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Cornerstone Systems
Rock Solid
Intermodal
Truck
Railcar/Consolidation
Warehousing
Transloading
Port Drayage
On-Site Logistics
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Water Cooler Trivia
Completely useless but fun...
Did you know...? Based on National Climatic Data Center records, New York state is home to the snowiest cities in the United States... More Snow Trivia Share your useless trivia |
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Happy New Year From Cornerstone Systems
All of us here at Cornerstone find ourselves reflecting on the past year and on those who have helped to shape our business in a most significant way. We value our relationship with you and look forward to working with you in the year to come. We wish you a very happy New Year filled with peace and prosperity.
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Greetings!
Industry updates are important to all of us. If you would like to receive an update on a topic not listed in this issue or receive more information on Cornerstone Systems, please contact us at 800-278-7677 or visit our website at www.cornerstone-systems.com.
We are here to help.
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What's On My Mind
Happy New Year From Cornerstone CEO / Chairman Rick Rodell
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Rick Rodell |
Happy New Year,
The old give way to the young. New thoughts sprout from fertile ground. While the New Year beckons us with many promises, don't forget to give the old year its due. Learn from past mistakes and carry the lessons of time with you. It would be foolish to waste all of our experiences over the last year, whether good or bad. Forget New Year's resolutions, they never last more than a couple of weeks anyway. Instead, be the best you can, do the best you can, and let's all never be guilty of being unkind or saying something unkind about someone else.
Rick Rodell
CEO / Chairman
Cornerstone Systems
  
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Jim Wadlington Joins CS As Corporate Sales
Concentrating on New Sales Force of College Graduates
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Jim Wadlington |
Cornerstone is pleased to announce the hiring of Jim Wadlington in a new Corporate Sales position in Memphis, Tennessee. Jim has an extensive sales and marketing background with proven results over a 25-year period.
Jim's focus in Corporate Sales will be to interview and hire college graduates that represent Cornerstone Systems in the best possible manner. He will then oversee their training and travel/mentor as required.
Jim Wadlington
Corporate Sales
Email jwadlington@cornerstone-systems.com
Phone: 800-278-7677 / 901-842-1029
Fax: 901-842-0672
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Shanghai Now Worlds Largest Container Port
Overtakes Singapore Due to Trade Growth and Boost From World Expo
 Shanghai overtook Singapore as the world's busiest container port in 2010, helped by continuing growth in Chinese trade and the business generated by the World Expo it hosted last year, the city government said Monday.
Shanghai's port handled 29.05 million 20-foot equivalent units of containers in 2010, an increase of 16.2 percent over the volume of 25 million TEUs it handled in 2009.
Shanghai's 2010 container throughput was about 650,000 TEUs greater than the 28.4 million TEUs handled by the Port of Singapore in 2010, which was up 9.9 percent from 2009, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. Shanghai's cargo throughput rose to around 650 million metric tons in 2010, maintaining its top global spot, according to the statement.
Singapore became the world's busiest container port in 2005 after predecessor Hong Kong lost out to cheaper harbors in southern China. As recently as 2001, Shanghai had moved fewer than half the containers handled by Singapore. China's State Council, or cabinet, has set an aim of making Shanghai a leading shipping center by 2020 -- the same year by which the government hopes the city will become a global financial center.
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Transportation Industry News
Cargo Theft Record High in 2010, Retail Sales Surge, US Rail Traffic 2010, ILA Retains Chassis Maintenance & Repair, Garmin Unveils New Trucker GPS Unit
 The theft of cargo while in transit rose by 4.1 percent to record levels in 2010, according to the 2010 Annual Cargo Theft report released Tuesday by logistics security firm FreightWatch International. According to the report, an average of 75 cargo theft incidents were reported per month across the transport industry, the most ever recorded. The food and beverage industry was the most heavily hit by cargo theft, accounting for 21 percent of total theft activity, with an average loss value of $125,000 per incident, closely followed by the electronics sector, accounting for 19 percent of all cargo theft and an average loss per incident of $512,000. U.S. retail sales rose for the sixth consecutive month in December, capping a year in which sales grew at the fastest rate since 1999, the Commerce Department said. The robust sales figures are a sign the economic recovery is in full swing. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity and is a main driver of freight volume. Retail sales rose 0.6 percent last month to $381 billion, a level 13.5 percent above the recession low hit in December 2008, the Commerce Department said. For the full year, retail sales increased 6.7 percent from the recession levels of 2009. It was the largest annual increase since 8.2 percent in 1999. The good news: U.S. railroads in 2010 increased carloads 7.3 percent to 14.8 million units and boosted intermodal volume 14.2 percent to 11.3 million units compared with 2009 figures - the largest year-over-year gains since the Association of American Railroads (AAR) launched a traffic data series in 1988, according to the AAR's latest "Rail Time Indicators" report. The bad news: the annual carload total was the second-lowest on record, trailing only recession-plagued 2009. The International Longshoremen's Association won assurances its members will still maintain and repair chassis previously provided by ocean carriers but now rented to truckers by leasing companies. "It's a big victory for us. We'd been pushing hard for this," said Harold Daggett, ILA executive vice president and head of the union's 1,500-member M&R local in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Daggett threatened last fall to declare "war" on any carriers that tried to circumvent union jurisdiction over chassis maintenance and repair by farming out the work to non-ILA contractors. He said Monday he was satisfied with assurances the union had received from leasing companies that have been taking carriers' place as chassis providers.
Satellite navigation provider Garmin Inc., Olathe, Kan., on Jan. 9 unveiled its latest navigation handheld device for truck drivers. The new unit is called "dezl" - pronounced "diesel" - and will be available for sale later this quarter, Garmin said in a statement. In a first for Garmin's trucker handhelds, the dezl series can incorporate historical traffic data into its routing software. That functionality allows the device to "learn" traffic conditions along different routes, which should yield more accurate estimates of travel time for truck drivers, Garmin said. The devices also include a list of "points of interest" specifically selected for truckers, such as interstate rest stops and truck maintenance facilities. |
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Current Fuel Facts
The Energy Information Administration reports U.S. On-Highway Diesel Fuel Prices (dollars per gallon) as follows:
The prices for this weeks average was not posted at the time we published this newsletter, due to the holiday yesterday. They should be posting it shortly. There is also a 24-hour hotline you can call to keep up with the latest prices. 24-hour hotline: 202-586-6966
(Last weeks numbers)
1/10/11 Date Released
3.333 Average Retail Price
0.002 (Up) Change From Week Ago
0.454 (Up) Change From Year Ago
The increase last week was the sixth time in as many weeks that diesel hit its highest level since October 2008 when it was coming down from record highs over $4 that summer. 
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