FMSCA likely to propose automatic emergency brake system requirements in January 2023
Good morning! It’s Back to the Future Day. And Friday. Could this day get any better?!
Speaking of Back to the Future… Doc could’ve used some brakes on that DeLorean.
We’ve talked about speed limiters, but that isn’t the only safety proposal regulation on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s docket. Expected to land this upcoming January, the FMSCA will likely conjoin a rule for automatic emergency brakes alongside speed limiters to be made into law next summer.
Check out today’s featured article from Land Line to read about the automatic emergency braking system proposal by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and whether this technology is likely to be implemented. ☕️
Featured Article:
Automatic emergency braking proposal slated for early 2023 | Land Line
“A speed limiter mandate isn’t the only rulemaking Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has planned for 2023.”
Trade & Border Issues - Harvest ☕️
Vietnam’s coffee harvest booms: the world can expect some slightly less expensive morning espresso
The world’s largest grower of the robusta variety of coffee beans is in Vietnam, and they’re experiencing a large crop this season. The global supply of espresso beans and instant coffee has been slightly scarce, driving prices upward. But now, the price has dropped 10% in the last 60 days. You can thank Vietnam for that.
Yields were plentiful after favorable weather and massive replanting efforts of trees. However, this luck has not been felt in all other coffee-grower regions. Brazil, the largest producer of the milder-tasting arabica coffee bean variety has suffered frost and droughts, wearing production and signaling several years are needed for a full recovery of the market.
Midterm Elections 🇺🇸
‘No loyalties here’: Latino voters to play crucial role in Texas races | The Guardian
In this article, The Guardian writes about the Democrat’s waning grip on Latino voters in Texas, where Republicans are gaining traction.
Ports & Infrastructure 🚢
California ports looking forward to $1.2B state-funded infusion
The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will be receiving major facelifts after California pledged $1.2 billion in infrastructure upgrades. The California State Transportation Agency is calling for more efficient and sustainable movement systems and this amount has been incorporated into the state’s financial budget.
The two shipping hubs can expect about 70% of that chunk of change to be passed along to them. Project applications are due to be assessed by January 13, 2023 - so we expect the ports are hard at work developing plans.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
Amaze Doc Brown GIF By Back To The Future Trilogy via GIPHY
🚢 Dozens of ships are waiting for their turn. Europe’s coasts are being swamped by lines of full ships full of liquified natural gas, hoping to unload at the docks. This liquified natural gas should offset the swelling energy crisis in Europe, but there’s a big problem... traffic. The coast of Spain is particularly seeing an overwhelming number of ships off its shores. Grid operators in the region are warning they will likely need to suspend loading operations while they tackle the glaring congestion problem.
♻️ Greenpeace and other ESG activists are not thrilled. The Commercial Customers Operations Advisory Committee (CCOAC) is a panel of executives from some of the largest companies in America, including Intel, General Motors, and Walmart. Authorized by the US Customer and Border Protection (CBP), the CCOAC advises on methods of action to streamline trade regulations across national borders. The CCOAC recently recommended new rules to limit public access to import data, making it confidential information. ESG activities claim that this move would allow companies to shroud human rights abuses and imports created with slave labor from the public eye, shielding them from accountability.
💧 Let us resin with you. Port congestion, shipping costs, and equipment shortages have held back the U.S. resin industry from broadening overseas. While carriers prioritize getting empty containers returned to Asia, resin shippers are struggling with obtaining export reservations. However, with resin being a hot commodity, falling domestic prices are attractive to an international market. As operational issues in the ports begin to subside, it’s likely that the domestic resin market will begin to grow at a rapid pace.
iLevel With You
More topics for the average American household to consider…
🔋 EV buyers don’t seem very nervous about the lack of public infrastructure for the vehicles. Why is that? The demand for electric vehicles is growing by the day, but the infrastructure is not keeping up with the growth in sales and manufacturing. It seems that most consumers prefer charing their vehicles from the comforts of their homes. Governments in several western countries are weighing whether public charging infrastructure efforts are as necessary when shared private-charging options are now championed by EV-industry leaders, such as California.
📦 Amazon heard, and they listened. Partnering with UPS. Amazon is now offering extended use of a seller-fulfilled returns system for its customers. This option will now run through November 1st after it was scheduled to end on October 2nd. This “short-term experiment” of customers dropping off returns at a UPS store seems to be working. The goal? Get the consumer to feel comfortable with spending more. While there is a fee for using a UPS or a USPS shipping label for returns, Amazon has promised to reimburse the bill.
👔 Need a job? Well, show off your talents. In a survey of 860 HR leaders in July 2022, Gartner collected some interesting data. Organizations are looking for some specifics when hiring over the upcoming calendar year. The top priorities when sifting through potential hires are organizational and change management (53%), employee experience (47%), recruiting (46%), and the future of work (42%). This signals a new approach to leadership, where authenticity, empathy, and adaptivity are the key traits sought after.
