West coast port worker strike possibility is growing by the day
Good morning! March 22nd marks the beginning of Ramadan this year, and supply chain professionals around the world are gearing up for one of the most significant events on the Islamic calendar. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a time of spiritual reflection, fasting, and increased charitable acts for Muslims worldwide. From a supply chain perspective, Ramadan can present both opportunities and challenges, particularly for businesses that operate in Muslim-majority countries or those that serve Muslim communities.
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Ongoing disruptions at the West Coast ports have been making the risk of a strike ever more prominent by each day. Contract negotiations are still ongoing between the unions and the port authorities - stirring uncertainty and causing further damage to the West Coast ports still today. Many West Coast ports are being placed “in the back pocket” and the East Coast ports are now representing the highest container volume. Interestingly, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles haven’t been handling the largest amounts of TEUs as represented in the past - regardless of them being the largest ports in the nation.
Read today's featured article from More Than Shipping to read about what a possible labor strike could mean for the West Coast ports. Will East Coast Ports rise above and continue to become larger than Los Angeles or Long Beach? Will the unions accomplish what they have been fighting for?
Featured Article:
Risk of a Port Worker Strike on the U.S. West Coast Grows, with Possible Disruptions | More Than Shipping
“Though the supply chain has faded from national news, contract negotiations for U.S. West Coast port workers are ongoing and the possibility of a port worker strike looms large.”
Regulations & Trucking Issues 🚛
Senators in Georgia let up on truck weight limits
A plan to increase the weight limits on Georgia state highways has been a hot topic in the state's Senate Transportation Committee. The scope of the bill created regarding the issue was torn to shreds by the House, but still managed to obtain enough votes to pass. The vote approved agriculture and forestry trucks to carry up to 88,000 lbs. on state roads as opposed to the 80,000 pound limit prior.
This bill would only be valid for approximatley a year and a half, slated to end in July of 2024. It is important to note that there are also potential downsides to increasing the weight limit on trucks, including increased wear and tear on roads and bridges and potential damage to the environment. Therefore, any decision to increase weight limits should be made with careful consideration of all factors involved.
Regulations & Trucking Issues 🚛
California likely to implement new air quality rules on heavy trucks, ATA voices concern
The American Trucking Association has expressed its serious concern over the reports that the Environmental Protection Agency may allow California to create new emission rules that might be unrealistic and harmful to the trucking and transportation industry. California has already stated that they intend to reach its zero-emissions requirement by the year 2035.
While zero-emission laws may be beneficial for the environment, they also have potentially negative impacts on truckers, particularly those who rely on diesel-powered trucks for their livelihood. Many claim that policymakers should consider the potential impacts on all stakeholders when implementing new regulations, despite enviornmentalists call for "extreme" action.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
🇨🇳 China e-commerce giant plans a warehouse in California. JD.com is looking to grow its US logistics arm into its third self-operating warehouse in California. This factory will create 300 jobs and is already using 1.3 million square feet throughout the state. This will be the 6th warehouse in the United States including 3 in California, 1 in Georgia, and 2 in New Jersey. The reasons for Chinese companies increasing their presence in California warehouses are likely to be multifaceted and complex, influenced by a range of economic, political, and strategic factors.
🇲🇽 Mexican authorities have seized an American port terminal. Near the popular vacation destination of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, Mexican security forces have taken over a private port owned by the American company “Vulcan Materials”. The construction materials company says that the Mexican government forcibly took their private property with the assistance of a Mexican owned multinational cement firm, Cemex. The Alabama-based Vulcan has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the country’s government for five years.
🇷🇺 Russia’s Kremlin orders government ban on the iPhone. The Kremlin of Russia has ordered all government officials to immediately cease use of Apple iPhones due to the phone’s perceived vulnerability to western intelligence breaches. While this ban will harm Apple's business in Russia, the action is also a threat to the digital supply chain. Experts are calling on Apple, business leaders, and politicians to consider the consequences of hasty bans on technology and instead analyze the long-term effects on the digital supply chain.
iLevel With You 🏡
More topics for the average American household to consider…
🤖 Chat GPT: friend or foe? Some people may be wary about ChatGPT and other language models taking over jobs because these models are becoming increasingly sophisticated and capable of performing a wide range of tasks that were previously done by humans. On the other hand, others think that AI will boost mass productivity and generate trillions of profits. AI can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, freeing up human resources to focus on higher-value tasks.
♻️ Can collaboration help reduce environmental impact? Competition is everywhere we look nowadays, but what if some companies join together and begin to positively influence each other? Collaboration between different companies may seem far-fetched because of how well competition goes together with the current market, but these collaborations can help create a healthier environment and head space in many large industries.
Get Smart 🧠
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
🚙 Ohio roads become the latest testing site for autonomous vehicles. The state and its rural roads have now become a perfect place to test autonomous vans and trucks. Ohio backroads offer a variety of terrains and environments, including rural areas, highways, urban streets, and hilly regions. This provides a diverse range of conditions for testing autonomous vehicles, allowing companies to evaluate their performance under different scenarios.
🧐 Attention shippers: Distribution allows carrier strategies and their thinking. Some experts are saying even though different shifts and disruptions may have happened over these past several years, these can instead allow companies to re-vamp their business strategies. These different opportunities help with rethinking your business arrangements and even your RFPs. RFPs stands for "Request for Proposal," which is a document that outlines the requirements, specifications, and scope of a project or service that a company or organization is seeking.
🚛 Companies have a priority to keep truckers safe in their yards. Many truckers seem to get injured in the yard when they are unloading or waiting at a customer's location. Markedly, 30% of workplace injuries come from truckers slipping when coming out of their truck cab. These incredible number explains why the number of times a driver should get out of their cab is better to be minimized. By optimizing the routes, trucking companies can reduce the number of stops and the amount of time their drivers need to spend getting in and out of the cab.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for November 28, 2024, from iLevel Logistics Inc.