Industry
Freight Waves Eric Kulisch September 27, 2022
The risk to manufacturing, agriculture and distribution sectors in Florida is rapidly intensifying as powerful Hurricane Ian takes aim at the state’s southwest coast. But the economic ripple effects are likely to be felt well beyond the storm zone.
Experts are predicting severe disruption to supply chains from flooding, power outages and wind damage that could stall factory and farm production, as well as freight movement through major port, airport, highway and rail nodes. The Tampa-to-Orlando corridor is chockablock full of huge retail and e-commerce distribution centers.
Transport Topics Dan Ronan September 27, 2022
Cargo volumes have been shifting to the Atlantic Coast for several months as shippers hedge their bets against a potential labor dispute on the West Coast. Also, operational issues in Southern California persist, with rail on-time results in the mid-50% to mid-60% range, according to the Surface Transportation Board, while the railroads say they are working to improve those figures by at least 10%.
“It’s a continuation of this whole year, which has been mitigation of a West Coast, longshore disruption,” S&P Global Transportation Economist Paul Bingham said. “You’ve had shippers being cautious and the biggest port of the East Coast is New York-New Jersey, so they are the biggest beneficiary. But there have been records at other ports on the Atlantic Coast; Savannah and Charleston, and some of the other ports. But New York-New Jersey has been No. 1 on the East Coast forever.”
Bloomberg/Transport Topics Augusta Saravia September 27, 2022
A dispute over the assignment of work at a terminal in Seattle is casting a shadow on the outcome of talks to reach a new labor contract between 22,000 dockworkers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports and about 70 employers, the union representing the employees said.
In a statement on Sept. 27, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said SSA Marine Inc. — the largest marine terminal at Seattle — and another union are seeking an intervention from the National Labor Relations Board over assigning which workforce can perform tasks at SSA.
Digital Commerce 360 James Melton September 26, 2022
The U.S., Pitney Bowes says, generated 21 billion packages that year.
For perspective, that translated to:
683 packages per second ;
59 million parcels per day ;
65 packages per person; and
166 parcels per household.
Link: Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index Infographic
Logistics Management Jeff Berman September 27, 2022
Emerge said that this will enable its customers to validate pricing through DAT’s comprehensive rate data, which is accessible through Emerge’s Benchmarking feature within the Emerge Dynamic RFP platform, which was introduced in June.
Emerge Benchmarking, the company explained, is a Machine Learning (ML)-enabled product updates and aggregates freight industry data from “numerous trusted sources,” equipping shippers with real-time business intelligence and market insights, in order to quickly evaluate options and also make informed decisions.
Government/Safety/Sustainability
Land Line Mark Schremmer September 27, 2022
The United Parcel Service won’t need to wait for a commercial learner’s permit holder to pass a knowledge test before training them to operate with twin 28-foot trailers.
The carrier received a five-year exemption, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in a notice set to publish in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
“The exemption allows UPS to conduct behind-the-wheel training for commercial learner’s permit holders in twin 28-foot trailers, rather than waiting to conduct the training after the individuals receive their Class A CDLs and pass the required knowledge test to obtain the double/triple trailer endorsement on their CDLs,” FMCSA wrote.
Link: Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration Commercial Driver’s License: United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS); Application for Exemptions
Transport Topics Eric Miller September 27, 2022
Federal trucking regulators are planning a study that will examine the effect of human driver factors for Level 2 and Level 3 automated driving systems on commercial trucks, those that take control of the driving but require drivers to be alert to assume control of the system.
The driving simulator study will examine the effect of nondriving secondary task engagement, transfer of control and training on driver behavior in ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in a Sept. 21 Federal Register notice.
Link: FMCSA Human Factors Considerations in Commercial Motor Vehicle Automated Driving Systems
Workforce
Transport Dive David Taube September 27, 2022
• Walmart seeks to hire approximately 1,500 truck drivers as part of a 40,000-associate hiring push for the holidays, company spokesperson Nick DeMoss said in a statement Friday to Transport Dive.
• The overall hiring spree includes seasonal and full-time workers, according to a news release. The truck driver positions will be permanent.
• As part of the announcement, the company also highlighted its Private Fleet Development program, a three-month program that launched this year for its workers to earn CDLs. But the retailer declined to answer questions about its progress with the training program.
|
