Traffic fatalities are rising, despite regulations & new tech
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Good morning, drive safely today! 🚛💨
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released traffic fatality data that tells a tragic story. Approximately 42,915 people died in car accidents in 2021, displaying a 10.5% increase from the 38,824 traffic fatalities in 2020. With regulations and new technology swarming the roads, how is this possible?
Check out today’s featured article from DAT Freight & Analytics for a breakdown of the data and what some legislators are suggesting in the name of roadway safety. ☕️
Safe Travels GIF By Becky via GIPHY
Featured Article:
Despite new regulations and technology, road safety is worsening - DAT
“The recently released traffic fatalities report from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) projects that an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year, a 10.5% increase from the 38,824 fatalities in 2020.”
Water Cooler Topics
🚛 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration defines a “freight broker” one way, but the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is not a fan of that definition. The legislation passed in late 2021 more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law demands that the FMCSA redefine brokers by Nov. 15, 2022. As it stands today, the FMCSA currently defines a broker as “a person or an entity which arranges for the transportation of property by a motor carrier for compensation. A broker does not transport the property and does not assume responsibility for the property.” So… what could this mean for the future of brokers?
🪧 The Port of Oakland, the “worst-performing port for the movement of import containers”, is planning a daytime work stoppage on June 20th for union workers. When asked about the date, a port official said the change to daytime hours was made so Black workers could celebrate the Juneteenth holiday (June 19), a Sunday, but will be widely observed on June 20. The stoppage is scheduled just days before the union workers’ contract expiration on July 1.
🚢 Ukraine’s seaports have been littered with mines as the Russian invasion threatened their supply chain. The United Nations agency responsible for ensuring safe shipping within the country is warning that de-mining the area will take significant time, and many ships and seafaring people are still stranded in the area. Ukraine’s Black Sea access has been effectively blocked by Russia, however, Moscow denies the disruption is by their hand - instead claiming Ukraine should remove the mines that they laid to protect their ships and harbors from attack.
Maintenance and efficiency go hand-in-hand
Regardless of whether you driving a large eighteen-wheeler or riding on two wheels down a beach boulevard, keeping regular maintenance on your vehicle will maximize its use. Especially in a day where fuel efficiency is key to a productive route.
Fuel filters, wheel alignment, clean combustion engines… are you taking in your vehicle for proper maintenance?
The poorest populations in developing countries are suffering from cutting emissions
While the Earth’s atmosphere may be grateful for the efforts being made to cut emissions, the poorest among us suffer for it. War and inflation are two pressing issues that most of the world is seemingly not “adapting to” - whose to say climate adaptation is any different?
Vulnerable populations have been plunged into economic turmoil due to climate issues and the pandemic.
Electric Vehicles 🔋
EV-Truck Startup Electric Last Mile Says It Plans to Liquidate (msn.com)
“Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc. plans to liquidate its operations about a year after the electric-vehicle startup went public and just four months after both its chief executive officer and chairman resigned.”
Why QuantumScape investors are still waiting for new EV batteries (cnbc.com)
“A run-in QuantumScape’s stock at the end of 2020 gave the solid-state battery maker an eye-popping $54 billion valuation.”
Fuel ⛽️
Fast Steps to Fuel Savings - Fuel Smarts - Trucking Info
“Fuel use represents up to 39% of a fleet’s cost-per-mile, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. A single commercial truck, running 100,000 miles a year at 7 mpg, can consume up to $70,000 in fuel a year.”
Economy feeling effects of record fuel prices - TheTrucker.com
“There is little evidence that fuel prices, which are setting records almost weekly, will drop anytime soon.”
Shortages 🛒
Watch: Will the Retail Labor Shortage Ever End? | SupplyChainBrain
“The labor shortage is plaguing the retail industry on two fronts: the distribution center and the store, says Pete Blair, vice president of marketing with Berkshire Grey.”
Business Strategy 💡
Walgreens’ Digital Commerce Evolution: Microservices to the Rescue - Logistics Viewpoints
“You hear the term “digital transformation” everywhere. That means different things to different people.”
