Will TikTok become the new e-commerce powerhouse?
Good morning! Happy Thursday, folks. Can you believe we’re almost halfway through October already? 🎃
“Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing, The Imitation Game
TikTok wants you to know that it’s more than ‘just another social media app’. That much is clear, as it now boasts a user base of over 1 billion in over 150 countries. Now, TikTok has signaled the beginning of an e-commerce supply chain system launch in the United States by listing several job openings on LinkedIn in order to “build an "international e-commerce fulfillment system" which would include warehousing and customs clearings. The job openings include a logistics solutions manager and a team to assist in creating “a new fulfillment service center from scratch” in Seattle, Washington.
The company’s growth has already taken a toll on the likes of Instagram and Facebook… so we suppose it was only a matter of time before e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon began to sweat a little.
Check out today’s featured article from Axios to read about TikTok’s big United States fulfillment center plans and whether this could pose a direct threat to the largest e-commerce giant, Amazon. ☕️
Featured Article:
Scoop: TikTok chases Amazon with plans for U.S. fulfillment centers | Axios
“TikTok is planning to build its own product fulfillment centers in the U.S., creating an e-commerce supply chain system that could directly challenge Amazon, as indicated by more than a dozen new job openings posted in the past two weeks to LinkedIn.”
Driver Issues & Regulations 🇺🇸
DOL proposes throwing out 2021 Independent Contractor Rule
The 2021 Independent Contractor rule was laid out in a favorable manner for classifying workers as independent contractors. The Department of Labor is now issuing a proposed rule to reclassify those workers as employees, instead. Trucking and delivery services are particularly likely to be affected by such a rule change. The DOL has suggested that With this amendment, employers, and workers will return to pre-2021 guidelines that test whether workers should be independent contractors who are “in business for themselves” or considered integral employees.
For 45 days the public will be able to comment on the proposed rule change in the Federal Register.
Thus far, some industry groups are claiming the move is “wholly unnecessary” and will be cost-prohibitive for many employers. Those who favor the change such as Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh are saying that this will provide federal labor protections to workers.
Midterm Elections 🇺🇸
To hold House, Democrats eye GOP-held districts won by Biden | AP News
AP News contributor Will Weissert writes about the Democratic Party looking to win over congressional districts that voted for Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election but are held by Republican representatives.
Biden goes West on 3-state tour as midterm elections near | AP News
AP News contributors Seung Min Kim and Coleen Long write about President Biden’s tour this week to Colorado, California, and Oregon. This is part of the White House’s strategy to secure Democratic control of the Senate during the midterm elections.
Retail & Sustainability ♻️
Fast fashion e-tailer Shein wants to eliminate ¼ of emissions within the decade
Shein, the fast fashion giant that has taken the younger generations by storm, is looking to switch up their image. Known for selling clothing items online for a low price tag, the retailer has faced wave after wave of criticism for its carbon footprint - a whopping estimated 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions just in 2021 alone.
Adam Winston, global head of ESG at Shein, announced the company’s plans of reducing its carbon footprint by 25% by the year 2030 - a monumental goal. Their goals have been outlined to also include working with their suppliers to modify sustainability practices in their companies, as well.
There has been an industry-wide push to reduce emissions over the past several years. Shein competitor H&M announced a similar goal of reaching 100% recycled or sustainable materials by 2030.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
🔋 Welcome to the world of full-electric. Global sales of fully electric vehicles are on track to eclipse 11%, an increase of 60% since last year. China, the United States, and Europe are all posting record EV sale numbers and plugin vehicles are making up 15% of the overall market. Far and away, the top-selling EV model is the Tesla Model Y, closely followed by the BYD Song Plus.
📲 The CHIPS Act cannot be the only step for U.S. semiconductor world domination. Regardless of the legislation likely to increase American output of microelectronics manufacturing capacity by over 1 million wafers per month… that kind of improvement will take quite some time. A mature workforce will need to be developed and new facilities need to be built. Until that day arrives, the United States will be forced to remain heavily dependent on foreign suppliers of semiconductor chips - specifically China.
🇺🇸 Bringing factories back to the United States means finding labor to fill them. The United States manufacturing sector is focusing on re-shoring and near-shoring much of its operations, but will the American workforce rise to the occasion? Since April 2022, manufacturing employment has grown at a rate of 4%, which is the fastest rate recorded since 1984. At that time, the sector employed almost twice the amount of manufacturing jobs as it does today. However, hiring remains a problem that has been stewing since 2020. With a lingering recession on the line, experts are concerned that factory jobs will not be the default.
iLevel With You
More topics for the average American household to consider…
🍇 Fresh produce could be coming to a supermarket near you. The cold storage and logistics provider Lineage Logistics out of Michigan is expanding via several acquisitions over the past two years with goals of improving food safety practices and speedy delivery of fresh produce to customers. The company is also in the process of constructing a cold storage facility at the Port of Savannah in Georgia that will be dedicated to fresh produce.
