Hello from Decatur, Alabama!
I decided to come visit
for a few days particularly when I found out that Chris had adopted two
cats. Sadly, over the Christmas holiday, we had to put our beloved
Clara to sleep. She was suffering from renal failure and took a turn for
the worse during the holiday. So, Chris visited the animal rescue
center and ended up with Allie and Liberty. I've discovered I have to watch my coffee cup - Liberty likes coffee! Meanwhile, Major Tom
continues to rule the house back in Georgia and has trained me into
making sure he has all the necessities in life - food, bed, a clean
litter box, little red light to chase and more food.
Now on to work...
The
UK team is at work on our next report - Middle East and Africa
Logistics report. I got a chance to look at the outline and it looks to
be another good report. It will be published within the next couple of
months and then later in the Spring, Ti will host a conference in Dubai
to discuss in more detail the findings from the report, the Agility
Emerging Markets paper and more. The program is still being worked out
and as soon as it is finalized I will share details of that and how to
register for the conference. In the meantime, if you have any questions
and/or thoughts concerning the conference, let me know and I'll be sure
to pass them on to our Head of Marketing and Events.
Briefs.
Yes, I've been working on those for the newsletters. This week I wrote
on YRC's union employees rejecting an extension of their contract. The
bankruptcy bells are going off once again but after all of these years
of hanging on and talking to folks in the trucking industry, I think
they'll hold bankruptcy off yet again.
I also wrote on
the growing calls for updating government regulations for railroads
transporting oil/petroleum. Too many accidents are occurring and
regulations appear to be outdated particularly as many of them do not
pertain to fracking methods.
We have an intern helping
us out and she wrote on NAFTA turning 20 years old this year. NAFTA has
always been a controversial trade act but I think alot of good has come
of it and will continue to do so.
Lastly, for the APAC
newsletter I wrote on Tencent acquiring a share in China Secret City.
China Secret City is an interesting company, it provides logistics
services, is working towards building seven e-commerce business parks
and more. I've posted this brief on the blog.
To read the other briefs and more, be sure to sign up for our newsletters. They're free and have lots of good info.
In other news, I'm working with AT Kearney to do another podcast sometime this year. Details and topic to follow.
The Georgia Logistics Summit is coming up in March and registration is now open. Ti is a media partner. If you plan to go, let me know, I'll be there.
Next
week is the annual World Economic Forum meeting. Our CEO will be attending. In fact,
John chairs the Global Agenda Council on Logistics and Supply Chain for
WEF.
I'm not 100% sure what I'll be up to next week - likely working on a report, writing briefs and trying to behave!
And with that, have a great weekend! I'm heading back to Georgia on Saturday. I''m helping out at the Aquarium on Sunday.
Thanks for taking the time to read the blog.
Take care,
Cathy
