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Since logistics employee substance abuse can have a significant negative effect on logistics efficiency and effectiveness, logistics managers should develop policies and procedures effectively to control logistics employee substance abuse. This article provides a benchmark for managers who seek to develop such policies by reporting the results of a survey of current US corporate logistics substance abuse policies and practices. Forty per cent of the respondents reported not having a written substance abuse policy. The most widely used detection methods were management observation followed by drug testing. Only 50 per cent of the firms employed pre‐employment screening and less than 40 per cent screened current logistics employees. Of those who did drug test, more than two‐thirds tested for cause only, in all logistics occupations except truck driver, airline pilot and vehicle mechanic. Logistics management should aggressively pursue substance abuse policy development, pre‐employment screening, detection methods for all job classifications and employee assistance programmes.

This paper aims to empirically identify crucial international logistics policy enablers and to examine their impacts on logistics performance using survey data collected from 169 responding firms in Taiwan and 109 responding firms in the UK including logistics companies, freight forwarders, shipping companies, agencies and airline companies.

A multiple regression analysis is used as a method to empirically validate the research model.

Results indicate the five most important logistics policy enablers according to Taiwanese logistics firms are information technology system, inland transport linkage, simplifying the customs clearance procedures, ports and maritime transport and having a policy to ensure efficient service operation and multiplicity of services. In contrast, for the UK logistics firms, the five most important logistics policy enablers are telecommunications, information technology system, avoidance of unnecessary regulation, inland transport linkage and ports and maritime transport. Results also indicate that logistics policy dimensions in terms of regulation, integration, infrastructure and logistics education have a positive influence on firms’ logistics service quality and efficiency.

Theoretical and policy implications from the research findings on logistics policy between these two countries are discussed in this paper.

Logistics sector is recognized as one of the core enablers of the economic development of a nation. However, inefficiency in logistics operations impedes the achievement of intended targets by increasing the cost of doing business. Also, it is difficult to improve the efficiency of a country’s logistics operations without a metric for evaluating and understanding logistics capabilities and efficiency. Therefore, the present study has developed In-country Logistics Performance Index (ILP Index) to propose a benchmarking tool to measure the in-country logistics competitiveness, particularly in the setting of emerging economies, i.e. India.

This study has developed a unified index using principal component analysis and quintile approach. In addition, the proposed index relies on several dimensions that are developed and illustrated using quantitative secondary panel data.

The findings of this study reveal that the quality of infrastructure, economy, and telecommunications are the three most important dimensions that may significantly support the growth of the transportation and logistics sector. The results reveal that Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra are the top performers whereas, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir scores the least due to the insufficient logistics infrastructure as compared to other Indian states.

Given the extensive focus on international-level logistics index (like World Bank’s LPI) in the existing literature, this study intends to develop in-country logistics index to evaluate the logistics capabilities at the regional and state level. In addition, unlike prior studies, this study utilizes quantitative secondary data to eliminate cognitive and opinion bias. Moreover, this benchmarking tool would assist decision-makers in idealizing standard practices toward sustainable logistics operations. Additionally, the ILP index could serve the international investors in crucial decision-making, as it provides valuable insights into a country’s logistics readiness, influencing their investment choices and trade preferences. Finally, the proposed approach is adaptable to measuring the overall performance of any other industry/economy.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the economic impact of reducing logistics cost on the demand for port throughput in the context of Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) regional economic integration and to realize the potential economic gains of the maritime logistics reform in the region.

The main part of this paper is to formulate conversion coefficients for containerized cargo to estimate the impacts of logistics reform on the demand for port throughput. These conversion coefficients, then have been used into a dynamic computational general equilibrium model using Global Trade Analysis Project database to explore the impact of logistics cost.

The study demonstrates that logistics efficiency is a challenge for ASEAN economic integration, providing significant implications for maritime logistics reforms.

This study assumes uniform improvements of 5 and 10 percent in the logistics sector for all countries due to lack of detailed data on the logistics sectors in ASEAN countries.

The findings of this study could help ASEAN policymakers for deeper understanding of efficient maritime logistics in realizing the economic gains from its regional economic integration initiatives.

Although there are many descriptive studies on the importance of logistics efficiency in improving international competitiveness in a country or a region, these are not supported by quantitative assessment in the case of ASEAN. This study addresses the dearth of empirical evidence based on real data on trade and maritime cargo flows. This study contributes to highlighting that ASEAN countries should reform their logistics policies and practices.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate value-added service of cold chain logistics between China and Korea. The covering strategy for developing the cold chain value-added service between the two countries is proposed.

The author expounds the driving power for developing cold chain logistics between the two countries basing on the trade data of agricultural exports and imports, the tariff liberalization agreement of China–Korea FTA and the short distance between the two countries. It analyzes the value-added service of cold chain logistics with exemplary cases from four aspects (customized service, integrated service, consultation/solution and strategic alliance service), and its value-added mechanism for the enhancement of core competences of the entire cold chain. Then, by considering the drawbacks of the current cold chain logistics practices, between the two countries, the author proposes certain measures for fostering the cold chain value-added services between them.

There are apparent mutual benefits in developing cold chain value-added service between the two countries, but there exists some shortcomings which impede the sound development of the cold chain logistics, such as low circulation rate and insufficient cold chain facility in China, shortage of integrated and compatible information platform between the two countries, few integrated cold chain service and strategic alliance service and occurrence of some trade frictions.

