The recently passed infrastructure bill contained a new rule allowing some teens to legally drive semi-trucks, in the hope that allowing them to do so will create a supply of new drivers that can alleviate the supply chain troubles America faces today. Bloomberg reports: Dezjion Henson has wanted to be a truck driver his whole life. When he turned 18 last year he jumped at the chance and signed on as an apprentice with Total Transportation of Mississippi, LLC in Richland, Mississippi. He assumed he would have to wait until he turns 21 to book the lucrative, cross-country runs he took with … [Read more...]
America Needs More Truckers
The critical link in America's supply-chain struggles is a lack of truckers to move freight. Jennifer Smith reports at The Wall Street Journal: A critical, often-overlooked link in the supply chain is emerging as a stubborn choke point in the freight-backlog mess: trucking. Trucks haul more than 70% of domestic cargo shipments. Yet many fleets say they can’t hire enough drivers to meet booming consumer demand as the U.S. economy emerges from the pandemic. The freight backup has intensified longstanding strains in the industry over hours, pay, working conditions and retention. The … [Read more...]
Ghost Ships Abandoned by Great Reset, Global Owners?
“Why is this happening?” You ask yourself. “Why is our supply chain broken? Why are there ghost ships rotting away in global ports and off the shores of California?” When one of these ships loaded with volatile ammonia sat for years in Lebanon, and then they finally unloaded it onshore, it blew up, killing hundreds of people in the resulting explosion. Was it an accident? When you read about the crews stuck on these ships, being treated like slaves, barely surviving on months of rice and water, a simple question comes to mind. Why are the owners abandoning ship? What businessman would leave … [Read more...]
TRAFFIC JAM: Shipping Clogged at Major Ports
Shipping is clogged at many major American ports as corporations buy ahead to beat inflation and high holiday demand. Paul Berger reports in The Wall Street Journal: Container ships are stacking up again off Southern California’s jammed ports, as a flood of imports and logjams in domestic logistics networks hit operations at the biggest U.S. gateway for seaborne trade. Thirty-seven container ships were anchored off the adjacent ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in recent days, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, the highest number since February, when 40 ships waited … [Read more...]
Chinese Shipping Crippled by One COVID Case?
Chinese authorities are saying that the troubles currently plaguing the Meidong container terminal in Ningbo have been caused by the detection of one coronavirus case. The shutdown has led to major congestion in nearby alternative shipping location, Shanghai, and has caused problems throughout the world logistical chain. Reuters reports: Ports and shipping companies are diverting vessels from a container terminal in China's busiest marine transportation hub which was forced to close after a coronavirus case emerged, as the pandemic strains global supply amid rising retail orders. Meidong … [Read more...]
Ready for Takeoff: Is It Time for an Air Travel Rebound?
According to Airbus, the world should prepare for a rebound in air travel. The company thinks travel will come back faster than many expect it to, and wants to prepare its own production lines for full capacity sooner rather than later. The Wall Street Journal's Benjamin Katz reports: Airbus said it plans to lift production of its bestselling A320 narrow-body to 64 a month by the second quarter of 2023—topping its 2019 average monthly output of 60. It set out a longer-term ambition of reaching 70 a month at the beginning of 2024. That could rise to 75 in 2025, the company said. At the … [Read more...]
Trains: A Big Deal, and the Economic Future of America
The recent deal by Canadian Pacific Railroad to acquire Kansas City Southern is reigniting railroad stocks in a way not seen since Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway purchased Burlington Northern Sante Fe. But as Spencer Jakab writes in The Wall Street Journal, even without a deal there are reasons to like railroads: A successful deal could bode well for other players if it unlocks further consolidation. Analyst Bascome Majors of Susquehanna Financial Group notes that more deals could follow after 2022 if the official attitude toward consolidation has improved. But even if the deal is … [Read more...]
Major Upgrade to the Port of Virginia
DC Velocity reports: The Port of Virginia welcomed a pair of massive container cranes to its Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) this week, the final pieces of equipment needed to complete a $450 million, two- a-half-year-long renovation of the terminal’s South Berth, port officials said Thursday. The cranes increase the port’s ability to handle larger volume ships—now and down the road, officials said. The cranes will be able to accommodate so-called ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) that make regular stops in Virginia, as well as higher-volume “ships of the future,” according to … [Read more...]
Volvo Beats Tesla to Fully-Electric Heavy-Duty Truck Market
On Thursday, Volvo became the first manufacturer to offer a fully-electric heavy-duty truck. Richard Milne reports for Financial Times: Volvo Group is set to become the first manufacturer to offer a fully-electric heavy-duty truck for sale as the Swedish group aims to show battery power is possible for the biggest commercial vehicles. The world’s second-largest truckmaker announced on Thursday that electric heavy-duty trucks with a range of up to 300km would go on sale next year and enter production in 2022 as Volvo pushes for half its truck sales in Europe to be battery powered by the end … [Read more...]
Trucks more like Drones Could Be the Future of Autonomous Transportation
The goal of most autonomous vehicle development is aimed at cutting humans out of the vehicle's operation as much as possible. One Swedish company, Einride, is working on a concept that treats autonomous trucks more like drones. They allow a remotely located "driver" to take over operation of their "Pod" trucks when needed. The Economist reports: The Pod was made by Einride, a Swedish firm founded in 2016 by Robert Falck, an engineer who used to work for Volvo. Mr Falck thinks that the technology of vehicle autonomy, long experimental, has now evolved sufficiently for driverless goods … [Read more...]
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