Rail unions agree to cooling off period, Dec 4th new deadline
Good morning! Happy Veteran’s Day. Thank you to the men and women who’ve served in the U.S. military branches. We are grateful. 🇺🇸
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the third-largest rail union in the United States, has ushered forth a new deadline of December 4th to extend labor contract talks. The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen was the second union to reject the proposed agreement with the railroads in late October, throwing the industry back into a precarious position. This new deadline is meant to give the unions an opportunity to re-align efforts among the unions, which seem to be in debate.
Check out today’s featured article from Supply Chain Dive to read about the “cooling-off period” agreed to by the third largest rail union as the industry braces for a possible rail strike if terms cannot be met between the labor unions and the railroads. ☕️
Featured Article:
Deadline to avoid rail strike or lockout extended to December | Supply Chain Dive
“The country’s third largest rail union agreed to a longer “cooling off” period in an attempt to avoid congressional intervention and potential service disruptions.”
Sales & Inventory 📦
Overproduction accounts for $163 billion in waste and losses each year
Avery Dennison, a Fortune 500 materials science and digital identification solutions company, published data in a global report in early November. The report made the analysis that there is an annual loss of $163.1 billion worth of inventory each year due to overproduction and waste.
More than nine in ten businesses surveyed say there is massive pressure to become more sustainable in terms of emissions. However, although 60% said it was a “high” priority, they also cited growing challenges to achieving supply chain resilience while meeting these goals. There is a case of transparency through blockchain investments and smart devices.
Electric Vehicles & Company Culture 🔋
Online customers are interested in choosing a delivery company that reduces their carbon footprint
According to a survey from Merchants Fleet, a New Hampshire-based fleet management company, nearly half of American consumers said they would prefer to use a parcel delivery carrier that used electric vehicles to fulfill deliveries. A whopping 55% of U.S. shoppers are planning to buy more goods online this holiday season as opposed to the 2021 holiday season. And although inflation isn’t stopping holiday shopping, consumers are becoming more aware of their environmental impact.
Online shopping has proven to be a huge creator of carbon emissions as giant vehicles and import containers transfer items all over the globe. Tight deadlines often force trucks to carry partly-empty loads, which causes even more of an issue.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
Driving Electric Vehicle GIF By South Park via GIPHY
🏎️ The EU proposes new regulations in regard to the last-generation combustion engines. The European Union has already banned the sales of new combustion engine-powered vehicles by 2035, and now it’s expected that they are tightening that leash. The rules surrounding pollutants of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides are expected to become stricter as the midway point - 2025 - approaches. Carlos Tavares, chief executive officer of Stellantis NV and A critic of the move, argues that the drastic steps in cutting Co2 emissions from cars are enforcing unnecessary burdens on the industry as it performs the great shift to all-electric engines.
🌎 Corporate decision-makers are urgently planning for supply chain overhauls next year. In a recent HSBC Holdings Plc survey, 47% of respondents said that overhauling their supply chain is a priority in 2023 and only 11% said it’s not necessary. A whopping 51% of respondents have stated that they anticipate the international trade environment to be more challenging next year. Several countries are expected to be key locations in global trade in 2023, including India, Australia, and Malaysia.
🇳🇴 Norway and the U.S. are partnering for the “Green Shipping Challenge”. At the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Summit in Egypt this week, Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonah Gaher Støre, and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry announced the launch of their new project. The unified goal is to align the industry as a whole to the Paris Agreement goals - namely limiting temperature rise by approximately 32° Fahrenheit. The shipping industry has responded positively with major companies agreeing to fall in line in terms of goals and compliance.
iLevel With You
More topics for the average American household to consider…
⚡️ President Biden states that Elon Musk’s ties to other countries are “worth looking into”. While being quick to say that he is not being accusatory of wrongdoing, the President’s response to the question about Musk at a recent White House press conference raised some eyebrows. Musk has been a vocal critic of the Biden Administration and other Democrats this year, and has suggested that the White House has chosen preferential treatment of union-backed legacy automakers over Tesla when it comes to federal support of EV makers.
