Economic Blast
The Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. declined 0.2 percent in July to 123.3 (2010 = 100), following a 0.6 percent increase in June, and a 0.6 percent increase in May. Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in July, rebounded in August. The Index now stands at 101.5 (1985=100), up from 91.0 in July.
Quotable
"Be careful who you call your friends. I'd rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies""- Al Capone
Ramp/Dock Report: September 2015
August 8, 2015 Mark A. Yeager resigned his position as President and Chief Operating Officer of Hub Group. Mark will remain a member of Hub's Board of Directors. Though no reason for Mark's decision was given, it is rumored that he, having recently turned 50, is looking into joining the PGA's Champions Tour (LOL)!!! We wish Mark and his family all the best for whatever the future holds!
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are working on plans to increase the number of terminals requiring truck drivers to make appointments to pick up shipping containers. The nonprofit company, PierPass Inc., is in charge of the program. Its president, John Cushing, said Friday the objective is to smooth truck traffic patterns around Long Beach and San Pedro shipping terminals. If truck drivers have an appointment set to pick up a container, they may be able to make their run before long lines form outside terminal gates.
The terminals that already employ appointment systems are APM Terminals, Eagle Marine Services, West Basin Container Terminal, Seaside Transportation Services and Total Terminals International. The five terminals where PierPass plans to expand the appointment system in 2016 are Trapac, Long Beach Container Terminal, SSA Terminals (Long Beach), International Transportation Services and Pacific Maritime Services.
Lessons from the Past
Chicago, a city I love, and the home of many of our great
logistics firms and readers of this newsletter! Many of our current customers are headquartered or have significant operations there. The tale on one infamous importer based in Chicagoland is a name most know of, Alfonse (Al) Gabriel Capone!
Capone moved to Chicago from Brooklyn, NY in 1919 and became associated with Johnny Torrio who headed an essentially Italian organized crime group the "Chicago Outfit". The gang was responsible for the importation of liquor from Canada during the Prohibition era from 1920-1933. In 1925 Capone took over the gang from Torrio at the age of 26. He grew the business side of this syndicate and became a 'Robin Hood' figure to many Chicagoans!
Capone was widely assumed to have been responsible for ordering the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in an attempt to kill Bugs Moran, the head of the North Side Gang. Moran was the last survivor of the main North Side gunmen an Irish gang competing with Capone; his succession had come about because of violence that followed the murder of original leader Dean O'Banion. To monitor their targets' habits and movements, Capone's men rented an apartment across from the trucking warehouse and garage at 2122 North Clark Street that served as Moran's headquarters. On the morning of Thursday, February 14, 1929, Capone's lookouts signaled gunmen disguised as police to start a "raid." The faux police lined the seven victims along a wall without a struggle, and then signaled for accomplices with machine guns. The seven victims were machine-gunned and shot-gunned to death. Photos of the victims shocked the public and damaged Capone's reputation.
Ultimately, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta and Alcatraz Island for tax evasion. He died January 25, 1947 at his home in Palm Island, Florida.