ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN 2006-2007

3rd Party Mgmt/Logistics

Thoroughness Will Help Ensure Success of Third Party Logistics Management - Jim Tompkins outlines key strategies for selecting the right third party logistics partner. (3/1/2007)

3PL Industry to Continue Double-Digit Growth - Study predicts 3PL growth as outsourcing and international shipping increases. (5/1/2007)

Alternative Materials (Plastic, Corrugated, etc.)

Plastic Pallet Makers Respond, Adapt to Market Opportunities:ISPM-15 Spurs Interest; Manufacturers Launch Edge-Rackable Versions - Plastic Pallets: Manufacturers of plastic pallets and containers have made a number of improvements and changes to their products in recent years as they adapt to new market conditions. (11/1/2006)

Alternative Pallet Materials 101 - Alternative Materials 101: A guide to the wide variety of pallets available today that are made of alternative materials. Covers things to consider when looking for a new supplier. (11/1/2006)

Asset Management

Determining If Reusable Packaging Makes Cents - Covers the dollars and cents behind evaluating the viability of reusable packaging. Identifies factors that (10/26/2006)

Past Provides Valuable Pallet Management Tips - Grocery pallet guru, Rick Leblanc, explores best practices for pallet management and why so many companies make big mistakes. (3/1/2007)

Wood Pallet Pool Provides Quality, Cost Control for Dutch Brewery Industry - Dutch pool blends some aspects of a cooperative pool and a third party commercial approach. Could this novel module be a good fit for the U.S. market? (5/1/2007)

White Wood Pallet Rental Gives the Grocery Market Options - Some innovative white wood recyclers are offering pallet management and rental services similar to what the two big leasing companies provide. (6/1/2007)

Case Studies

CHEP Talks Up Green Benefits - Pallet pooler releases report indicating sustainability benefits of its system. (10/1/2007)

Environmental Issues

Quantifying a Sustainable Future: Pallet Researcher Answers Tough Questions On Sustainability - Pallets & the Environment: Interest in monitoring environmental impacts of packaging is here to stay, says Dr. Mark White, a leading pallet industry researcher; Wal-Mart puts focus on sustainability. (11/1/2007)

Plastics Companies Launch First Bio-Composite Pallet - New composite technology promises to lower costs for plastic pallets and offer environmental benefits. (12/1/2007)

Equipment,Products & Services

Orbis Buys LINPAC's North American Division - Orbis acquires the North American materials handling business of LINPAC Group Ltd. (1/1/2007)

Insights from Promat 2007 - Review of latest pallet news from Promat 2007. (1/22/2007)

Global Shipping

Highway & Rail Traffic Leads Container Shipments - Recent government report shows interesting transportation trends for U.S. logistics and port traffic. (6/1/2007)

Government

Customs Issues Fine Guidelines for Non-Compliant Wood Packaging Material - U.S. Customs issued new guidelines in March for fines associated with non-compliant wood packaging material. Explore the guidelines and what you can do to avoid any problems at the border. (4/2/2007)

California Plans New Emission Standards for Diesel Lift Trucks - Proposed standards would impact materials handling industry. (6/1/2007)

Industry-Automotive

AIAG Plans to Issue RFID Guidelines - AIAG plans to announce RFID guidlines for automative containers in early 2007. (11/28/2006)

Industry-Retail Grocery

Wal-Mart Goes Green with New Packaging and Scorecard Strategies - Wal-Mart goes green with a new initiative to reduce packaging waste and improve environmental performance of logistics-related functions. (1/21/2007)

Grocery User Rumble: Online Discussion Explores the Grocery Industry and Its Pallet Usage - A question posed on the PalletBoard leads to a lengthy debate about the GMA pallet and its future. This discussion explores many aspects of the GMA debate. (4/1/2007)

International Standards

Australia Stiffens Plywood/Veneer Shipment Reporting Requirements - New rules impact plywood and veneer packaging headed for Australia. (1/1/2007)

EAB Treatment Update - ISPM-15 OK for Pallets - Review of latest requirement for solid wood packaging due to the Emerald Ash Borer outbreak in the upper Midwest. (1/1/2007)

Seaports - First Line of Defense for Phytosanitary Risk - Covers the processes used at seaports to stop the spread of pests through solid wood packaging material. (4/2/2007)

