Diesel rose 2.3 cents to $4.01 a gallon, and has topped $4 per gallon for the first time in more than six months.

The Department of Energy has also reported that Gasoline has dropped 6.8 cents to $3.368, which is its biggest decline in seven weeks.

Diesel is now 83.9 cents over the same week last year and Gasoline is now 49.2 cents over a year ago according to the DOE.

The Twin Cities Roundtable of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals will be hosting a STATE OF THE INDUSTRY panel discussion on Thursday October 27^th at the Ramada Plaza (1330 Industrial Blvd. NE) at 5:30pm

The panel which includes Rick Mattson (moderator), Dan George (3M), Marlon Philippi (Pentair) and Steve Carter (Target) will share their biggest challenges and potential solutions; how their companies are responding to the current challenges and how their organizations are assisting manufacturers, retailers and distributors faced with shrinking supply chains. Additional challenges include labor issues, rising operational costs, volatile fuel prices, and pending federal initiatives. Call Brad Emch (CSCMP) president at the SAV Transportation group at: 763-489-4223 for more details

October 12, 2011 – Plymouth Minnesota

Hollander, Inc and SAV Transportation Announce Strategic Partnership to Reduce Freight Costs for Automotive Recyclers.

Hollander, a Solera company (NYSE: SLH), and a leading supplier of business solutions for automotive recyclers today announced a joint promotion and development agreement with SAV Transportation.

This partnership offers Hollander Powerlink® customers seamless access to SAV’s Virtual Shipping Assistant which provides freight shipping services leveraging negotiated rates with regional and national carriers.

“Our goal is to provide a complete workflow solution for automotive recyclers to improve their bottom line. SAV as our logistics partner enhances the shipping workflow, seamlessly passing data directly from the Powerlink Yard Management System to SAV’s Virtual Shipping Assistant to obtain rate quotes, schedule pick-up and track delivery of freighted goods at very competitive rates,” said Rich Lauria, Managing Director at Hollander.

“We are excited and honored to enter in to this strategic partnership with Hollander, said Mike Abbott, President and Founder of the SAV Transportation Group, and even more excited about what this program will do to reduce both labor and freight costs for Hollander customers.”

Initially founded in 1987, the SAV Transportation Group is a Third Party Logistics provider specializing in the design, development and management of efficient and effective supply chains.

About Hollander, Inc.

Since 1934, Hollander has delivered trusted business solutions to the automotive recycling industry. The Hollander Interchange™ is the most widely used database to identify automotive parts that interchange, setting the industry standard for communicating part fit and availability. Today more than 6,000 automotive recyclers rely on Hollander products – from yard management solutions to parts databases. Hollander is part of Solera Holdings, Inc., an integrated group of leading automotive claims solutions companies.

The SAV Transportation Group welcomes Dave Carlson, Amber Hotzler and Patrick Bauermeister to the team as the newest members of its operational group.

The SAV Transportation Group welcomes Amber Hotzler as the newest member of their logistics team.

The SAV Transportation group welcomes Matt Weldele and Donald Baumberger as the newest employees with the company. Both will participate in the SAV operations training program and be working as customer service representatives.

It seems like just yesterday but it has been nearly four years since we launched our e-commerce shipping & logistics program. It was November of 2007 when we put our initial “stakes in the ground” and April of 2008 when we moved the entire program online. We started with less than twenty LTL carriers and some rudimentary tracking links and had less than five hundred users per month.

Today, the VIRTUAL SHIPPING ASSISTANT provides immediate access to over forty qualified carriers providing national range through all major modes. We have literally thousands of customers “equipped to ship” and receive tens of thousands of rate queries each and every month.

From food and beverage to marketing and manufacturing, we serve a variety of different industries. What our customers like most is the convenience, options and rates that that the platform provides and overall value we continue to bring to them.

TRUCKLOAD

The backbone of our system is the truckload service module…

Full truckload and partial truckload (dry) shipments can be quoted and booked online through our universal GET RATES page. Just enter zips, weight and pallet quantity and the system will review your criteria.

 If truckload rates apply, the system will deliver an all-inclusive rate that includes fuel.

 If partial truckload rates apply, the system will display an all-inclusive rate based on pallet quantity.

 If your criteria goes beyond the systems general parameters – you’ll be “prompted” to contact our rate team and they will immediately respond to your query.

LESS-THAN-TRUCKLOAD

Customers can also access preferred rates from a variety of national, regional and micro-regional LTL carriers serving the United States and Canada. When you enter zips, weights and freight class the system will deliver an all-inclusive rate quote that includes fuel and accessorial charges.

LESS-THAN-CONTAINER LOAD

The VIRTUAL SHIPPING ASSISTANT also provides a new LCL (less-than-container load) option. This new service is a seamless solution that provides port-to-door rates to and from all the major ports. You can get instant rate quotes for your less-than container-load shipments and book your critical shipments online.

In addition to this, we provide offshore consolidation, complete coordination with the steamship lines and a variety of warehousing and trans-loading options. A

IR-FREIGHT, HOTSHOTS AND INTERMODAL SOLUTIONS

The VIRTUAL SHIPPING ASSISTANT also provides immediate access to air-freight, hotshots and intermodal services.

In addition to our core services, the VSA provides you quick access to a variety of shipping solutions such as audit, parcel and project services. When you select the appropriate “mode tile” and complete the pertinent form it will put you into immediate dialogue with our project team and they will quickly respond to your needs.

NEW PROGRAM FROM WELLS FARGO INSURANCE SERVICES

And finally, we recently partnered with Wells Fargo Insurance services to provide a noteworthy new insurance option. It’s a zero-deductible policy that insures goods and/or merchandise consisting of new and used commodities that have been properly packaged for transit.

If you go to your VIRTUAL SHIPPING ASSISTANT and select the additional insurance option you can get an accurate insurance quote within seconds.

NEW FEATURES & FUNCTIONS ARE PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE!

The feedback we get continues to inspire us and there are a number of things “scoped” for the future. You can expect an “intelligent” application with more and better options and a variety of features and functions that will streamline your busy day.

If you would like to request set-up and get your own VIRTUAL SHIPPING ASSISTANT contact Steven P. Haas at 763-489-4258 or at: shaas@savtrans.com

The SAV Transportation group has multiple job openings for inside sales, customer service and operations dispatch. Send resume to logisticsjobs32@gmail.com

The SAV Transportation Group is slated to attend the Automotive Recyclers Association’s 68th annual convention in Charlotte, North Carolina October 11-15.

SAV will be featuring their VIRTUAL SHIPPING ASSISTANT which has been installed in nearly 2500 automotive and truck parts facilities throughout the United States and Canada.