Todd Keefe (News - Alert) was generous enough to supply this article about NASCO’s participation in our M2M Evolution event. Texas is a great metaphor for the Wild West and Poker and we can make the case that modern logistics management has some roots with cattle rustlers and horse thieves. However, cattle are smarter than humans when it comes to efficiency they always choose the path of least resistance, while humans need help in understanding efficiency. Cattle drives required cowboys to keep the cows in the herd and counteract their normal instincts as they lead the cows into town. Read the article about the participation by the North American Corridor Coalition, Inc (known as NASCO) and you will see the parallels. Better yet, come to Austin with us and live the experience.

Everything’s Bigger in Texas even Telematics
If the State of Texas was a country, it would be the world’s 13^th biggest economy, with a GDP exceeding $1.2 Trillion (News - Alert). Today, Texas accounts for 8.3 percent of the U.S. economy, and each year, this percentage increases. The transportation industry plays a key role in the economic growth of the state, and the nation as a whole. At the M2M Evolution Conference in Austin, NASCO’s Director of Communications and Special Projects, Frank Conde will examine the issues that are shaping the industry today. 

NASCO is North America’s premier transportation corridor coalition. Its charter is to promote a sustainable, secure and efficient trade & transportation system. In addition to sharing his insights on the industry, Frank Conde will also discuss the need for using M2M-based asset tracking technology to increase the efficiency and security of the transportation industry.      

The Need to Increase the Efficiency of our Transit System:
Today, more trucks are carrying more high-value goods on our nation’s highways than ever before. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), trucking accounts for 67 percent of the total tonnage, and 81 percent of the revenue generated by transporting goods across the U.S. The ATA forecasts higher growth in the trucking industry over the next 10 years, when compared to rail, air, sea or intermodal means of transportation.

What’s fueling this growth? The Mexican and Canadian economies are growing faster than the U.S. economy – and the best way to bring goods produced in these countries to U.S. consumers is to truck them across our nation’s highways. 

Frank Conde believes that over the next 20 years, other developing nations will shape the transportation industry in a profound manner. “By 2030, the “global middle class” is expected to increase from 400 million people to 1.2 billion. All of these consumers will want new cars, durable goods, electronics and other items. How can the transportation industry gear up to service this growing audience? It’s not a question of building more roads - it’s a question of improving the efficiency of our transportation system - and the best way to do that is with information and technology.”

Increasing the Security of our Transit System: 
It’s not surprising that an increase in high value goods traveling on our nation’s highways has also brought about an increase in cargo theft. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 94.5 percent of retailers surveyed have been affected by organized crime within the past year. 

“The profit associated with theft, the ease of selling stolen goods, and the relatively light penalties associated with theft provide all the incentives that organized crime needs to invest in the cargo theft business,” states Conde.

Cargo theft, which accounts for more than $32 billion annually, not only hurts the economy, but it also poses a threat to public health safety. “When drugs or vaccines are stolen, there’s no way to know if they’ve been properly refrigerated, and unsuspecting consumers could put themselves at risk by taking tainted pharmaceutical products,” adds Conde.

So how do we deal with cargo theft today, and plan to combat the inevitable rise in theft for tomorrow? The answer is the same, according to Conde. “Once again, it all comes down to improving the way we collect and use information.”        

Frank’s session at the M2M Evolution Conference will address these issues in detail, with dozens of other stories and anecdotes of interest to manufacturers and companies responsible for transporting high-value goods across the country.   

Additional information on the M2M Evolution Conference is available online, and Registration is now open. A 20-percent discount on conference registration fees is now being offered to all NASCO members. To obtain a special promotion code, please contact Sarah Fullilove at sfullilove@tmcnet.com. 

About the M2M Evolution Conference:
M2M Evolution is a three-day conference created for companies looking to utilize technology to streamline their supply chain, product development, and distribution channels. M2M Evolution will feature all of the industry’s leading analysts: it will present case studies, and it will feature roundtable discussions that show attendees how to exploit technology to minimize destruction, fraud and theft across all vertical markets.

For more information on NASCO, please visit www.nascocorridor.com

Want to learn more about M2M technologies? Then be sure to check out the M2M Evolution conference, collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. The M2M Evolution Conference is for those industry professionals interested in capitalizing on a rapidly growing segment of the telecom industry. The M2M Evolution Conference embraces the any-to-any strategy of the Internet today. Co-sponsored by TMC Partner Crossfire Media, it showcases the solutions, and examines the data strategies and technological requirements that enterprises and carriers need to capitalize on a market segment that is estimated to grow to $300 Billion in the year ahead. To register, click here.