COLOGRAPHY GROUP PLANS NAFTA, LTL STUDIES

COLOGRAPHY GROUP PLANS NAFTA, LTL STUDIES    The Colography Group, an Atlanta-based a market research firm specializing in the expedited cargo sector, said it would conduct what it describes as the first systematic study of time-definite, cross-border shipping trends in North America.
   Researchers will explore how Customs and other issues shape shipping decisions and traffic patterns in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Colography President Ted Scherck said the study is needed because government data on the characteristics of trade flows between North American Free Trade Agreement signatories is sketchy.
   Colography, which publishes an annual survey of the U.S. expedited cargo market, said it would also create a separate category of analysis for the less-than-truckload sector, rather than lump it in with domestic air, ground parcel and air export categories.
   Colography interviews hundreds of companies each year to estimate shipping volumes by mode of transport, transit time, product line, geographic region, individual carrier and other factors.