💨 California see a 33% reduction in emissions since 2001. A greenhouse gas emissions report released by The California Air Resources Board credits the improvement to expanded use of biodiesel and renewable diesel in heavy-duty trucks, greater use of electric vehicles, and more fuel-efficient passenger vehicles. CARB regularly maintains and regulates the state’s performance when lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
💸 Inflation may be easing as consumer prices rise, but less than expected. In October, the consumer price index increased 0.4% for the month and 7.7% from a year ago. Food and energy costs continue to be volatile, but prices have declined for medical care, used vehicles, and apparel items. Treasury yields fell, as a result, sending the market soaring after the results were released.
GET SMART
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
💸 3PLs are a growing market and heavily investing in technology advancements. What can these third-party logistics firms do to combat the pressures of e-commerce fulfillment demands, labor shortages, and tight margins? Operating challenges are different today than they were a couple of years ago. These 3PL customers are now adopting lower-cost forms of automation – usually with autonomous mobile robots and developing a multi-client warehouse environment.
🧮 Less than 10% of suppliers are utilizing automation. While the same suppliers typically say that they recognize its value, only 9% of them say they’re fully automated across their supply chains - according to JAGGAER’s State of the Supply Side Report 2022. This is partly due to supply chain challenges such as shortages of labor and product, inflation, and geopolitical risks. A lack of automation in these supply chains is creating inefficiencies, according to JAGGAER’s VP of Direct Procurement Strategy, Georg Roesch.
Repair & Maintenance 🧰
How to diagnose fleets' biggest after-treatment headaches | Fleet Owner
Fleet Owner contributor Mindy Long writes about diagnoses of truck repair issues and the biggest challenges fleets have in catching them early on.
Leadership 🏆
Supply Chain Graphic of the Week: The World's Largest Freight Carriers | SC Digest
SC Digest shares an article deciding the top competitors in the U.S. Parcel game. UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. top the list.
Diversity 👩🦰
Women of Trucking Advisory Board holds inaugural meeting | Land Line
In this article, Land Line contributor Mark Schremmer writes about the inaugural meeting held by the Women of Trucking Advisory Board and their plans for the years ahead.
Electric Vehicles 🔋
Fleets face 'very steep’ learning curve on road to EVs | Fleet Maintenance
Fleet Maintenance contributor Kevin Jones writes about the trucking sector moving into alternative energy solutions and the challenges on the road ahead.
The Biden Administration’s Electric Vehicle Gambit Is Illegal and Costly | The Heritage Foundation
In this article, The Heritage Foundation contributor Derrick Morgan - the executive vice president of The Heritage Foundation - writes about the Biden Administration’s push for electric vehicles and potential misuse of legislative branch power.
Business Strategy 💡
Addressing the Root Causes of Supply Chain Bottlenecks | Flexport
In this article, Flexport Senior Writer Jesse Kelber writes about supply chain bottlenecks and what could be the main reason they keep popping up across the industry.
Driver Issues 🚛
Driver Investigations Changing in 2023 | Trucking info
Trucking info contributor Kathy Close writes about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s decision to eliminate safety perfjoamcne history inquiries for drivers.
Safety 🦺
US Xpress posts $22.7M loss after crash costs spike | Transport Dive
In this article, Transport Dive Associate Editor David Taube writes about the plummet in income for US Xpress, which suffered largely due to insurance and claims costs.
News Bag 🗞️
Supply Chain by the Numbers for Nov. 10, 2022 | Supply Chain Digest
SC Digest shares a summary of some of the biggest stories of the week, including holiday sales projections, west coast dockworker labor talks wit the ports, and the price of Chinese production plummeting.
Fuel ⛽️
Oil Tankers To See Biggest Demand Surge In Decades | Zero Hedge
Zero Hedge contributors Tyler Durden and Julianne Geiger of OilPrice.com writes about the surge in oil tanker demand.
Taxes 💰
California voters reject tax on rich for more electric vehicles | The Trucker
In this article, The Trucker’s contributor from The Associated Press writes about the voter results of the legislation to tax California’s wealthiest residents to put more electric vehicles on the roads, despite California's policy to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles within several years. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom heavily campaigned against the policy, claiming it was a taxpayer giveaway to rideshare companies such as Lyft.
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.