December 2011 was a great month for freight carriers and transportation companies. Figures form the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) found that freight shipments, measured by the Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), increased by the largest amount in 17 years. The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation in ton-miles. In December the index was 113.7 which is the highest since the index started in 1990.

The index was at an all time low in April 2009 when it stood at 94.3. Since then the number of freight shipments has increased in 22 out of the last 32 months. For the full year 2011, freight shipments were up 6.4 percent, which is the best growth rate since 2002.

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Since 2009 the United States Postal Service (USPS) has lost $20.7 billion. Currently this trend shows no sign of reversing, as the agency announced a loss of $3.3 billion in the three months ending in December 2011. The USPS did acknowledge that the holiday season of 2011 was busier with an increase of seven percent in the package business, but other areas saw continued decreases, which overshadowed any increase in the package business.

The USPS does have plans to reduce annual costs by $20 billion by 2015, which includes reducing the number of post offices by 12 percent, reducing the number of mail processing facilities, and eliminating approximately 220,000 career positions by 2015.

Last year the Postal Service reached its $15 billion borrowing limit from the U.S. Treasury and has forecast a record $14.1 billion loss for the 2012 fiscal year.

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been investigating claims that OHL Solutions, a supply chain management company, had been failing to screen cargo for explosives at Indianapolis airport. The office of the U.S. Attorney's alleged that OHL employees in Indianapolis failed to properly screen 100 percent of air cargo for explosives, as required by their security program. They subsequently certified that air cargo had been screened and then the fraudulently certified cargo was then carried on commercial passenger aircraft.

Three OHL employees pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit federal reporting and recordkeeping violations, which could lead to five years in prison and $250,000 fine for each. OHL Solutions has agreed to a fine levied by the TSA of $1 million.

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Procurement fraud is found in almost any country these days and Russia is no exception. Military prosecutors in the former Soviet country have found that about 20 percent of Russian defense spending is being siphoned off by corrupt purchasing officials. Since the fall of the Soviet Bloc the Russian military has prosecuted many military staff for corruption, but now the focus has turned towards the vendors who supply the military.

The Russian military are working with suppliers who increase prices without notice, fail to supply the agreed quantity, and cannot supply items by the contracted delivery date. The military believe that vendors have such bad management and in-built inefficiencies that with the added corruption they simply cannot control their prices. This has led the Russians to start purchasing abroad, such as the recent purchase of a Mistral class amphibious ship from France.

In a recent case of corruption a procurement specialist with the Defense Ministry in central Russia sold off the concrete at a military airstrip for a $33,000 bribe. If found guilty, the procurement specialist will be heavily fined and could receive 12 years in prison.

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