Paper ballots during election season will rely on an effective rail system
subscribe to the daily
-
subscribe to the daily -
Good morning, & all aboard! 🚂
The freight rail service has found itself at the center of controversy. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) admitted in a two-hour House of Representatives committee hearing at the end of May that they were feeling the pressure to quickly correct lingering issues that have persisted at the railroads for years. Railroads are needed to effectively deliver a large amount of paper for ballots during the election season, and with public sentiment growing more and more negative toward electronic voting machines and supply chain issues - the snarls need to be cleared up.
Check out today’s featured article from MHL News for a brief analysis of the connection between democracy and the railroads. ☕️
Simpsons Season 10 Episode 23 GIF via GIPHY
Featured Article:
Are Railroad Service Failures a Threat to Democracy? | Material Handling and Logistics (mhlnews.com)
“Paper ballots are the latest commodities to suffer from rail service deterioration.”
Water Cooler Topics
💦 California has been suffering through a drought for the past three years, and it’s starting to take a toll on its electric vehicle goals. According to data shown by the federal U.S. Energy Information Administration, hydroelectric energy sources have been cast to the side due to the lack of rain and snowfall. California is now turning toward dirtier sources of energy to charge electric cars… might defeat the purpose, just a bit?
🇰🇷 Unionized South Korean port workers have launched a strike this week. The workers want a guarantee of basic wages through appropriate freight rates. The Safe Trucking Freight Rates System, implemented in early 2020 to combat Covid-19 fluctuating freight rates and guarantee the worker’s wages, is set to expire at the end of this year. At least 25,000 workers fear that with that expiration, their livelihoods will be at risk.
📦 Walmart v. Amazon - the former is betting on its warehouse capacity will outshine the e-commerce giant in market share. A brick-and-mortar store is now evolving into a “shoppable fulfillment center”, according to the chief e-commerce officer for Walmart, Tom Ward. Amazon currently dominates the market share with 40%.
Breathe easy: the US supply chain is seeing some progress
In May 2022, The Logistics Managers Index dropped to 67.1 - making it the second month in a row the index has declined since a peak in March at 76.2.
Transportation seems to be slowly opening back up, leaving room for the economy to breathe. After the unsustainable growth rates in 2021 after 2020, it’s understandable that we’ve seen a small decline.
Social security number compromised after a data breach attack at massive trucking company, C.R. England
The Social Security numbers of thousands of people associated with C.R. England have been compromised after a massive data breach. While suspicious activity was detected in October 2021, it wasn’t until April 2022 that a breach was confirmed and reported to the FBI. In May, the company sent out notices to those affected by the breach.
Additional security measures have been taken in light of the breach and complimentary identity protection services have been offered to those targeted.
Driver Issues 🚛
Speed limiters divide truckload meeting safety stakeholders | FleetOwner
“Judging by the 14,000-and-growing comments posted to the Federal Register on the subject, opinion has been anything but muted about the federal government’s renewed push to require all Classes 7-8 commercial vehicles in the U.S. to be limited to an as-yet-to-be-determined speed.”
What Coercion Complaints Tell Us About the Truck Driver Shortage - Drivers - Trucking Info
“‘The driver shortage is over,’ proclaimed Tim Denoyer, a senior analyst at ACT Research, discussing how the freight market pendulum appears to be swinging back toward a looser capacity situation.”
Trade & Border Issues 🗺
US trade deficit narrows most on record on muted China imports | AJOT.COM
“The US trade deficit shrunk in April by the most on record in dollar terms, reflecting a drop in the value of imports amid Covid lockdowns in China while exports climbed.”
Shanghai Supply Chain Gradually Eases But Hurdles Remain | SupplyChainBrain
“Optimism is growing that port delays and a trucking shortage in Shanghai are quickly abating, providing some relief to supply chains, though major hurdles remain.”
Customer Relations 🤝
Watch: Visibility to Cost-to-Serve Is Important | SupplyChainBrain
“Tracking financial flow is vital because transportation and other supply chain costs keep increasing, says Chris Cassidy, executive vice president of Trax Technologies.”
Fuel Tech ♻️
Cutting Emissions Through Better Transportation Planning - Logistics Viewpoints
“Oracle Fursion Cloud Transportation Management offers a solution that allows transportation planners to see estimated emissions – carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and particulate matter – before a trip is executed. Transportation is, of course, a major source of green house emissions.”
Fuel ⛽️
“Shippers coping with record-high fuel surcharges are advised by diesel supply experts to simply bear with it until more (and cheaper) crude oil is available, perhaps later this year but probably not until 2023.”
Diesel Surges 16.4¢ a Gallon to Record $5.703 | Transport Topics (ttnews.com)
“The national average price of diesel shot up 16.4 cents to settle at a record $5.703 a gallon, according to Energy Information Administration data released June 6.”