GET SMART
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
🤔 Was the supply chain ever really broken? That’s the question on some industry experts’ minds these days. Shipping costs are on a downturn for the first time since early 2020, but that doesn’t mean we can all breathe a sigh of relief quite yet. Covid-19 was an unprecedented event, and who is to say it is the last? The supply chain may be more resilient than ever before, but that doesn’t mean it was destroyed. “Normal” is not necessarily a word that should ever be used while relating to the supply chain.
🚛 It’s that special time of year again: the annual freight Request for Proposal. The RFP season tends to be an overwhelming one for shippers and carriers alike. Proposals are time-consuming processes that often last up to twelve weeks until they are complete. This period of time can take a bite out of a year-long contract and leave many carriers scrambling to make contract lanes profitable. With the goal of making more informed business decisions while facing RFP season, many recommend focusing on better visibility and efficiency practices in freight procurement.
📊 Stay observant: the transportation market is all over the place. Declining rates and tempering demand are not exactly what the industry needed while economic pressures and inflation continue to wreak havoc. AFS Logistics’ CEO Tom Nightingale reported in a Q4 earnings call that shippers must remain on their toes as carriers continue to hike rates. Ground parcel is winning the game being the only form of transportation that isn’t predicted to decline over Q4.
Business Strategy 💡
Electronics OEMs Need to Revise Their Supply Chain Risk Management Strategies | Supply Chain Brain
In this article, Supply Chain Brain Senior Editor Helen Atkinson writes about the struggles of original equipment manufacturers and how they must face these challenges as their products become more valuable than ever before.
Ports 🚢
Supply Chain Graphic of the Week: Market Share Top 11 US Ports | Supply Chain Digest
In this article from Supply Chain Digest, the market share of the top 11 ports in America is explored. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach lead the pack, bu the Port of New York & New Jersey is not far behind.
Fuel Tech ♻️
T&E calls shipping transition to LNG “irresponsible” in times of energy crisis | Container News
In this article, Container News Editor Themis Karalis discusses the predicted requirements of Europe’s shipping industry in 2030 and why some interest groups are calling the industry’s reliance on liquid natural gas “irresponsible.”
Electric Vehicles 🔋
Fleets 'frustrated' with utilities slow to support electric truck charging | Fleet Owner
In this article, Fleet Owner contributor Kevin Jones writes about the difficulties fleets who have invested in electric trucks are facing regarding operational support for charging infrastructure.
TeraWatt announces first interstate EV charging network for trucks | CNBC
In this article, CNBC contributor Emma Newburger writes about the San Francisco startup TeraWatt Infrastructure’s announcement of an EV-charging network specifically for the trucks that run our supply chain.
Industry Forecast 📊
Freight volumes see largest quarterly drop in over a year: US Bank | Transport Dive
In this article, Transport Dive Associate Editor David Taube writes about the largest recorded freight drop in volumes over the past quester, as reported by US Bank.
Sales 🧾
In this article, Supply Chain Brain writes about the recent launch of PalletTrader, a marketplace for sourcing, selling, and buying wooden pallets in the online forum.
Owner-Operators 🚛
Biden’s attack on gig work is an Uber mistake | Fox Business
In this article, Fox Business contributor Carl Szabo writes about the growing backlash against the Biden Administration’s “attack” against the gig economy.
Trade & Border Issues 🗺
Supply Chain by the Numbers for October 20, 2022 | SC Digest
In this article, Supply Chain Digest summarizes the biggest stories of the past week in the logistics world - including the Mississippi River’s traffic jam due to a lingering drought, Amazon workers’ decisive "vote against unionizing in Albany, and the strong manufacturing output over the month of September.
Human Resources 📝
NPTC Report: Driver Turnover Spikes at Private Fleets | Trucking Info
In this article, Trucking Info contributor Vensna Brajkovic writes about the increasing driver turnover rates in smaller private fleets.
Keys to addressing trucking’s labor shortage | TruckNews.com
In this article, TruckNews.com contributor Mike Millian writes about several key methods that can be implemented to battle the labor shortage in the trucking industry.
Repair & Maintenance 🧰
How to Get Trucks Ready for Winter | Trucking Info
In this article, Trucking Info contributor Jim Park writes about what drivers and fleet owners should be taking care of and watching out for while preparing for the cold, winter months.
5 Steps to Create a Safer Trucking Fleet | Trucking Info
In this article, Trucking Info contributor Ronnie Wendt writes about several options fleets can take to create a healthier and safer atmosphere for their drivers.
Money Matters 💰
J.B. Hunt Reports $3.84 Billion in Revenue for Q3 | TT News
In this article, TT News Staff Reporter Connor D. Wolf writes about the Q3 revenue report from J.B. Hunt, raking in about $3.84 billion.
Infrastructure 🔨
Federal Grants Provide Lifeline to Rural Bridge Assessments | TT News
In this article, TT News staff reporter Noël Fletcher writes about The Federal Highway Administration awarding planning grants to rural areas for bridge repair and development.
Leadership 🏆
The obligation of the honest skeptic | Seth’s Blog
Seth writes about the need to listen to objections.
Peak Season 🎄
In this article, CNBC contributor Frank Holland writes about FedEx swearing up and down to shippers that it will be able to deliver this holiday season, despite major cost cutting.
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.