The enforcement of China–Korea FTA will greatly reduce the tariff and increase the import and export volumes between the two countries; with the proximity between them, development of cold chain logistics between the two countries holds tremendous potential. This paper thoroughly discusses the mechanism of the value-added service of the cold chain logistics, and brings into focus the development of the value-added service in the two countries.

This year, The Council of Logistics Management broke with tradition and presented its annual Distinguished Service Award to a long‐serving staff member, George Gecowets. Brian Rooks spoke to him about his continuing involvement with, and enthusiasm for, logistics management.

The purpose of this paper is to identify current impediments to the competitiveness of the rail industry in the Australian non-bulk freight market.

A systematic literature review was adapted to identify the impediments and challenge themes from 1,081 studies available on the Australian rail industry. To select the studies relevant to the research question, a tollgate criterion was then deployed. Impediments were identified by a structured data synthesis process and a heuristic algorithm was developed to explore the possible relationships between the impediments and challenges.

Four major themes are apparent, each of which presents the rail industry with challenges in the non-bulk freight market. “Infrastructural inefficiencies and the need for further integration” was ranked as the main rail industry challenge, while “environmental concerns and the associated costs of externalities” was the least. In addition, across the four themes data synthesis identified 43 impediments from purely policy related to technical and operational aspects.

The major implication of this review is the identification of impediments that have no linkage to the four industry challenges as revealed by stakeholders in the literature. That means that the rail industry has been dealing with a number of issues that have not been explored and studied in depth either by practitioners or academics. The underlying elements of impediments in this group are perceived as managerial, organisational and leadership factors. The rail industry has failed to manage its organisational ties across the system, both horizontally and vertically. This issue has been intensified as the result of complex interactions between different transport modes and operators associated with the non-bulk freight sector.

For the first time in the Australian context, this study provides an en masse and summarised picture of impediments to the competitiveness of the rail industry in the non-bulk freight market by systematically reviewing the reports generated by different stakeholders in the last ten years. The outcomes will assist the rail industry and government to understand impediments impacting on the quality of rail freight services that may lead to collaboration on decision-making and investment strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issues pertinent to sourcing internationally from low‐cost countries (LCCs) and to understand which issues are associated most strongly with a firm's logistics performance.

Comparative examination of supply sources in developed countries and LCCs is conducted using a paired‐sample setting. Data acquired by a mail survey of US‐based manufacturing firms are analyzed using a canonical correlation analysis (CCA). CCA helps to reveal the structure of relationships within and between a set of sourcing issue variables and a set of the logistics performance variables investigated.

Results indicate that the issues that should be priorities for improvement are: supplier production capability; business culture and practices; and communication infrastructure.

The survey data and analysis focused on US manufacturing firms importing from LCCs. However, there is increasing activity of US retailers importing from LCCs, suggesting a need for a follow‐on study which considers the retailer perspective.

Results not only validate the issues to be considered in sourcing from LCCs, but also provide a direction for logistics managers in allocating an organization's scarce resources to the issues of highest potential for improving logistics performance.

The fast emerging role of LCCs as supply sources of US firms and the cost advantages of sourcing from LCCs are widely recognized. However, challenges associated with sourcing internationally from LCCs and the extent to which they are related to a firm's logistics performance have received limited attention in existing logistics research. This study contributes valuable insights into this area of international sourcing and logistics management.

Logisticians have always viewed standards as solutions for improving operational compatibility and coordination. This paper aims to contribute to a greater understanding of how standards, upon which logistics systems are designed, developed and coordinated, interact with each other and with other resources in a logistics network for the purpose of improving efficiency and effectiveness.

The literature review permits: defining standards as a coordination mechanism focusing on development, use and evolution of interconnected standards; pointing out the importance of standards for logistics efficiency and effectiveness; and analysis of interrelatedness referring to increasing returns, basic technology and dominant design. The empirical evidence is based on a meta‐case from the automobile industry with information collected from nine case studies based on observations, documents, drafts of standards and interviews.

The case study illustrates major points in prior literature and provides new propositions that enrich the theory and have important managerial implications. Main findings include a better understanding of how standards interact over time, and how they help, as well as hinder technological development in logistics networks. Being exploratory in nature, the paper concludes with theoretical propositions for further research.

The paper contributes to the understanding of an issue is been important, but still not much addressed in prior logistics literature: the use of standards. The combining of literature from three streams of research: logistics, industrial networks and technology development provides interesting insight on which the case analysis is based and from which further research can be developed.

The purpose of this paper is to study the performance of transportation infrastructure of Thailand. A set of performance indicators of Thailand’s transportation infrastructure is proposed and gathered. The relationship between existing transportation infrastructure performance and Thailand’s economy is investigated.

The framework for determining Transportation Infrastructure Performance Index (TPI), proposed by the US Chamber of Commerce, is adapted for assessing the efficiency of Thailand’s transportation infrastructure. The analytical hierarchy process is employed in the process of constructing Thailand TPI. The relationship between TPI and Thailand’s economic growth is examined using multiple regression analysis.

The performance of Thailand’s transportation infrastructure had been continuously increased from 19.69 in 2005 to 61.52 in 2010. Great emphasis on improvement of the transportation infrastructure system should be placed as an increase in one unit of TPI results in the improvement by Baht449.420 of Thailand’s GDP per capita.

The most critical issue arisen in the data collection process is the unavailability of data for some indicators in the TPI framework. Consequently, some indicators that contain insufficient data were excluded.

The proposed set of indicators is practical and instrumental in assessing the transportation infrastructure performance of Thailand, and investigating its relationship with the economy.

This research proposes a framework for quantifying the performance of transportation infrastructure, and develops the first national composite index to account for the overall performance.