Carriers scramble to deliver to Florida customers after Hurricane Ian destruction
Good morning! We’re midway through World Space Week. 🪐
Did you read our exclusive: “Space Logistics: The Final Frontier” yet? Go check it out!
In other news… Florida. The state faced the brutal Hurricane Ian last week which left a mass amount of destruction in its wake. Carriers such as UPS and FedEx Express have been forced to issue service suspensions until floodwaters can recede and deliveries can be made safely. The list of cities with suspensions is growing smaller by the day… but perhaps it’s best to give your delivery person some grace in southwest Florida this week.
Check out today’s featured article from Supply Chain Dive to read about the great lengths carriers are going to in order to fulfill services to areas affected by the disastrous storm and which zip codes can still expect very delayed shipments. ☕️
Featured Article:
Carriers work to restore service after Hurricane Ian | Supply Chain Dive
“The storm ripped through Florida last week and halted delivery and transportation operations.”
Warehousing & Capacity Issues 📦
Large retailers are absorbing warehouse space to fill inventory glut, small businesses frustrated
Small Businesses are dealing with more strain as warehouse capacity continues to tighten. Both logistics and real estate experts are growing more concerned by the day as large retailers absorb any and all warehouse space available to fill up their excess inventory. Small businesses, unfortunately, cannot compete with large retailers to obtain warehouse space and many of them are feeling desperate.
Since 2020, the vacancy rate for warehouses has dropped two full percentage points. Southern California has almost nothing left to offer as every facility available is seemingly full.
Midterm Elections 🇺🇸
Election officials confront a new problem: Whether they can trust their own poll workers | Politico
Politico contributor Zach Montellaro writes about the growing fears of possible election fraud brewing at the polls. Several disturbing incidents at Michigan poll locations have election officials concerned about the trust they are putting in poll workers - is it worth it?
Accelerating the Future of Trucking and Electric Transportation | Real Clear Energy
Real Clear Energy contributors Dan Bowermaster and Watson Collins write how widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the trucking sector still has many challenges to face, but with most Americans recognizing trucking as a pillar in the economy… its only a matter of time.
Republicans hold a near-historic lead on a key midterm indicator | CNN Politics
CNN contributor Harry Enter explains that the Republican Party is polling at a historical lead over Democrats in preparation for the upcoming midterm elections in November. Gallup’s latest poll shows that 48% of the country believe that the Republican Party is best equipped over 37% who believe that the Democratic Party is best equipped.
Driver Issues & Safety 🦺
Transporting hazardous material safely is of the utmost importance
Safety is of the utmost importance and supply chain constraints have made transporting hazardous material more complicated than ever. Reliable data and consistent processes are paramount for effective deliveries of these materials and new tech is becoming readily available for companies to utilize.
The direction of the logistics industry to incorporate lithium batteries within transportation services will require new safety requirements. Technology and infrasture should be expected to be modified on a global scale. According to the 7th Annual 2022 Global Dangerous Goods Conference Outlook released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA and Labelmaster, only 25% of those surveyed believe that their organization’s infrastructure is well-equipped to meet the needs of the near future.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
💊 Evolving from shots to pills. Chinese state-owned drug manufacturer Sinopharm is partnering with Merck & Co. in order to bring its antiviral COVID-19 medicine to Chinese soil... eventually. Supplying and commercializing the medication in China is a major move for the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company. China still hasn’t approved the usage of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech. The country instead has been solely relying on homegrown vaccines to battle the virus. (Supply Chain Brain)
🌾 Grain spilleth over. Canada’s grain harvest was astronomical this fall - the 3rd largest crop on record - but the country is struggling to get enough rail cars to transport it all. The country’s largest two railroads, the Canadian National Railway Co. and the Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. are not able to keep up, unable to fulfill almost 2,400 grain-car orders. This Canadian grain crop comes as a welcome supply to the world that has been dealing with shortages since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. (AJOT)
🤖 AI is your friend. Supply chain crises related to the Covid-19 pandemic cannot seem to give us a break. But technology is rapidly offering new and promising solutions to these complexities that are causing frustration in logistics circles. Don’t run from AI - embrace it! Global leaders are building digital twins of their physical processes and operational structures while incorporating machine learning in order to get ahead of any potential supply chain issues. (Supply Chain Brain)
iLevel With You
More topics for the average American household to consider…
