07-08/2017 
It’s that time of the year again, with annual reports landing in our inboxes fast and heavy; the first ones for last year have already come in. Ports including Barcelona, Marseille (page 9), Haropa (page 10) and Gdansk (page 22) have started the show, with the... more
05-06/2017 Of guns, planes and oil
Exactly 3,391 handguns were discovered during routine security checks at US airports last year – the highest annual figure ever reported. That was 28% more than in 2015. The figure for 2016 thus came to more than nine guns a day, on average, including almost eight that were... more
01-04/2017 Success via a detour
There is no longer such a thing as the best solution in the logistics industry. Every business model in our market has to be partially re-invented in the light of the latest challenges. Naturally, there has always been an emphasis on companies only prospering through... more
49-52/2016 Centrifugal forces and absolute space
Physics never was one of my strengths. But I’m nevertheless tempted to compare our industry with the laws of nature – interactive physical bodies, the relation between inertia and mass, the laws of time and space, symmetry and asymmetry, overheating and cooling, they all make me... more
47-48/2016 Make logistics great again?
It’s striking how similar the underlying causes of two recent votes were – votes that met with great international resonance and came up with rather surprising results. Both the yes for the Brexit on 23 June as well as the election of the US president on 8 November... more
45-46/2016 Starting shot in Colorado
I was a little surprised, I have to admit, when I read the latest reports that Otto, a subsidiary of the transport services specialist Uber, said it had dispatched the first ever self-driving tractor and trailer on a commercial road trip in October (see page 21), covering... more
43-44/2016 Long-term developments
It’s not easy nowadays to take a far-sighted approach. But why is that the case? On the one hand, the future seems to change even faster under our gaze than we can even cast our look. On the other hand, the fast-paced world of business is responsible for allowing us merely to... more
41-42/2016 Annniversary after anniversary
Anniversaries aren’t half as innocent as they may seem. They harbour risks as well as opportunities. On the one hand they provide you with an opportunity to take centre stage as the hero, to welcome guests of honour, to break open the bubbly. They offer a moment to take your... more
39-40/2016 A star-studded drone
We have to admit one thing about the trucking industry – it’s innovative. For a long time it looked as if there was no alternative to the conventional diesel engine, but now a lot of money is being invested in research and entire delivery concepts are being redesigned.... more
37-38/2016 Shipping go?
There’s been no end to the bad economic news lately, also on account of firms worldwide releasing their half-yearly reports. The shipping industry was no exception (see ITJ 35-36 / 2016, page 10). A plethora of measures have been introduced in an attempt to counter the poor... more