain is flexing at the moment, although slowly. “The cost of fuel is definitely affecting the supply chain,” says AMR’s Aimi. “We now have to contend with higher fuel costs after the overzealous approach to moving to China. This is causing volatility in the network so we have to reassess our move to China.” Europeans have faced high fuel prices for years and have continually adapted their supply chain networks, inventory levels, and transportation functions to improve operating performance, reminds Sinisgalli at Manhattan Associates. “So there are parallels between what Europeans have already adopted and what the U.S. will likely evolve to. As the microeconomic landscape shifts rather radically, we will see companies that adapt to rising fuel prices with better-optimized supply networks achieve a competitive advantage.” WT April Terreri writes frequently for World Trade on transportation and logistics topics. An area to watch, notes Harrison, is the rise in U.S. exports. “We will begin to think about inland ports as For reprints of this article, please contact Cindy Williams at williamsc@bnpmedia.com or 610-436-4220 ext. 8516. WTM09084POH.indd 1 WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM 8/15/08 10:53:44 AM 27 http://www.portofhouston.com http://www.portofhouston.com http://WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.