Optimizing Pallet Sizes within the Global Supply Chain - Insights from a recent study that examined the costs of using different pallet sizes in the supply chain between North East Asia and North America. (9/1/2007)

Management

Executive Muscle Adds to P&G and Quaker Oats Pallet and Container Programs - Success story detailing how senior level involvement made the difference at P&G and Quaker Oats. (10/26/2006)

Tips for Starting a New Transport Packaging Program - Strategic ideas and steps to consider when starting a new transport packaging program. (10/26/2006)

Selling Packaging to Your CEO - Strategies for getting your CEO to understand the importance that packaging plays on the company''s bottom line (10/26/2006)

New Product Reviews

Litco Offers Half-Size Pallet - Litco offers a 24 x 40 pallet for smaller loads. The design adds efficiency and reduce costs according to Litco International Inc., North America's major supplier of Inca presswood pallets. (12/1/2006)

Diamondback offers rare lightweight and rackable pallet option - PrimePal's Diamondback® plastic pallet is a light-weight, rackable plastic designed and manufactured for durability. A nine block style design, the pallet gets its strength from a structural grid that is inserted into the impact-resistant top panel. (12/21/2006)

PDQ Offers Export Grade Plastic Pallets - PDQ Plastics offers three export grade pallets have a 40x48 footprint. Is is a lightweight nestable, nine-block design. The company offers two other types of export grade pallets, including a model with three snap-on runners to facilitate double-stacking. (12/21/2006)

Rehrig Pacific Offers Plastic Export Pallet - Rehrig Pacific Co.’s new RPX 4840 plastic export pallet is designed for low-cost, one-way shipping and to speed products safely through customs. (12/21/2006)

Jeco Develops New Pallet for Printers - Innovative pallet design holds sheets of paper that are fed directly into large printing presses. (12/12/2007)

Purchasing

Effect of Stringer Repair Methods and Repair Frequency on GMA Performance - Research indicates that stringer repair can make damaged pallets usable in many applications. (10/1/2007)

Reverse Logistics

Realm of Reverse Logistics Services Ripe for New Business Opportunities - Reverse Logistics: Pallet companies that effectively coordinate trucking, have warehouse space and a well-managed workforce are poised to steer into reverse logistics services. (7/1/2007)

Third Party Management/Rental

Former CHEP CEO Discusses the Future Of Pallet Rental - iGPS: Former CHEP CEO talks about his years at Big Blue and his plans for launching a 100% plastic pallet pool to compete against his former company. (7/1/2006)

Tracking (RFID, bar codes, etc.)

Logistics Evolve at the Speed of War: New Technologies Improve Troop Support - Military uses RFID to improve supply line and reduce out of stock issues. Covers developments in RFID from a transport packaging perspective. (2/1/2007)

E-Seals Improve Cargo Security Options - Savi Technology launches new e-seal technology for safeguarding and tracking global shipments. (6/1/2007)

Future of Plastic Pallets Linked Closely to Tracking Technology: Targeting Supply Chain Efficiency - Plastic Pallets, Tracking: Results are still quite mixed as to whether radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking is helping spur plastic pallet sales, but RFID clearly is impacting the pallet industry. (11/1/2007)

RPCC Conducts RFID Field Trial - Reusable packaging organization conducts largest field test ever for RFID tracking of reusable containers used in the produce industry (12/1/2007)

Transportation

Transportation Rate to Continue Upswing - Cargo rates may go up as much as 30% over the next year. (7/1/2007)

Dispatching & Logistics Nightmares - Consider turning to local pallet suppliers to help fix trucking and reverse logistics problems. (9/1/2007)

Unit Load

Virginia Tech Series: The Next Big Idea -- A Case for Systematic vs. Component Unit Load Design - Systematic unit load design is a concept conceived by the Virginia Tech Center for Unit Load Design. Using this idea, Virginia Tech is planning on pioneering a revolution in how people look at transport packaging. (5/1/2006)

Unit Load Design

Unit Load Design — A Look Into Our Future Potential as a Materials Handling Professional - Designing Unit Loads: The Virginia Tech short course in unit load design will help pallet suppliers get started with taking a systems approach to determining pallet and unit load configurations for their customers. (6/1/2006)