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...]
Shopify Competing with Amazon: Opens New Opportunities for Retailers
Shopify is enabling small retailers to compete with Amazon by providing the fulfillment network they need to do so. It's difficult to understand why more firms haven't done exactly what Shopify has with its fulfillment network. Firms like UPS and Fedex should have been all over this. Amazon doesn’t have any real competitive advantage if a firm can match them on delivery. They were the first mover, but that’s typically not durable. Jennifer Smith reports for The Wall Street Journal: Shopify Inc.’s recent expansion into physical distribution is looking prescient, as surging digital sales … [Read more...]
Amazon’s Fleet of Jets is Growing Rapidly
While fewer people are boarding airplanes, demand for cargo shipping has increased during COVID-19 as people around the world prefer to remain at home. Annie Palmer reports at CNBC, that Amazon has been rapidly expanding its own fleet of cargo-carrying jets. From last February alone, the fleet has grown by 40%. She writes: The airline industry may be reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, but Amazon’s air cargo business has rapidly accelerated in recent months. Between May and July, Amazon added nine planes to its Amazon Air fleet, “the most it has added over a three-month span since its … [Read more...]
Strong Performance for Shippers as Economy Finds its New Balance
Paul Ziobro reports on FedEx's strong quarterly performance in The Wall Street Journal, writing: Christmas came in July for FedEx Corp. FDX 0.14% The delivery company posted the highest quarterly revenue in its history as the coronavirus pandemic spurred residential-shipment levels normally seen during the holiday season. FedEx shipped 31% more packages a day through its Ground network during the summer months. The extra cargo boosted profit more than 60% for the three months ended Aug. 31. More consumers are buying products such as laptops and toilet paper online because of temporary … [Read more...]
This Open for Business State Reels in More Investment and Jobs for its Citizens
You already have a good idea of which states are open for business, and which states are driving entrepreneurs and small business owners away. But when it comes to the benefits of being a Right to Work state with a pro-business atmosphere, you have probably heard about one state more than any other from Your Survival Guy. That state is, of course, South Carolina. Just look at some of the headlines you've seen here about South Carolina in the past: BMW Breaks Records in Right to Work South Carolina Right to Work South Carolina is Flooded in Jobs You Can Find a Better America in … [Read more...]
COVID-19 Traffic Jams Are Killing Africa’s Truck-based Economy
Nicholas Bariyo reports that traffic jams caused by COVID-19 testing regimes for truckers have increased hauling times for truckers to four times their normal length. He writes: In East Africa, curbs on the movement of truckers could pummel some of the continent’s fastest-growing economies. Rail links across the region are few and often outdated, meaning that everything from gasoline to minerals, foods or building materials is transported by road. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has called demands from citizens to close the country’s border to truck traffic suicidal. “We need that … [Read more...]
Amazon Suspending its Shipping Service
Shortages of labor and capacity brought on by the coronavirus outbreak have forced Amazon to suspend its Amazon Shipping service. Paul Ziobro reports in The Wall Street Journal: Amazon told shippers the service, known as Amazon Shipping, will be paused starting in June. It was available in just a handful of U.S. cities. Under the program, Amazon drivers would pick up packages from businesses and deliver them to consumers, rather than ship orders from Amazon warehouses. “We understand this is a change to your business, and we did not take this decision lightly,” Amazon said in a note to … [Read more...]
Easyjet Grounds its Entire Fleet
Graeme Paton reports for The Times that Easyjet has grounded its entire fleet of jets in response to coronavirus. He writes: Easyjet has grounded its entire fleet because of the coronavirus pandemic as speculation mounted that crisis-hit airlines will seek Treasury bailouts to avoid complete collapse. The budget airline, which carried 96 million passengers last year, said that it would park all 344 of its planes and temporarily lay off cabin crew to remove “significant costs”. It said that there was “no certainty” for the date of restarting commercial flights. Easyjet is the first of … [Read more...]
Airlines Put Unused Passenger Planes to Work
Passenger airlines are finding a new use for all their currently unused jets, freight shipping. Jennifer Smith reports at WSJ: The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping global airfreight operations as passenger airlines ground planes and companies scramble for capacity to keep medical supplies, industrial parts and high-demand consumer goods moving. Some airlines are putting passenger planes to work as freight-only aircraft, with main cabins empty and cargo holds filled with shipments. The tactic provides some revenue for carriers hit hard by plunging travel demand and may help ease freight … [Read more...]
Walmart Expands Private Trucking Fleet
Walmart, already one of America's biggest trucking fleet owners, is planning to expand its fleet with 500 more drivers in the next few months. CCJ's James Jaillet reports: Walmart Transportation, which last year aggressively grew its private fleet by 900 drivers, hopes to continue that growth this year by adding another 500 drivers in the coming months. The fleet’s expansion is meant to serve a two-fold purpose: To keep up with demand from the retail giant’s sales growth both in stores and online and to bring more of its transportation needs in house — and away from the for-hire … [Read more...]
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