ProMat, as equipment and technology junkies know, is the ultimate showcase for material handling and logistics equipment, systems and technologies. When the show opens its doors in January, it's expected to attract as many as 50,000 visitors eager to get a glimpse of the latest gear. They won't be disappointed. The show's sponsor, Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), expects to draw 700 exhibitors to Chicago's McCormick Place South for the four-day event, which takes place Jan. 8 to 11, 2007. MHIA adds that the show will be the most comprehensive showcase of these systems and technologies in the United States in 2007.
Visitors to the exhibition will be greeted by 700-plus exhibits covering 300,000 square feet of floor space. These exhibitors offer material handling and logistics solutions for moving, storing, controlling, and protecting materials and products in the following categories:
Material Handling Equipment and Systems: Automated storage and retrieval systems, automatic guided vehicle systems, robots, personnel/burden carriers, racks, forklifts, batteries, unit handling systems, manufacturing execution systems, warehouse management systems/logistics execution systems, ergonomic and safety equipment, carousels, modular drawer storage, shelving, and thirdparty logistics services.
Packaging, Containers and Shipping Equipment: Box and carton makers, packaging machinery, wrapping equipment, equipment designed for the inspection of products by weight or scanning, pallets, wire baskets, plastic and metal containers, and palletizing equipment.
Inventory Management and Controlling Technologies: Computers, controllers, software programs, systems integrators, warehouse management systems, wireless control systems, order management systems, and transportation management systems.
Dock and Warehouse Equipment and Supplies: Dock levelers, dock pads, doors, forklift trucks, racks, flooring, handling systems, forklift attachments, conveyors, hoists, cranes, monorails, and below/hook lifting devices.
Consultants and distribution system planners: Simulators, modelers, system designers, distribution consultants and third-party logistics services.
Automatic Identification Equipment and Systems: Bar-code printers and scanners, vision systems, voice recognition systems, radio frequency systems, and systems integrators.
Navigating the show floor
To help attendees navigate the 300,000-square-foot show floor, the event's planners have organized it into five major Solution Centers. Here's a brief description of what you'll find in each section
Center for Fulfillment & Delivery Solutions. This center showcases both traditional and e-commerce fulfillment, order assembly, third-party logistics, warehousing, distribution and transportation activities. The exhibitors here also provide systems and services that support consumer and business direct market strategies.
Center for Equipment, Components & Manufacturing Solutions. In this section of the show floor, suppliers that produce component parts, attachments, and equipment and systems for the manufacturing environment demonstrate the latest in traditional material handling solutions. Products, services and solutions shown in this area include AS/RS, AGVs, overhead and lifting equipment, pallets and packaging, below/hook equipment, carousels, conveyors, storage equipment, casters, wheels and tires, ergonomic and safety equipment, and more.
Center for Information Technology (IT) Solutions. In this center, representatives of companies offering software solutions or consulting services that support manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and logistics operations will be on hand. The show organizers expect that as a rapidly growing part of material handling and logistics, information technology will be a key center of activity at ProMat 2007.
Center for Assembly Logistics & Support Solutions. This center will focus on material handling and logistics solutions for the assembly environment. Automated assembly support, intelligent devices, ergonomic and safety equipment, workstations, light rail, and other assembly equipment and systems will be featured in this area.
The Knowledge Center. ProMat's Knowledge Center is designed to educate and provide industry resources to attendees before, during and after the show. The Knowledge Center will feature free 45-minute educational sessions right on the show floor on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The seminars will be hosted by material handling and logistics solutions experts and are free to all registered show attendees. Seating will be handled on a firstcome, first-served basis, so plan to arrive early. Complete abstracts of these sessions can be found online at www.ProMatShow.com.
Continuing education
ProMat 2007's educational opportunities aren't limited to the Knowledge Center, however. Show goers have an open invitation to attend the Keynote Forum on Tuesday morning, Jan. 9, which is free of charge to ProMat registrants. Conference organizers have also scheduled a series of educational workshops that begin on Saturday, Jan. 6. Registration is required and additional fees apply for the workshops, but attendees can earn continuing education credits for their participation.
