Hydrogen fuel cells vs. electric batteries: trucking weighs in
Good morning! It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day! Some may remember when it was Columbus Day.
Regardless of either - are you working on this fine Monday morning? ☀️
Battery-powered electric vehicles certainly have their world-changing merits, by hydrogen fuel cells will always outperform them. That’s why trucking sectors are pushing for adapting this technology instead of focusing just on a traditional electric battery. The issue? There is almost no fueling infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cells.
Check out today’s featured article from Auto News to read about the back-and-forth over hydrogen fuel cells and battery-powered vehicles and why trucking is advocating heavily for the former. Is this new technology the game changer that could satisfy all? ☕️
Featured Article:
Trucking bullish on hydrogen fuel cells | Automotive News
“While the auto industry struggles to convince consumers that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have a place in daily transportation, truckmakers see huge potential for the technology.”
Regulations & Compliance 📋
More EV’s should mean higher weight limits
The industry push is leaning heavily toward electric vehicles. If this is to come into play - which it looks like it will - then weight limits set on a federal basis need to be amended to accommodate heavier vehicles. That is what the trucking industry is saying, at least.
Currently, the weight limit sits at the 1975 standard of 80,000 pounds. Car haulers in particular are advocating for raising those weight limits to 88,000 in order to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicle battery packs. These battery packs usually weigh about 1,000 to 1,600 pounds more than the standard gas-powered vehicle.
However, the rail industry claims that these car haulers lobbying for higher weight limits is not considering the safety repercussions and instead leveraging a “political situation” over the implementation of electric vehicles.
Midterm Elections 🇺🇸
4 Weeks Out, Senate Control Hangs in the Balance in Tumultuous Midterms | The New York Times
New York Times contributors Shane Goldmacher, Reid J. Epstein, and Jonathan Weisman summarize the current predictions for the upcoming midterm elections and why Republicans currently look like they may swing the control of Congress in their direction.
Women powered Democrats in the 2018 midterms. Will they again in 2022? | The Washington Post
The Washington Post contributor Dan Balz writes about the question of which way women will vote in the post-Roe v. Wade overturned SCOTUS decision. The decision of the midterm elections may hang in the balance.
Trade & Border Issues 🗺
Crimea bridge explosions shows just how fragile supply chains really are
Over the weekend, the 12-mile bridge that connects Russia to Crimea, a heavily disputed piece of land in the region, suffered serious damage after an explosion. The bridge had been used to deliver food and fuel to the peninsula since it was taken over in 2014. Russian troops fighting in Ukraine have been dependent on Crimea for these necessities.
The destruction of the bridge proves that supply chains are fragile. Watching what the Russian military decides to do next may be very interesting.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
🌱 Don’t underestimate Africa. The continent’s startup ecosystem raised almost $5 billion in venture capital funding over the course of 2021, which was double what was raised in 2020. The growth can be attributed to international investor interest in Africa’s agriculture, according to the founder and CEO of IBEX Frontier, Zekarias Amsalu. Some of the largest funding campaigns have been a $55 million Series A found by MAXAB, a B2B e-commerce platform based in Egypt that connects grocery retailers to suppliers.
🧮 Marchin’ toward a better supply chain reality. International transportation capacity is looking at a brighter future maybe sooner than previously expected. It’s easy to get frustrated after years of issues, but experts are predicting that the light at the end of the tunnel should come around March of 2023. Jason Miller, an associate professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, advised that slow and steady will win this race, and advises not to get too excited about a recovery period.
🌎 Suppliers all around the world. There is a fragile relationship between suppliers and importers, and without fruitful products, the supply chain will run dry. On average, it takes six months to complete an order and suppliers are responsible for the majority of the process. There are many factors at play in the first mile and even with modern technology on the rise, bonding together so many facets of the supply chain over global lines can be challenging.
iLevel With You
More topics for the average American household to consider…
🤑 Supply chain, this. Supply chain, that. Why is inflation sticking around if things are improving in the supply chain? Well, way back when in 2021, inflation was transitory… and blamed squarely on supply chain issues. However, that implication hasn’t quite played out. Some suggest supply chain issues are merely a red herring… and others say that we aren’t out of the woods yet. Supply chain issues may be cooling, but they’re still more challenging than they were pre-2020. Hold on to hope!
📨 Say it with your whole chest. On the subreddit r/MaliciousCompliance, Reddit user u/Wildcatb posted a story about how quickly things can unravel for a customer of a carrier when they repeatedly disrespect them. The relationship between the customer and a vendor is important to cultivate, and customers should know when they are treading into challenging territory. Don’t make threats if you aren’t willing to follow through!
🕊 Rest In Peace. In a tragic turn of events, the bodies of the California family who owned Unison Trucking were found last week. Two suspects have now been arrested for the senseless crimes, including one individual who was a disgruntled former employee. Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends, family, and all those who were affected by this tragedy.
GET SMART
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
🛫 The KC-46, have you heard of it? Boeing’s KC-46 Pegasus had a redesigned refueling vision system on the docket, but because of supply chain issues, the release date has been delayed for nineteen months. Originally expected to be released to the Air Force fleet in March 2024, it has now been pushed all the way back to October 2025. The United States Air Force’s acquisition chief, Andrew Hunter, and Boeing joined together in a statement to announce the delay and cited struggling subcontractors dealing with shortages and setbacks. Rest assured, new tech always has a way of finding its way into the military’s hands as fast as humanly possible.
💾 Speaking of chips… the semiconductor company, AMD, announced its lackluster preliminary Q3 results last week, which fell shorter than expected. Originally predicted to have a non-GAAP gross margin of 54%, the real numbers spelled out something closer to 50%. After the announcement, shares dropped about 4% in after-hours trading, signaling some concerns. The bummer is that AMD’s predictions of Q3 were already lower than Wall Street had expected… making the official gross margin wildly underwhelming.
🎓 Do MBAs make a difference in the workplace anymore? Regardless of “quiet-quitting”, the pandemic also opened doors for long-term employment opportunities for those with higher education degrees, particularly a Master of Business Administration. Supply Chain Managers are now more critical than ever and having an MBA should only help one’s chances or landing a position. Numerous courses are now being made available through MBA programs including manufacturing design, corporate sustainability and ethics, and sourcing.
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.