AB5 protestors sued by Port of Oakland
Good morning! Did you know that on August 8th of 1786, U.S. Congress established the monetary system we know and love today? Cheers to that. 💸
Operations at the Port of Oakland slowed to a crawl and then ceased altogether for a handful of days at the end of July due to persistent protestors outside of its gates. The group, made up of owner-operators and those who are vocal against California’s controversial AB5 law, was made to move to “free speech zones” away from the mouth of port operations - but has now been dealt with a larger blow: litigation
Check out today’s featured article from Trucking Info to read about the lawsuit laid out by the Port of Oakland against the AB5 protestors and what such action may signal for any future owner-operator movements going forward.☕️
Featured Article:
Port of Oakland Sues AB5 Protesters - Drivers - Trucking Info
“The Port of Oakland reopened on July 25 after a week of protests, as remaining protesters were moved to ‘free speech zones’ away from the terminal gates.”
Compliance 📋
Environmental review of infrastructure projects gets turned down by Senate Republicans
In a surprising turn of events, Republican Senate members voted unanimously to overturn the Biden administration rule requiring permits and strict environmental reviews of major highways, pipelines, and oil well infrastructure projects. But regardless of the Senate’s vote on the matter, there is strong a strong push to modify the federal permitting process, which often takes up to ten years to approve projects, such as highways.
President Joe Biden has frequently cited infrastructure issues as a priority of his administration, but critics of the environmental review rule state that the measure will only create more problems for the country. Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, took the Senate floor to state that it was disappointing that it takes a decade to approve the construction of a bridge in the United States.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
Map Geography GIF By Topshelf Records via GIPHY
🚢 Maersk, the Danish shipping and logistics company and one of the leading figureheads in the maritime industry is warning that it has loaded 7.4% fewer containers onto ships in Q2. This could spell bad news for global trade, showing that consumer confidence in the supply chain amid congestion and inflation is waning. Geopolitical uncertainty is another culprit in the weakening demand, with China and Taiwan tensions growing by the day and the Russian invasion of Ukraine already wreaking havoc across industries. Regardless, Maersk is forecasting underlying operating profits of around $31 billion for the year, up from 2021.
🤳 During Q2, global shipments of smartphones tumbled 9% after its brief recovery from a pandemic slump. Like many other products, there seems to be an oversupply of smartphones available in the market while consumer interest dwindles. Samsung maintains the largest share of the smartphone market at 21% - holding onto the fact that regardless of conditions, people in today’s world need smartphones.
🌽 Corn shipments continue to leave Ukraine ports after the UN deal brokered between Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine takes effect. Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Turkey can expect shipments that have passed through the Black Sea for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. Bulk carriers and cargo ships loaded to the brim have been stuck in the body of water for months and the UN deal was squared away to ensure some relief to the region’s grain imports. In order to avoid further global food crisis, much of the cargo will be used to feed livestock, instead of people.
U.S. Economy 💸
With a strong jobs market, U.S. economy hangs on by a thread
The American job market continues to perplex experts. Gross Domestic Product fell in the first half of 2022, indicating in the traditional sense that the U.S. economy should be in a recession. Not to mention the inflation rate soaring at a 40-year high and crippling the American public.
But the labor market seems to have other plans. With a low jobless rate persisting, many economists are holding back on declaring the economy in a downturn. But they are also referring to the job market as the last foothold the country has in avoiding economic catastrophe in the very near future.
Marketing Approach 🤳
SMBs face greenwashing brand damage, says Software Advice - Supply Chain Digital
“Supply Chain Digital Show talks to Olivia Montgomery, Associate Principal Supply Chain Analyst at Software Advice, a subsidiary of Gartner.”
Artificial Intelligence 🤖
Law Enforcement Pulls Over Embark Autonomous Truck in Demo - Transport Topics
“A common question that arises in conversations about autonomous trucks: What happens if law enforcement needs to pull a vehicle over?”
Trucker’s Lounge 🧢
CVSA names Ruth McDonough as its International Driver Excellence award winner - The Trucker
“The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is pleased to announce that this year’s International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA) recipient is professional driver Ruth McDonough.”
Sisters of the Road: Documenting the lives of women truckers - FleetOwner
“New book captures the lives of 40 women over-the-road truckers across the U.S.”
Driver Issues 🚛
Driver Pay Raise Trend Catches Crosswinds - Transport Topics
“The trucking industry has rapidly increased driver pay in recent years, but with a softening freight environment that trend is spinning off in several directions.”
Ports 🚢
As East Coast ports take more share of China trade, expect more bottlenecks for supply chain - CNBC
“One in five container ships currently arrive on time on the East Coast, according to Sea-Intelligence.”
Unions 🪧
Hundreds of Amazon warehouse workers walk out over pay, UK union says - Fox Business
“Amazon said starting pay would increase to a minimum of between 10.50 British pounds an hour and 11.45 British pounds.”
Fuel Tech ♻️
“Coal prices are soaring and global coal consumption is expected to return to record levels reached almost 10 years ago as the global energy supply crunch continues.”
Leadership 🏆
Brad Jacobs Will Step Aside as CEO of XPO Logistics - WSJ
“Mario Harik would succeed Mr. Jacobs, who will step down in the fourth quarter.”
Companies That Weathered Supply Chain Issues, and What They Did Best - SCM Dojo
“The global supply chain issues has caused a damaging ripple effect extending to every shore on the planet.”
Bob Sternfels: “We should accept nothing less” than sustainable and inclusive growth - MCKINSEY
“In a ‘firestarter’ speech to help kick off Bloomberg’s recent New Economy Forum in Singapore, our global managing partner Bob Sternfels described high stakes around two “radically different paths” this decade could take.”
“Bethenny Frankel found success with her Skinnygirl lifestyle brand, ranging from specialty food items to branded apparel.”
Business Strategy 💡
ReverseLogix RMS Case Study: Global Retailer - Reverse Logix
“An independently owned, American-made brand of men’s and women’s footwear was struggling to keep up with returns volume and inventory management.”
7 Strategies for Growing Your Business When Supply Chain Disruptions Are Everywhere - Entrepreneur
“By now, even people who aren't involved in businesses that depend on commodities have heard of supply chains.”
Supply constraints hamper JB Hunt’s replacements for its aging fleet - Transport Dive
“J.B. Hunt is facing inflated costs for parts and technicians as its aging fleet requires more frequent repairs, Chief Operating Officer Nick Hobbs said during the company’s Q2 earnings call on July 19.”
US Economy 📝
Massive jobs surprise: US economy added 528,000 jobs in July - CNN Business
“The US economy has now regained all jobs lost during the pandemic, after a blowout July jobs report that showed a gain of 528,000 jobs, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
Workers in these two industries are the only ones coming out ahead right now - CNN Business
“At first glance, it looks like many Americans got big pay raises since the Covid-19 pandemic started.”
American Politics 🇺🇸
Tougher IRS enforcement central to Dem economic package - AP News
“After more than a decade of mostly losing out, the Internal Revenue Service may finally get the cash infusion it’s long wanted in the economic package that Democrats are working furiously to push through Congress before their August break.”
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for July 31, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.