Keep Training, Reduce Costs
Many company leaders mindful of the faltering economy are cutting back on employee training, despite a number of industries facing Baby Boomer, retirement-related worker shortages, IndustryWeek.com reports. According to experts, however, training does not have to stop simply because of budget cuts.

Business Industrial Network President Don Fitchett says some employers may be eligible for federal reimbursements under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 if they provide on-site, instructor-led training customized to employer equipment and needs. Additionally, Fitchett says employers can take advantage of train-the-trainer programs by sending two employees to seminars to learn the latest techniques. Then, those employees can train their colleagues.

Among employers looking to reduce training expenses, public seminars with up to 10 attendees can be a viable option, as can online training. Fitchett says simulation software is ideal for companies with training budgets less than $1,000 and quick learners on staff, as these programs promote self-learning through experimentation.

Play It Safe in 2009
Research firm Manufacturing Insights has released its top 10 predictions for the supply chain in 2009, many of them directly linked to the current global economic crisis.

According to a recent Logistics Management article, businesspeople will take advantage of well-performing tangible and intangible supply chain assets to ride out the economic crisis. Innovative supply chain leaders will focus more on cost-savings, and many will resize their supply chains for profitability.

“[This year] will be a return-on-investment year,” says Manufacturing Insights Supply Chain Practice Director Simon Ellis. “On the one hand, it’s more difficult to get capital. On the other hand, lack of consumer confidence is seeping in—even with companies that don’t deal directly with the consumer.”

Shipping’s Big Shift
The traditional harbor drayage truck is becoming a relic at American seaports, reports Traffic World. This particularly is the case in Southern California, where the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach eventually will replace 16,800 trucks with vehicle models from 2007 or later, which consume low-sulfur diesel or alternative fuel.

Los Angeles and Long Beach ports will spend around 2 billion U.S. dollars to help truckers purchase new low-emission vehicles. The Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions agreed in June to order 400 clean-diesel and 100 liquefied-natural-gas trucks. They will deal with six companies—including Freightliner, Volvo, and Inland Kenworth—to deliver the low-emission vehicles.

In addition, they will replace the estimated 2,100 trucks built in 1988 or earlier that were banned from the harbor last October. At a discount price, the diesel trucks each will cost around $93,000. Depending upon the purchased amount, natural-gas trucks will cost between $161,000 and $197,000. Because many harbor trucking companies and owner-operators cannot afford such expensive trucks, the ports will use state bond money and internally generated funds to subsidize up to 80 percent of the costs.

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