Californi-ahead: Ports Join Forces to Share Shipment Data
Good morning! Today is National Press Freedom Day. This day is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the importance of press freedom and to remind us of the value of the freedom of the press in upholding democracy and human rights. As we reflect on the significance of press freedom, we also turn our attention to the latest news and developments in the world of supply chain management. 🗞️
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The alliance of California ports has joined forces to establish a shared data system, solving visibility issues and unifying currently siloed data, which was a major reason for supply chain disruptions at U.S. West Coast ports two years ago. The $27 million cash for data sharing will be distributed as grants to the five ports. The Port of Long Beach has confirmed that it would use its share of the grant money to improve the "Supply Chain Information Highway," a network of ports in the U.S.
Check out today’s featured article from More Than Shipping to read about the partnership between the West Coast ports. Will this data-sharing system improve shipments in the future?
Featured Article:
Goodbye Cargo Delays: California Ports Join Forces to Better Share Shipment Data | More Than Shipping
“In major news for U.S. West Coast ports, a group of five California ports will partner to create a game-changing data-sharing system for seamless shipments.”
Banking & Loans 💰
FDIC proposes increases to insured business deposit limit
The FDIC has suggested easing the current deposit insurance limit for U.S. businesses, allowing bank deposit insurance for accounts holding more than $250,000, in an effort to address the industry's instability that led to three bank failures in the last two months. The regulator recommended the change to raise the insurance limit for business accounts used to pay for company operations, such as payroll, as these accounts pose the most significant risk to financial stability. The FDIC noted the need for more flexibility in targeting higher deposits in the banking system.
Following the recent bank failures, including First Republic Bank, which became the second-largest failure in history, the FDIC believes that raising the insurance limit for targeted business accounts would shore up the system and prevent further failures. This comes after a consortium of large lenders pooled $30 billion in cash to stabilize First Republic in March, however, the bank still suffered a significant deposit run that led to its collapse.
Shipping & Fuel Tech ♻️
One-Third of Shipping Industry Struggling with Transition to Sustainable Fuels
One-third of shipping companies do not know the type of fuel their vessels will run on in future decades, according to a survey by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, the Global Maritime Forum, and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, with analysis by McKinsey. Of those surveyed, 46% have already run pilot programs involving one or more low-carbon fuels, whereas 35% have taken no action regarding greener fuels.
Respondents expect to spread consumption across multiple compatible fuels and 49% expect to adopt four or more fuel families within their fleets by 2050. Making the leap to a greener-fuel future will require decades of work, but respondents are clear on what they will need to accelerate the transition.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
🇨🇳 Global Expansion of Chinese Electric Vehicle Brands is Underway. Chinese electric vehicles brands like BYD Auto, NIO, Geely Group’s Zeekr, and Ora are expanding globally and competing with Western and Japanese brands in their home markets. These Chinese EV brands offer fast-developing technology and low prices that pose a challenge for competitors like Tesla. Chinese EV makers have achieved success in the domestic market, selling almost half of the world's battery-powered vehicles and gasoline-electric hybrids in China, and now look to expand globally.
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico is utilizing Russian energy because of the Jones Act. Puerto Rico, which gets over 40% of its electricity from liquefied natural gas (LNG), is unable to receive US LNG exports due to the Jones Act. This forces Puerto Rico to purchase LNG from foreign countries, such as Russia, which has supplied over $80 million worth of gas to the island from 2019 to 2022. The law restricts domestic waterborne transportation to vessels that are US-flagged, making it economically impractical to build an LNG tanker under the Jones Act.
🇲🇽 Chinese Commercial Vehicle Manufacturer Expands in Mexico, Aims for U.S. Market. Chinese truck manufacturer, Beiqi Foton Motor, is planning to build a second plant in Mexico to produce electric vehicles with plans to export them to the US. The plant's location is yet to be determined, and it will begin production in 2025. The Mexico plant will produce both traditional internal combustion and electric vehicles. The company's first Mexican plant opened in 2017, and it already imports electric trucks from China into Mexico.
🇨🇳 Tesla Raises Prices in Multiple Markets After Multiple Cuts. Tesla has increased the prices of its Model 3 and Model Y cars in key markets, including the US and China. The price of the Model 3 in China has increased to CNY 231,900 ($33,549), up from the previous price of CNY 229,900, while the Model Y is now priced at CNY 263,900, up by CNY 2,000. In the US, the Model 3 and Model Y now cost $250 more than before, with the Model 3 starting at $40,240 and the Model Y at $47,240.
iLevel With You 🏡
More topics for the average American household to consider…
⚡️ Costs of Electrifying the US Auto Industry are Sky-High. To reach proposed EPA emissions targets for 2032, the US will need to expand EV adoption and infrastructure, which will come at a high cost. The country currently has low EV adoption rates, with EVs accounting for just 5.8% of total auto sales in 2022. Powering an increase in electrification will require a significant expansion of existing infrastructure and supply chains, and although utilities may have to invest in charging infrastructure, consumers should not suffer from higher electricity rates if it's properly managed. Decarbonizing the transportation sector is a necessary step toward meeting emissions goals and reducing carbon footprint, particularly as the US is the second-biggest contributor to carbon emissions in the world.