🧈 Buttah, buttah, buttah! Butter prices are starting to climb as the holiday season approaches and seasonal products start to fly off the shelves. Milk production has been slow and the butter market is tight with 11,000 less milk cows are on farms across America as compared to 2021. The average price per pound of Grade AA Butter has increased 80% compared to this time last year, reporting $3.15 per pound as compared to the same time last year. So make sure you stock up on butter, folks! (Supply Chain Dive)
🤳 Get your Twitter fingers ready - Elon is back. After a tumultuous will-he-won’t-he could of months, Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter again for the price he had offered that was accepted - $44 billion. A few moths ago, Musk tried backing out of the deal which has led to a pending Delaware trial, set to begin in two weeks. Regardless of changing his tune, Twitter and Musk still seem to have a contentious relationship and the lawsuit won’t be going anywhere until there is more finality in the matter. (AP News)
🇺🇸 New jobs abound! Despite bleak expectations, US companies added 208,000 jobs to the market in September. Private payroll job growth seems to be where the majority of the growth lies, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report. Previously, it was predicted that there were only to be 200,000 jobs added, an 8,000 job difference. However, good-pricing industries reported a loss of almost 30,000 jobs, while manufacturing and mining payrolls dropped as well. (Fox Business)
GET SMART
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
🦸🏻♀️ So, what is the phrase you exactly would use to describe a supply chain trend or development? Inbound Logistics asked the questions, and leaders answered. Whether it’s ‘brandflection’, as coined by the CEO of PICKUP, Brain Kava - or ‘freightology’ as stated by Amber Crosby, the Head of Client Success at WARP… leaders get creative without how they brand their business strategies. (Inbound Logistics)
📉 Inventory is everywhere. That seems to be the message of the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released on Tuesday. Taking statistics from surveying North American industry professionals, the LMI registered 61.4 which is up 1.7 points from August. The highest month was in March, with an all-time record of 76.2. What does this mean? Above 70 means considerable growth… but 61.4 is up from the previous months. This means that the economy is expanding in the logistics realm. (DC Velocity)
🏢 Warehouse Optimus prime! Automation is the mission for most warehouses across the globe and consumer buying habits are changing rapidly. Time expectations of delivery of the product are getting smaller, so retailers need to research new ways to enhance warehouse performance. If interested in benchmarking storage in warehouses and preparing for peak season interested you, get registered for Logistics Management’s webinar panel on October 13th here! (Logistics Management)
Charity 🤲
Supply Chain Dive Associate Editor Megan Ruggles writes about Feeding America’s newest partnership with MealConnect, a smart sorting digital platform to be used for helping retailers easily donate their excess food to nonprofits.
Sustainability ♻️
Fleets try to meet shippers’ newest request: sustainability | Fleet Owner
Fleet Owner contributor Josh Fisher writes about the effort carriers - big and small - are putting into their fleets in order to meet sustainability demands from their customers and the industry as a whole.
Trucker’s Lounge 🧢
OOIDA life member Dave Sweetman humbled by Road Warrior selection | Land Line
Land Line contributor SJ Munoz writes about OOIDA life member Dave Sweetman being named the 2022 Pilot Flying J Road Warrior.
Electric Vehicles 🔋
US House Lawmakers Introduce EV Tech Bill | TT News
TT News senior reporter Eugene Mulero writes about the Shifting Forward Vehicle Technologies Research and Development Act. This piece of legislation was introduced recently to the United States House of Representatives.
Edmunds compares: 2022 Lucid Air vs. Tesla Model S | AP News
AP News contributor Alex Nishimoto writes about the comparisons between the Tesla Model S and the new 2022 Lucid Air.
Peak Season 🎄
Flexport copywriter (from Global Brand) Jamie Hurt summarizes some peak season predictions gathered from nine industry experts.
Fuel ⛽️
White House Reportedly Weighing Controversial Gasoline Exports Ban | G Captain
G Captain contributor Bloomberg shares an article diving into the possibility of the White House issuing a gasoline export ban on the country’s largest oil producers.
Hours of Service ⏳
Is Time Up For No Overtime in Trucking? [Commentary] | Trucking Info
Trucking Info contributor David Cullen writes about the creeping legislation as Congress reviews the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act (H.R. 7517). Will the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 exemption for truckers be removed?
Compliance 📋
CVSA announces enhanced CMV inspection program for autonomous trucks | The Trucker
The Trucker News Staff writes about the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) new CMV inspection program for vehicles that include an automated driving system on board.
Safety 🦺
The Backwards Insinuation That Amazon Hires 'Dangerous Truck Drivers' | Real Clear Markets
Real Clear Markets contributor John Tamny writes about the common internet insinuations that Amazon hires unsafe drivers to haul loads across the U.S.
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.