National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council
NASSTRAC, otherwise known as the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council, is an industry association that has been providing education, advocacy, and provider relations to transportation and supply chain professionals since 1952. Its members are executives with manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors in North America.
Companies involved are primarily mid- to large-sized companies with significant volumes of finished goods or materials moving through their supply chains, resulting in sizeable freight budgets. Member companies include manufactures such as Alcon Labs, Ashland, BASF Corp., Baxter Healthcare, Cambro Manufacturing, Colomer, Dell, Dixon Ticonderoga, Energizer, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, L’Oreal, Leviton Manufacturing, MEDA Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Pilot Pen, Revlon, SPX, and Taminco. Retail and distributor members include such companies as Advance Auto Stores, Best Buy, Christopher & Banks, CVS/Caremark, Famous Footwear, Floor & Décor, HD Supply, LifeWay Christian Resources, Lowes, SteinMart, Target, UniPro Foodservice, and United Stationers Supply Co.
“Whether you manage freight moving via truckload, LTL, rail, ocean or air, you'll find value in belonging to NASSTRAC,” said Brian Everett, NASSTRAC’s Executive Director. “There are significant challenges facing professionals responsible for managing the freight transportation of their company’s products and materials, and when approached strategically, these individuals can have a major impact on the customer service levels, expenses of the organization, and the bottom line.”
In addition, NASSTRAC’s Regular members include major third-party logistics companies that control significant volumes of freight, such as C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Hub Group, Landstar Transportation, Pacer, and LeSaint Logistics. Associate members involve carriers of all modes, including ABF Freight, Averitt Express, Canadian National, Dayton Freight, Estes Express, Express-1, FedEx, Greatwide Truckload, Old Dominion, Panther Expedited, Pitt Ohio, Saia, UPS, U.S. Xpress, and Werner Enterprises.
Transportation. It's What We're All About.
Shippers are always looking for transportation solutions, best practices, information, and ways to expand their industry connections. Members find value in three primary areas:
Education.Through NASSTRAC’s annual conference, regional meetings, and online events throughout the year, members remain productive, improve their skills, and increase their knowledge of transportation trends and challenges. The association’s primary event brings together more than 500 transportation and supply chain executives at its Shippers Conference & Transportation Expo, which takes place every spring. For details on this major event and NASSTRAC various regional meetings throughout the year, visit www.NASSTRAC.org.
Advocacy.NASSTRAC is a leader in opposing unwise or excessively burdensome regulation that will negatively impact your transportation or supply chain operations. Through NASSTRAC, members NASSTRAC collectively communicate shipper concerns to members of Congress and governmental agencies with greater impact and at a lower cost than if each shipper member acted alone. NASSTRAC coordinates fly-in initiatives, involving bringing transportation executives to Washington to meet with Senators and members of Congress on key issues such as hours of service, CSA, and the importance of infrastructure investments. For full details on NASSTRAC’s shipper advocacy initiatives, visit www.FreightAdvocacy.org.
Provider Relations.In a marketplace tight on capacity, NASSTRAC’s members build effective and long-term business relationships with carriers of all modes (truckload, LTL, rail, ocean or air).
Freight Transportation 2013: State of the Industry Report
Today, the freight transportation world is moving faster than ever before. Professionals charged with transportation and logistics for their companies are finding it more and more difficult to keep up with new developments and obstacles in the industry. Rising transportation costs, changing regulations such as the new Hours of Service rules and CSA requirements, the driver shortage ... these are just a few of the challenges shippers are facing.
NASSTRAC conducted a comprehensive online survey of its members in November 2012 to obtain perspectives on key transportation issues and trends. A total of 130 online surveys were completed. This report focuses on responses from manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors and 3PLs/freight forwarders. A few primary findings:
· There is significant collaboration occurring in the supply chain, particularly among shippers. Many transportation executives with larger companies define their shipper collaboration as working with other divisions or subsidiaries shipping freight within their larger parent company. According to the survey, 32.4% of shipper respondents collaborate with their providers and an additional 54.9% said they collaborate with other shippers as well as providers.
· When asked to name their top three criteria for selecting carriers, shippers responded resoundingly with rates (50.9%) and reliability of on-time delivery (47.4%) as top on their lists. There was less widespread agreement on the third-ranking criteria, however. For manufacturers, it was “financial stability,” retailers selected “knowledge of shippers’ needs,” and for wholesalers/distributors, “total time in transit (speed)” took top billing.
Shippers are clearly exploring their mode alternatives – driven predominantly by price and efficiencies. In the past year, a majority of shippers have shifted freight to different modes (66.2%). Manufacturers made the greatest shift with 78.6% shifting to a different mode, compared to 53.8% of retailers and 43.8% of wholesalers/distributors.