Key Findings
Economic Volatility
From the Economic Volatility section, 2009 Third-Party Logistics Study:
“Unpredictable demand is the most difficult challenge to managing and operating a supply chain in an economic downturn, according to 71% of the survey respondents ( Figure 9 ). For example, many consumers turn to private label goods as their confidence wanes, but that trend typically reverses itself if analysts report good numbers, a difficult-to-predict event.”
and
“The right path is not always clear. One ASE participant’s company seeking to convert fixed costs to variable, for example, sold its ocean barge, instead chartering the vessel to get transport service. But the new owner ran into financial trouble, and there were so many liens on the barge, selling it to a viable operator became impossible. The shipper was forced to shift its supply chain to truck and rail.”
To more clearly understand the context in which these statements were made, take a look at the full report.