Industry Forecast 📊
2022 Predictions for the Challenged Supply Chain | Food Logistics
“What’s become overwhelmingly clear is that there’s a demand for increased visibility into supply chains to gain a better sense of inventory and any issues arising with the movement of that inventory.”
Ports, haulage and technology global logistics round-up | Supply Chain Digital
“Port Houston has started work on its US$1bn expansion of the Houston Ship Channel, reports Port Technology.”
“The global secure logistics market size is anticipated to reach USD 141.38 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 7.6% over the forecast period.”
These charts show state of supply chain as China eases Covid lockdowns (cnbc.com)
“The CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map for China, which is gradually easing Covid lockdowns, is showing several hot spots slowing down trade flow in recent days.”
Manufacturing ⚙️
“Even though global shipbuilding demand may be plateauing after an unusually strong year, South Korean shipbuilding companies saw demand reach a six-year high this spring.”
Production volume is barrier to ZEV mass-adoption | Commercial Carrier Journal (ccjdigital.com)
“Pre-COVID 2019, I had the opportunity to meet with regulators, start-ups, material providers, utilities, and state and regional government purchasing planners at several events.”
Electric Vehicles 🔋
Working together to ensure EV servicing safety | Fleet Maintenance
“Slowly but surely, there will be more electric trucks on the road. To service EVs safely, fleets must train technicians in repair and safety standards before they are commonplace.”
Owner-Operators 🚚
Caltrux calls Solicitor General’s AB 5 argument 'wrong' | Overdrive (overdriveonline.com)
“The California Trucking Association, in response to a brief filed May 24 by the Solicitor General on behalf of the U.S. government, said the government’s stance laid out in the brief on California’s AB 5 law ‘is head-scratchingly wrong.’”
Safety 🦺
Supply Chain Officers Must Face Five ‘Urgent’ Risk Areas, Gartner Says | SupplyChainBrain
“From nature to military operations, the ability to offset weaknesses against predators is a key survival strategy. Today’s supply chain leaders should take note.”
A safety message worth repeating - Truck News
“One of the fundamental rules of highway safety is to keep your eyes on the road. It’s so ingrained in our public consciousness that it hardly seems to be worth repeating.”
Regulations ⚖️
Reshoring Adds Record Number of Jobs | Material Handling and Logistics (mhlnews.com)
“The Reshoring Initiative's new report says the federal and private push to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. has resulted in 160,000 jobs in 2021.”
“Many in the trucking industry are lauding a new bill that would, if passed, require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to standardize the enrollment and renewal system for individuals applying for or renewing multiple TSA Security Threat Assessment programs, including the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, Hazardous Materials Endorsement and TSA PreCheck programs.”
Business Strategy 💡
In tough times, Gartner recommends adopting an “offset strategy” | DC Velocity
“Unconventional approaches to supply chain management can help companies compensate when facing unfavorable conditions beyond their control, analyst group says.”
“Uber revolutionized passenger transportation by providing a third-party platform where consumers “compete” with each other for rides.”
“Entitled Emerge Benchmarking, the company explained that this 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.”
Top 10: Extreme weather & supply chain resilience strategies | Supply Chain Digital
“With climate change increasingly posing extreme-weather challenges to supply chains, a major joint study of 12,000 supplier sites in the United States, China and Taiwan has measured climate-related risks being faced by around 100 original equipment manufacturers in the high tech, auto and consumer goods industries.”
Leadership 🏆
Footwear company wins big with robust WMS | DC Velocity
“Shoe brand Aetrex meets aggressive growth goals, improves inventory accuracy, and reduces costs thanks to warehouse management software from Tecsys.”
“Just like last year, 3PLs continue to face a host of critical and pressing issues that challenge their skills at managing a client’s supply chain.”
Leases & Loans 💰
Funding for logistics startups | McKinsey
“Global attention seemed to shift toward logistics and supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Inflation 💸
“The prevalence of global inflation, at least over the course of the past year, has been significantly on the rise.”
World Bank dims outlook for global economy amid Russia war | AP News
“The World Bank has sharply downgraded its outlook for the global economy, pointing to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the prospect of widespread food shortages and concerns about the potential return of “stagflation” — a toxic mix of high inflation and sluggish growth unseen for more than four decades.”
Warehousing 📦
Facing huge inventory, Target cuts vendor orders, prices | AP News
“Target is canceling orders from suppliers, particularly for home goods and clothing, and it’s slashing prices further to clear out amassed inventory ahead of the critical fall and holiday shopping seasons.”
Quote of the day:
“Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop.”
— Jeffrey Zeldman, entrepreneur and web designer
Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.