Capture return value from a SQL statement

Hello all,

I would like to capture and display the return value of an SQL statement. Below given is the code:

<cfcomponent>   
    <cffunction name="addship" access="remote">
        <cfquery name="shippers" datasource="northwindodbc" result="maxshipperid">
            select max(shipperid) from shippers
        </cfquery>                       
    </cffunction>
</cfcomponent>

The above given SQL statement is returning the max shipperid which in this example has to be 3. How do I capture this return value on an external variable which can be accessed outside the cfquery statement.

Any quick response is highly appreciated.

Anil