The Keynote Executive Forum, scheduled for Tuesday morning from 9: 00 to 11: 30, features the success stories of three "Lean Leaders." Titled "Three Roads, One Destination: The Journey to Becoming a World Class Company," the program looks at how three very different companies implemented lean principles in their manufacturing and supply chain operations and the remarkable results they achieved. The keynote speakers at the seminar are C.J. Buck, president and CEO of Buck Knives; Herb Spivak, executive vice president, global quality assurance and product integrity, at New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc.; and Dan Ariens, president and CEO of Ariens Co.
Concurrent with ProMat 2007, the Material Handling Institute will offer three educational workshops. The workshops, which will be held at McCormick Place, provide coverage of leading-edge material handling and logistics topics in a hands-on, classroom-style setting. They include:
The Basics of Material Handling - A Foundation for Better Planning and Results
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007: 8: 00 a.m. - 4: 30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007: 8: 00 a.m. - 12: 00 noon
This one and a half day workshop provides an introduction to the field of material handling, including systems analysis, equipment selection, and the relationship of material handling to other activities and operations of the industrial plant or warehouse. The course is also a refresher course for those who want an update on the latest trends.
Extended Supply Chain Synchronization: The Next Generation Competitive Strategy
Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007: 8: 00 a.m. - 4: 30 p.m.
Based on lean supply chain solutions developed at Clemson University for the Department of Defense, this course will demonstrate why all supply chains are highly dysfunctional and how the application of integrated constraints management, lean manufacturing and Six Sigma principles can quickly create an additional key strategic advantage for any company that manages inventories.
Lean Material Handling and Work Cells: A One and One-Half Day Workshop Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007: 1: 30 p.m. - 4: 30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8, 2007: 8: 00 a.m. - 4: 30 p.m. This workshop surveys lean material handling and shows how to plan effective cells using a simple six-step procedure. Case examples and a guided exercise lead toward mastery of the techniques presented.
Pre-registration for ProMat 2007 is free online at www.ProMatShow.com. The Web site also offers exhibitor search tools, floor plans and an agenda planner, plus information on the educational conferences and travel and hotel information. On-site registration is $25 or $10 with a VIP registration coupon available from exhibitors.
The German forklift vendor Kion Group plans to lay off an unspecified number of workers as part of an “efficiency program” it is launching to strengthen the company’s resilience and maintain headroom for future investments, the company said today.
The new structural measures are intended to optimize Kion’s efficiency, executives said in their fourth quarter earnings report.
“While internal programs to continuously improve product, production, and services costs were already up and running throughout 2024 and will continue, further structural measures will address a more efficient setup for Kion in Europe. This is expected to have an impact on personnel requirements subject to consultations with the respective employee representative bodies as required by local laws,” the report said.
“The efficiency program is addressing developments in the macroeconomic environment. European economies are struggling to gain momentum – this affects key customer industries in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment, where Chinese competitors have been improving their market position in the aftermaths of the recent pandemics,” Kion said.
The move comes as Kion reported that it finished its 2024 financial year with slightly improved revenue of $11.9 billion (over $11.8 billion in 2023), and profitability (measured as earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)) that significantly increased to $951 million (over $820 million in 2023).
The company now plans to pay $249 to $269 million in financial year 2025 to implement the cost saving measures. Following that one-time charge, it expects to achieve sustainable cost savings of $145 million to $166 million per year, beginning in 2026.
“In order to maintain headroom for investments ensuring our future, to further strengthen our competitiveness and our resilience, we must manage our cost base. This requires structural and sustainable measures,” Christian Harm, CFO of Kion, said in a release.
By the numbers, fourth quarter shipment volume was down 4.7% compared to the prior quarter, while spending dropped 2.2%.
Geographically, fourth-quarter shipment volume was low across all regions. The Northeast had the smallest decline at 1.2% with the West just behind with a contraction of 2.1%. And the Southeast saw shipments drop 6.7%, the most of all regions, as hurricanes impacted freight activity.
“While this quarter’s Index revealed spending overall on truck freight continues to decline, we did see some signs that spending per truck is increasing,” said Bobby Holland, U.S. Bank director of freight business analytics. “Shipments falling more than spending – even with lower fuel surcharges – suggests tighter capacity.”