💻 Coping with the Unstoppable Expansion of E-Commerce. The growth of e-commerce sales continues, and the challenges in fulfilling these orders due to labor shortages, inadequate inventory space, and inventory variability persist, according to Paul Ambruso, VP and GM of mobile robotics at Berkshire Grey. The solution lies in automation, and as the need for hyper-local and hyper-fast delivery increases, technology vendors are presented with many opportunities.
🍌 IoT to Reduce Food Waste in 2023 and Beyond. A new Internet of Things (IoT) technology called Sensing-as-a-Service, which combines continuous asset monitoring with prescriptive analytics and real-time guidance, has the potential to prevent food waste in the retail industry. The US wastes around $218 billion of food annually, which is roughly double the profits from food sales, making it a significant opportunity for grocery retailers to recover lost profits. By increasing their sensing capabilities in operations, food retailers can mitigate food waste and related losses, resulting in more optimal asset health.
🏝️ The logistics of repairing the damage to southwest Florida beaches. The Southwest Florida coastline is set to receive thousands of truckloads of sand as beach restoration efforts continue, less than a year after governments in Lee and Collier counties spent millions on restoring the beaches from erosion. Hurricane Ian caused significant damage to the coastline, laying waste to ongoing beach restoration efforts. An estimated 6,000 dump truck loads of sand will be used at a cost of around $7.5m to rebuild the beaches, with an additional $23m for a secondary project to renourish Estero Island's beaches. The first task will be to build an emergency berm, which will elevate the north-south island's beach by around six feet to protect against a five-year storm.
⛽️ Diesel Prices Drop for Second Week Straight. The average price of diesel fuel in the U.S. has slightly decreased, sitting at $4.018 per gallon as of May 1, down from the previous two weeks. The Rocky Mountains and West Coast regions have seen rising prices, with averages of $4.146 and $4.489 per gallon, respectively. Meanwhile, oil companies worldwide have reported substantial profits due to Russia's energy supply restrictions following its invasion of Ukraine. BP has reported earnings of $5 billion in the first quarter of 2023, and its CEO, Bernard Looney, said the company had "strategic delivery" during the period.
🏙️ Top US cities for starting a business in 2023, according to WalletHub. A recent WalletHub study ranked major U.S. cities to determine which are the best for starting a business in 2023. Orlando, Florida topped the list, followed by Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, and Durham, North Carolina. The ranking was based on 19 metrics that measured business environment, access to resources, and startup costs. Other cities that made the top 10 list include Boise, Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, and St. Petersburg.
Get Smart 🧠
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
👨💼 New CEO of Lyft takes on a challenging task. David Risher, the new CEO of Lyft, has come up with a restructuring plan that involves laying off almost 1,100 employees as part of an effort to reverse the company's mounting losses and sagging stock price. Risher believes the deep cuts are necessary to enable Lyft to lower its fares to levels similar to those of its main rival, Uber. This cost-cutting exercise will also help Lyft pay its drivers better, another important element needed to offer more rides with quicker pick-up times. These efforts come as Lyft's driver app averages about 400,000 daily usages, half its pre-pandemic levels, while Uber's driver app boasts about 1.4 million daily users, roughly the same as it had leading up to the pandemic.
🚂 CPKC prepares for competition. CPKC's President and CEO, Keith Creel, has stated that he is not worried about his company's competitors' plans to create a cross-border intermodal service connecting the US and Mexico. Instead, he has claimed that CPKC can offer a "much superior service." Union Pacific, Canadian National, and Ferromex owner Grupo México Transportes recently announced their plan to create the Falcon Premium service, but Creel argued that a shorter route does not mean faster service. CPKC is set to launch a daily train service from Chicago to Mexico on May 11th and has recently signed agreements with major trucking carriers, including Schneider and Knight-Swift.
📉 ISM reports manufacturing decline for April. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) has released the April edition of the Manufacturing Report on Business, which indicates that manufacturing output decreased for the sixth consecutive month. The report highlights that the overall economy also contracted for the same duration, albeit at a slower rate. The PMI of 47.1% is 3% below the 12-month average of 50.1% and is considered to be a slower rate of contraction, compared to the past five months. Five of the 16 manufacturing sectors surveyed have experienced growth, while 11 have seen declines.
🚚 California Raises the Bar on Zero-Emission Vehicles with Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation. California's new Advanced Clean Fleets rule requires drayage trucks to be all zero emissions by 2035 and most other fleets to be entirely zero emissions by 2042. Fleet owners operating vehicles for private services such as last-mile delivery and federal fleets, along with state and local government fleets, will begin their transition towards zero-emission vehicles starting in 2024. In addition, starting in 2036, fleets won't be able to buy any medium- or heavy-duty vehicles in the state that aren't zero-emission vehicles.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for November 27, 2024, from iLevel Logistics Inc.