E-Commerce: Delivering the Goods - Inbound Logistics
“A new study from Descartes Systems Group shows the ongoing e-commerce growth and the importance of delivery performance for customers.”
RFID tech helping shape supply chain in omnichannel retail | Supply Chain Digital
“RFID technology has its roots in WWII radar but this old tech is helping today's retail companies shape omnichannel supply chain strategies.”
“Effective logistics planning is the fundamental to successful supply chain management.”
Inflation 💸
“Most of the current record high inflation could have been avoided had the Federal Reserve acted earlier and shown humility after it wrongly described inflation as "transitory," economist Mohamed El-Erian said Sunday.”
Top 10 inflation-busting cost controls in supply chain | Supply Chain Digital
“Finding supply chain cost controls is a way to offset increasing production and logistics costs, with procurement being key to find value chain savings.”
“Concerns over the state of the economy are front and center these days, to be sure. From a supply chain perspective, that tale is not too difficult to tell, at the moment, given record-high gasoline (specifically diesel) prices, inflation at 40-year highs, a cooling off on the demand front, ongoing challenges related to exports, and looming concerns over inventory levels, too.”
“Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is leading Republicans who are demanding Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testify before the Senate's small business panel as inflation reaches historic heights.”
Driver Issues 🚛
Successful Strategies For Post-Pandemic Driver Recruiting [Video] - Drivers - Trucking Info
“Are your recruiting and retention teams keeping up with the changing truck driver job market? Learn more in this episode of HDT Talks Trucking's Leadership Insights interview.”
Truckers, with today’s diesel prices, may hear echoes of 1973 Land Line
“It’s not the same for truckers, of course, but it does feel familiar.”
Fuel Tech ♻️
The Future of Carbon-Free Trucking Isn’t Batteries — Yet | SupplyChainBrain
“Conventional wisdom in the transport sector has moved rather quickly from ‘electric cars aren’t happening’ to ‘the future of all cars is battery-powered.’”
Fleets and their customers are driving decarbonization | FleetOwner
“OEM leaders lay out the path to zero-emission trucking, which will require fleets to plan far ahead to keep up with increasing pushes to decarbonize the evolving trucking and transportation industries.”
“The co-founder of San Diego-based autonomous driving company TuSimple, Mo Chen, announced he started a new company called Hydron to bring to market Class 8 hydrogen-powered trucks equipped with Level 4 autonomous driving technology.”
Ports 🚢
LA Port Braces for Early Peak Cargo Season as Consumers Keep Buying | SupplyChainBrain
“The Port of Los Angeles, the U.S.’s busiest, is preparing for the early arrival of the 2022 peak season for cargo as retailers stock up on back-to-school and fast-fashion products despite high inventory levels, Executive Director Gene Seroka said.”
Industry Forecast 📊
“Unleashed Post-COVID demand faces railroad service failures.”
DHL Warns Supply Chain Won’t Recover to Pre-Covid Days in 2023 (gcaptain.com)
“Port congestion should ease next year as new container vessels are delivered and demand from shippers softens from pandemic highs, but not enough to restore global supply-chain flows to where they were before Covid, according to the head of DHL’s freight-forwarding unit.”
“Upheaval in shipping markets over the past two years is triggering a shift in the regulatory landscape for ocean carriers.”
Leadership 🏆
Manhattan Momentum 2022: Assemble Agents of Change (talkinglogistics.com)
“As an engineer by training, I’ve come across many mathematical formulas, but I hadn’t seen this one until a couple of weeks ago when I attended Manhattan Associates’s Momentum 2022 conference.”
Push vs. pull | Seth's Blog (seths.blog)
“The non-networked world was driven by push.”
Sales 🧾
US Class 8 Sales in May Climb Past 20,000, Adding to Recent Momentum | Transport Topics (ttnews.com)
“U.S. Class 8 retail sales in May rose 13.9% compared with a year earlier to just clear 20,000, Wards Intelligence reported.”