The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index measures quantitative changes in freight shipments and spend activity based on data from transactions processed through U.S. Bank Freight Payment, which processes more than $43 billion in freight payments annually for shippers and carriers across the U.S.
“It’s clear there are both cyclical and structural challenges remaining as we look for a truck freight market reboot,” Bob Costello, senior vice president and chief economist at the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said in a release on the results. “For instance, factory output softness – which has a disproportionate impact on truck freight volumes – is currently weighing heavily on our industry.”
Volvo Autonomous Solutions will form a strategic partnership with autonomous driving technology and generative AI provider Waabi to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, with testing scheduled to begin later this year.
The announcement came two weeks after autonomous truck developer Kodiak Robotics said it had become the first company in the industry to launch commercial driverless trucking operations. That milestone came as oil company Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. used two RoboTrucks—which are semi-trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver self-driving system—to deliver 100 loads of fracking material on routes in the Permian Basin in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.
Atlas now intends to scale up its RoboTruck deployment “considerably” over the course of 2025, with multiple RoboTruck deployments expected throughout the year. In support of that, Kodiak has established a 12-person office in Odessa, Texas, that is projected to grow to approximately 20 people by the end of Q1 2025.
Businesses dependent on ocean freight are facing shipping delays due to volatile conditions, as the global average trip for ocean shipments climbed to 68 days in the fourth quarter compared to 60 days for that same quarter a year ago, counting time elapsed from initial booking to clearing the gate at the final port, according to E2open.
Those extended transit times and booking delays are the ripple effects of ongoing turmoil at key ports that is being caused by geopolitical tensions, labor shortages, and port congestion, Dallas-based E2open said in its quarterly “Ocean Shipping Index” report.
The most significant contributor to the year-over-year (YoY) increase is actual transit time, alongside extraordinary volatility that has created a complex landscape for businesses dependent on ocean freight, the report found.
"Economic headwinds, geopolitical turbulence and uncertain trade routes are creating unprecedented disruptions within the ocean shipping industry. From continued Red Sea diversions to port congestion and labor unrest, businesses face a complex landscape of obstacles, all while grappling with possibility of new U.S. tariffs," Pawan Joshi, chief strategy officer (CSO) at e2open, said in a release. "We can expect these ongoing issues will be exacerbated by the Lunar New Year holiday, as businesses relying on Asian suppliers often rush to place orders, adding strain to their supply chains.”
Lunar New Year this year runs from January 29 to February 8, and often leads to supply chain disruptions as massive worker travel patterns across Asia leads to closed factories and reduced port capacity.
Women are significantly underrepresented in the global transport sector workforce, comprising only 12% of transportation and storage workers worldwide as they face hurdles such as unfavorable workplace policies and significant gender gaps in operational, technical and leadership roles, a study from the World Bank Group shows.
This underrepresentation limits diverse perspectives in service design and decision-making, negatively affects businesses and undermines economic growth, according to the report, “Addressing Barriers to Women’s Participation in Transport.” The paper—which covers global trends and provides in-depth analysis of the women’s role in the transport sector in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—was prepared jointly by the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).
The slim proportion of women in the sector comes at a cost, since increasing female participation and leadership can drive innovation, enhance team performance, and improve service delivery for diverse users, while boosting GDP and addressing critical labor shortages, researchers said.
To drive solutions, the researchers today unveiled the Women in Transport (WiT) Network, which is designed to bring together transport stakeholders dedicated to empowering women across all facets and levels of the transport sector, and to serve as a forum for networking, recruitment, information exchange, training, and mentorship opportunities for women.
Initially, the WiT network will cover only the Europe and Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa regions, but it is expected to gradually expand into a global initiative.
“When transport services are inclusive, economies thrive. Yet, as this joint report and our work at the EIB reveal, few transport companies fully leverage policies to better attract, retain and promote women,” Laura Piovesan, the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s Director General of the Projects Directorate, said in a release. “The Women in Transport Network enables us to unite efforts and scale impactful solutions - benefiting women, employers, communities and the climate.”