⛴ Spoke too soon - the Mississippi isn’t out of the woods yet. Bottlenecks along the Ohio tributaries of the Mississippi River near Stack Island are causing quite the strain. Dredging crews have been called in and are working to relieve some of the low levels, but unfavorable weather conditions aren’t helping the situation. The Ohio is a major industry shipping lane in the United States Rust Belt with over 184 million tons of cargo moving through it each year.
⛽️ All good things must come to an end, it seems. The price tag on diesel, which has been steadily declining over the past five weeks, had now shot up a whopping 38.8 cents according to the Energy Information Administration. This brings the national average to $5.224 when a week earlier it had declined to $4.836 - its lowest amount since the March 2022 surge of 74.5 cents. The national average price of gasoline has also jumped 13 cents, now sitting at $3.912 per gallon. Prepare yourselves at the pumps!
GET SMART
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
🚢 Setting a digital standard at sea. Two titans of industry, Rex Paschall of Apex Logistics International & John Veson, CEO of Veson Nautical, spoke together about the importance of standardizing tech practices in sea shipping companies. By doing so, the industry will gain critical points of resilience in the face of supply chain issues and a sense of unification in global shipping.
💨 Zero-emission goals are pushing truckmakers further than ever before. Two major players, Kenworth and Toyota Motor North America and designing a heavy-duty Class 8 fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) to replace their rosters of diesel-operated vehicles. The “Shore to Store” project at the Port of Los Angeles tested the FCEVs with the goal of optimizing the performance of this new technology. These FCEVs should replace diesel-powered engines without giving up any performance detail.
🇪🇺 Europe’s got a congestion problem, and it’s not on the road. Northern Europe spot freight rates have declined by 48.5% in Q3. Liner operators are choosing to skip some ports but are still returning to Asia late because of the traffic. In particular, Belgium’s CSP Zeebrugge Terminal handles two OCEAN Alliance loops and shipping giants evergreen and CMA CGM ad diverting ships there on an “ad-hoc” basis.
Network Association 🤝
Hydrogen fuel-cell pilot for container handlers underway | Supply Chain Management Review
Supply Chain Management Review Staff write an article explaining the partnership between Hyster Company and Fennix Marine Services at the Port of Los Angeles. Hyster is testing container handlers powered by hydrogen fuel cells in order to further electrify the port terminal.
Leadership 🏆
Logistics disruptors: Replicating Uber’s success in the trucking industry | McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company contributor Via Krishan interviews Lior Ron, head of Uber Freight. Together they discuss Uber Freight’s future.
Trucker’s Lounge 🧢
Nation’s military veterans getting help transitioning into trucking industry | The Trucker
The Trucker News Staff writes about the new partnership between Task Force Movement: Life Cycle Pathways for Veterans and Military to Trucking and Cyber Security (TFM) and Military Hire, an organization dedicated to connecting veterans with employers. Together, they are hoping help veterans become truck drivers.
Inflation 💸
Wholesale inflation rises more than expected in September, with prices jumping 8.5% | Fox Business
Fox Business contributor Megan Henney writes about the producer price index rising higher than expected over the month of September. Originally predicted to grow only 8.4%, it instead jumped to 8.5%.
Unions 🪧
Amazon Labor Union faces next showdown in upstate New York | CNN Business
CNN Business contributor Catherine Thorbecke writes about the grassroots worker group out of Staten Island, New York, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), making a third attempt at unionizing at a nearby facility in Albany, New York.
Business Strategy 💡
How Smart Supply Chains Are Navigating the New Normal of Volatility | Supply Chain Brain
Supply Chain Brain contributor Angel Mendez writes about the growing flexibility companies are exhibiting while dealing with volatile working conditions in the supply chain.
Industry Forecast 📊
This is what the future of logistics looks like | World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum shares an article explaining some predictions for global logistics in a post-pandemic world.
U.S. Import Volume Heads South in September, But Still Above Pre-Pandemic Levels | G Captain
G Captain contributor Mike Schuler writes about still-high United States import volume, regardless of levels dropping in September. Will shipping rates remain high above 2019 levels?
Cab Tech 🚛
Composite cabs and trailers and the future of trucking | Fleet Maintenance
Fleet Maintenance contributor Roger Gastineau writes about the push to make mostly carbon fiber truck cabs and reduce the extruded aluminum profiles in truck designs.
Rail 🚂
Railroad maintenance union rejects contract; Doomsday Clock restarts | Back The Truck Up
Back The Truck Up contributor Rooster writes about the renewed concerns of the railroad strike after the unions reject the proposed contract agreement.
Electric Vehicles 🔋
Honda’s new $4.4 billion EV battery plant will be built in Ohio | CNBC
CNBC contributor Michael Wayland writes about Honda Motor and LG Energy Solution’s partnership to create a brand new multibillion-dollar plant in Ohio. Ground is scheduled to be broken in early 2023.
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.