Introduction

Abstract

We'd like to remind you there is still time to submit manuscripts for the themed issue of the Transportation Journal (Winter 2015 issue), Transportation and Supply Chain Relations. Manuscripts for this themed issue should clearly demonstrate the roles and impacts of transportation in contemporary logistics and supply chain management. Topics for consideration include: Efficient management of transportation companiesTransportation and corporate social responsibility (e.g., environmental, societal, economic)Transportation stressors (e.g., congestion, security, energy costs)Global transportation issuesTransportation and economic development (e.g., public-private partnerships)Collaborative transportation managementTechnology in transportation management (e.g., new applications of information technology and innovations in equipment).Manuscripts for the themed issue should be submitted no later than May 31, 2014, for consideration. Please refer to www.editorialmanager.com/TransJour for author and submission guidelines. We very much look forward to your contributions, including Industry Notes, to this special themed issue of the Transportation Journal.We would like to welcome Dr. David Cantor as a new member of the Editorial Review Board. Dr. Cantor is the Dean's Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at the Iowa State University.The Spring 2014 issue of Transportation Journal features an array of articles examining diverse matters of motor-carrier safety enforcement, infrastructure management, and supply chain relationship management. In the first article, Corsi, Grimm, Cantor, and Wright report the economic value of regulatory safety enforcement of truck vehicles ranging in weight from 10,001 lbs to 26,000 lbs (weight classes 3 through 6). Specifically, the authors compare the costs of enforcement with the expected savings accrued from crash avoidance. Their analysis shows a positive net savings amounting to $8.86 in benefits for each dollar incurred by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in program costs. This analysis proves timely in light of the debate surrounding the enforcement of carriers operating in these weight classes in the United States. In the second article, Sweeney, Campbell, and Sweeney examine the issue of increasing congestion in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR). Through discrete event simulation analysis, the authors model shippers' responses to heightened levels of congestion in inland navigation. The work not only examines the congestion that might influence shippers to choose alternative modes of transportation or to influence changes in destinations, but also offers insights toward distinct congestion mitigation measures. The third piece, written by Grawe, Autry, and Daugherty, explores the premise of organizational implants employed by logistics service providers (LSPs), and the innovations their presence yields for customers. Their study of LSP-customer dyads reveals that logistics innovation is enhanced in relationships distinguished with implants. The innovations are attributed to heightened levels of relational social capital and knowledge exchange in relationships with implantation. In the fourth article, Gligor and Holcomb take a deeper look at the concept of integrated logistics capabilities. In particular, they measure the influence of key behavioral antecedents to logistics integration among supply chain members. In turn, logistics integration shows a positive effect on operational and relational performance among their sample of mid- and upper-level managers of North American companies.Industry Notes in this issue focuses on the maritime industry. In their article, Zhang and Lam address the effect of schedule reliability and sailing frequency in liner shipping. Using Daily Maersk as their case study, the authors show that multiple benefits result from these two actions including the substantial reduction of supply chain inventories. Even more important, these moves by Maersk have increased the service dimension of this competitive industry. The second industry note is the final paper that was selected from the 2012 International Association of Maritime Economists Conference (IAME), which was held in Taipei, Taiwan, during September 5–8, 2012, with Professor Paul T.-W. Lee of Soochow University serving as conference chair. In the paper, Wang, Cullinane, and Hu use the Gini coefficient to identify the key contributors of shipping feeding services to port development in China.The book Full Upright and Locked Position: Not So Comfortable Truths about Air Travel Today by Mark Gerchick is reviewed by Transportation Journal book reviewer Mitch Kostoulakos.