Introduction

Abstract

The Transportation Journal editorial staff and the American Society of Transportation and Logistics are pleased to announce that a Best Paper Award has been established for the Transportation Journal. The 2012–13 Best Paper is “The Power and Centrality of the Transportation and Warehousing Sector within the US Economy: A Longitudinal Exploration Using Social Network Analysis” by Deepak Iyengar, Central Washington University; Shashank Rao, Auburn University; and Thomas J. Goldsby, The Ohio State University. The article can be found in the Fall 2012 (51.4) issue of the journal. A Second Place award was given to the article “Risk Management in Global Sourcing: Comparing the Business World and the Academic World” by Ila Manuj, University of North Texas. This paper can be found in the Winter 2013 (52.1) issue of the journal. A Best Editorial Review Board Award was also established. The 2012–13 Best Editorial Board Reviewer Award was given to Professor Tom Corsi, Michelle E. Smith Professor of Logistics and Co-Director, Supply Chain Management Center, University of Maryland. We congratulate all the inaugural award winners.In this issue of the journal we present articles spanning a variety of topics relevant to transportation, logistics, and supply chain management. In the first article Ke, Dresner, and Yao test location theory and inventory premises in their analysis of fuel costs and inventory levels and distribution. They empirically analyze how fuel prices impact inventory levels and dispersion in the United States for the period 1994–2006 and discuss managerial and policy implications.The lack and uncertainty of highway funding in the United States poses future threats to having an effective transportation system on which to move freight. A vehicle-mile-taxation policy is an approach that has been widely discussed as a solution for highway funding. In the second article, Krishnan et al. use qualitative research methods to analyze how public transportation agencies can inform and communicate with the general public about new transportation funding methods.Those who work in the transportation and logistics areas of supply chain management are familiar with government regulatory requirements. However, not all regulations are specifically transportation regulations. For example, legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act can have an impact on transportation and logistics operations. In this issue's third article, Srinivasan and Chandra examine the effects of Sarbanes-Oxley on the logistics industry. They discuss managerial implications for logistics companies and their trading partners.The final paper in this Winter issue is the second paper that was selected from the 2012 International Association of Maritime Economists Conference (IAME), which was held in Taipei, Taiwan, on September 5–8, 2012. Professor Paul T.-W. Lee at Soochow University in Taiwan was conference chairman and administered the review that led to the three best papers being selected for publication in the Transportation Journal. In this paper, Kim and Chang conduct an analysis of intermodal transportation in Korea with an emphasis on environmental aspects. They extend their model to incorporate various externalities arising from inland transport modes such as air pollution, congestion, accidents, noise pollution, and wear and tear, as well as compliance with carbon taxation and emission trading schemes.As for book reviews, Abbey Maggied reviewed Logistics Clusters by Yossi Sheffi, and Bruce Hartman reviewed Changing Lanes: Visions and Histories of Urban Freeways by Joseph F. C. DiMento and Cliff Ellis. The issue concludes with an index of articles published in the volume 52 issues of the journal.Looking ahead, the Winter 2015 issue of the journal will be a themed issue. The theme will be “Transportation and Supply Chain Relations.” Manuscripts for this themed issue should clearly demonstrate impact of modern supply chain dynamics on 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 partnershipsCollaborative transportation managementTechnology in transportation managementManuscripts for this themed issue should be submitted no later than May 31, 2014, for consideration. Please refer to http://www. editorialmanager.com/TransJour for author and submission guidelines. More information will be forthcoming.