Litco News
CHEP v. 9BLOC and the Case for Molded Presswood Pallets
Attempts by Wal-Mart, Costco, and other mass retailers to minimize product damage and create greater handling efficiencies have helped the block pallet supplant the stringer pallet in recent years. Initially, the big box block pallet preference prompted many manufacturers to consider solutions from CHEP, a global leader in the pallet rental market, servicing over 300,000 customers worldwide. Although CHEP offered a universally accepted big box pallet solution, the ubiquitous sea of blue came with a price. Some manufacturers disliked the notion of a forced partnership with a distant, corporate entity capable of exercising such control over the supply and demand of the pallet pool. With fewer suppliers contributing to the pool, manufacturers found themselves facing a pallet market fraught with uncertainty. Other manufacturers were reluctant to end longstanding relationships with local pallet suppliers. Despite these concerns, the tide had shifted, and at least in the mass retailer world, traditional stringers lost favor to newer, more expensive block pallets.Continue Reading…
Reduce Shipping Costs and Go Green with Custom Boxes and Litco Pallets
A recent online survey conducted by Peerless Research Group for Packsize International cites reduced shipping costs as the primary concern of logistics and materials handling professionals seeking to improve operational efficiencies. The study was based on findings from 521 logistics and materials handling managers responsible for the daily shipment of more than 2,000 packages from their respective facilities.
Although this survey is welcome news to executives at Packsize International, a company specializing in the manufacture of lean corrugated packaging systems used to create custom size boxes, this research also reinforces the message we share with our prospects and customers: lighter pallet solutions can substantially reduce shipping costs.Continue Reading…
Pharmaceutical, Food Companies Find Presswood Pallet Ideal For BP-Free Transit Packaging
The use of BP-free export pallets is particularly important to ensure product safety in the food, produce, and pharmaceutical industries.
Although banned in the U.S., many of the materials used by overseas pallet manufacturers to prevent mold, insect infestations, and fire hazards, including Brominated phenols (TBP), trichlorophenol (TCP) and methyl phenols (MP), can impart strong odors that result in product contamination. The toxicity of these materials poses significant public health and environmental safety concerns.
Leading pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott and Alcon Laboratories, are now partnering with Litco to meet their BP-free transit packaging pallet requirements. Litco’s solution, the Inca presswood pallet, is certified to be free of these harmful chemicals.Continue Reading…
Safer, Greener, Smarter Pallets: The Future is Now
Rick LeBlanc’s June article in Pallet Enterprise offers a thoughtful discussion of issues and trends facing logistics professionals and pallet manufacturers. From “smart pallets” to building a more sustainable supply chain, staying current with the latest trends in the logistics world has never been more important.Continue Reading…
Building the Case for a Greener Supply Chain
David Biederman’s recent story in Journal of Commerce suggests the growing environmental logistics movement is more than just a corporate nod to sustainability. Although sustainable logistics makes for good PR, companies such as Nike, Wal-Mart, Cisco Systems and Baxter International are also embracing a greener supply chain to improve bottom line.Continue Reading…
The Future of Pallets and The Unit Load
Rick LeBlanc’s latest article in Pallet Enterprise is a fascinating look at how one research scientist’s lessons learned from the Internet may help us improve logistics and rethink the concepts of palletization and the unit load.
Although many are quick to point to the successes of the modern logistics supply chain, research done by Dr. Benoit Montreuil of Laval University paints a far different picture. According to Montreuil, today’s logistics system is inefficient, unsustainable, and a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The system represents a 10-20% burden on GDP in most countries, with worldwide logistics costs growing faster than world trade.Continue Reading…
CHEP and Big Box Retailers Make Presswood Pallets a Cost Effective Alternative
Jeff McBee’s recent article appearing in Pallet Enterprise offers a fascinating look at the impact of CHEP and mass retailing on the pallet industry. U.S. pallet manufacturers and recyclers viewed CHEP’s initial foray into the domestic market with much trepidation. As an international provider of pallet and container pooling services for retail and industrial supply chains, CHEP stood well positioned to dramatically change the pallet industry in the early 90’s.
The mid 1990’s saw CHEP’s domestic pallet pool achieving critical mass and a decline in white wood (non-rental) pallet production. By the end of the decade, retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Costco had partnered with CHEP and abandoned their traditional reliance on white wood pallets. The decline in new white wood pallets flowing into the logistics supply chain led to a corresponding aging of the pallet pool and a subsequent drop in quality. Recyclers accustomed to hauling away used pallets at no cost began paying for their cores.Continue Reading…
Export Import Bank Reauthorization To Boost U.S. Exports
After the most contentious debate in years, legislation reauthorizing the Export Import Bank was officially signed into law during a recent White House Ceremony. The reauthorization measure raises the EX-IM Bank’s lending limit from $100 to $140 million over the next three years and includes new auditing requirements to ensure EX-IM resources are used in a prudent manner. This year’s reauthorization required some unusual election year bipartisanship on the Hill, coupled with lobbying efforts by groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. According to an official statement issued by NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, the EX-IM Bank directly supports over 290,000 U.S. jobs that are tied to the export sector.Continue Reading…
Reshoring Trend is Good News For American Manufacturing
A recent article by Patrick Burnson appearing in Logistics Management suggests major manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Ford, Boeing, and GE plan to relocate current offshore manufacturing operations in the U.S. over the next 2-3 years. The current trend toward reshoring is a function of rising wage inflation in countries such as China combined with gains in U.S. productivity, a shrinking landed cost gap (the cost of shipping goods from origin to their final destination), and higher shipping costs associated with increasing fuel prices.Continue Reading…
Lean and Green Export Ready Pallets Are Perfect Fit For Lincoln Electric
By partnering with Litco International, Lincoln Electric is meeting European export requirements, streamlining its pallet inventory, and receiving an added sustainability benefit too. “In the past, our shipments to Europe were sometimes held up for inspection,” says Tom Soster, manufacturing engineering manager for Cleveland-based manufacturer of arc welding machines and consummables. “Now, the presswood pallets flow right through.”
Lincoln began investigating presswood export pallets several years ago as part of a cost reduction program. At the time, the manufacturer was purchasing construction-grade pine and fabricating export pallets in-house. In addition to maintaining an inventory of nine different sizes that took up valuable dock space, the pallets had to be bark free and manufactured from heat-treated lumber to meet European regulations for export pallets.Continue Reading…