CSCMP State of Logistics Report to be released next week

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) is set to unveil the "27th Annual State of Logistics Report" sponsored by Penske Logistics at a press conference on June 21, 2016, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

This year for the first time the report will be written by the global consulting company A.T. Kearney. A.T. Kearney assembled a team of supply chain experts to produce the report, which will provide a strategic and global look at the state of the industry. In addition to calculating total U.S. logistics costs for 2015, the report will feature a narrative detailing the economic environment impacting logistics and an in-depth study of trends and expected changes in 2016. It will also include interviews with industry leaders, such as shippers, carriers, and regulators.

Sean Monahan, partner at A.T. Kearney and the lead author of the report, will present the results next Tuesday. Monahan has more than 25 years of industry and management consulting experience specializing in operations strategy and execution for consumer products and retail clients.

After his presentation, Monahan will be joined by a panel of experts, moderated by Kevin Smith, State of Logistics chair, to discuss industry highlights and trends. The panel will include Marc Althen, president of Penske Logistics; Rick Camacho, vice president of global supply chain operations for The Hershey Co.; Rick Gabrielson, vice president of transportation for Lowe's; and Brian Hancock, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Kansas City Southern.

The "State of Logistics Report" was started by the late logistics consultant Robert V. Delaney in 1988 as a way to measure logistics efficiency following the deregulation of transportation in the United States. For many years, the report was researched and written by transportation consultant Rosalyn Wilson, who assisted Delaney and took over authorship after his death in 2004.

Last year's report said that 2014 was the best year for U.S. logistics since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. The report said the cost of operating the U.S. business logistics system calculated as being slightly less than $1.45 trillion, equal to about 8.3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

The "State of Logistics Report" is free for CSCMP members. Nonmembers must pay $295 for the full report.