Hytrol Conveyor Co. has named Graham Starling manager of multimedia and marketing specialties. Starling has been with Hytrol for over 15 years, 10 of them in the marketing area.
Mario Herndl has been promoted to chief operating officer of TGW-ERMANCO. He previously served as chief liaison officer between parent company TGW GmbH of Austria and the Michigan-based TGW- ERMANCO.
The National Industrial Transportation League has added C. Jake Jacoby to its staff as a policy analyst. His primary focus will be on highway transportation issues, such as funding, public partnerships, and productivity. He will also work as the staff liaison with the Highway Transportation Committee.
Keogh Consulting, a management consulting firm for the supply chain industry, is opening a new office in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro-Plex. The company currently has offices in Cleveland, Minneapolis, and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Norm Saenz has been hired as an associate principal and will head the new Texas office.
Grimes Trucking Co. has chosen Ike Sherlock as its new director of fleet operations, responsible for the general management of the company's trucking business. Before his latest move, Sherlock worked for the company's non-assetbased subsidiary, Grimes Transportation Brokerage.
HighJump Software has hired Joel Levinson as its new president. Levinson joins HighJump after 20 years with EDS.
Joel Hoffner has retired as president and CEO of Paragon Technologies, an Easton, Pa.-based supplier of material handling equipment and warehouse and distribution software solutions. Hoffner will continue as a consultant to the company. Leonard Yurkovic, former CEO and a current board member, has been appointed acting CEO, and William Casey has been named president and chief operating officer of SI Systems, Paragon's material handling business.
Descartes Systems Group, a vendor of software-as-aservice logistics solutions, has hired Stephanie Ratza as its new chief financial officer. She has worked for more than 12 years in financial capacities with other public technology companies.
Hans-Georg Frey has been named chairman of the board of management for lift truck manufacturer Jungheinrich, AG. Prior to the appointment, Frey had been managing director for Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH, a German manufacturer of vehicle cranes and heavy-duty crawler cranes. In addition to lift trucks, Jungheinrich supplies integrated material handling solutions, rack systems, and other logistics products.
Michael Lavelle has been promoted to president of the U.S. truck division for Doosan Infracore Forklifts. He had been vice president of sales and marketing for the company for the past 10 years. Lavelle replaces Tom Yoon, who has been reassigned to the post of managing director for overseas sales and marketing in Seoul, Korea.
Con-way has promoted Lynn Reinbolt to president of its trailer manufacturing subsidiary, Road Systems Inc. Road Systems designs, builds, and sells freight trailers and other equipment to its sister transportation and logistics operating companies within the Con-way organization. Reinbolt previously was general manager of Road Systems.
In other Con-way news, Con-way Freight's director of safety and environmental compliance, Robert Petrancosta, has been selected as a member of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee.
The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association has elected Fred Thimmel as its new president. In his regular role, Thimmel is president of Bryant Products of Ixonia, Wis. The association also elected Daniel Fannin of Emerson Power Transmission as vice president; R. Todd Swinderman of Martin Engineering as secretary; and Bill Pugh of Ralphs-Pugh Co. as treasurer. The following were elected to the board: Jim Calhoun of FMC Technologies; Warren Chandler of Stephens- Adamson; Rick Lee of Transnorm; and Jim Lamb of Drives Inc.
White Systems, a manufacturer of carousel storage systems, has appointed Michael Brandel vice president of manufacturing. He has been with the company since 2003. White also named Charles Scagliozzi senior vice president of customer service and support. Scagliozzi has been with White since 1985 and brings over 20 years of experience working with customers to his new position. In addition to customer support, he will be responsible for all of White's IT efforts.
Angelica Rodriguez has been named director, loss prevention for the National Retail Federation. Prior to her promotion, Rodriguez worked in the NRF membership department as a member relations manager.
Autonomous forklift maker Cyngn is deploying its DriveMod Tugger model at COATS Company, the largest full-line wheel service equipment manufacturer in North America, the companies said today.
By delivering the self-driving tuggers to COATS’ 150,000+ square foot manufacturing facility in La Vergne, Tennessee, Cyngn said it would enable COATS to enhance efficiency by automating the delivery of wheel service components from its production lines.
“Cyngn’s self-driving tugger was the perfect solution to support our strategy of advancing automation and incorporating scalable technology seamlessly into our operations,” Steve Bergmeyer, Continuous Improvement and Quality Manager at COATS, said in a release. “With its high load capacity, we can concentrate on increasing our ability to manage heavier components and bulk orders, driving greater efficiency, reducing costs, and accelerating delivery timelines.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it follows another deployment of DriveMod Tuggers with electric automaker Rivian earlier this year.
Manufacturing and logistics workers are raising a red flag over workplace quality issues according to industry research released this week.
A comparative study of more than 4,000 workers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia found that manufacturing and logistics workers say they have seen colleagues reduce the quality of their work and not follow processes in the workplace over the past year, with rates exceeding the overall average by 11% and 8%, respectively.
The study—the Resilience Nation report—was commissioned by UK-based regulatory and compliance software company Ideagen, and it polled workers in industries such as energy, aviation, healthcare, and financial services. The results “explore the major threats and macroeconomic factors affecting people today, providing perspectives on resilience across global landscapes,” according to the authors.
According to the study, 41% of manufacturing and logistics workers said they’d witnessed their peers hiding mistakes, and 45% said they’ve observed coworkers cutting corners due to apathy—9% above the average. The results also showed that workers are seeing colleagues take safety risks: More than a third of respondents said they’ve seen people putting themselves in physical danger at work.
The authors said growing pressure inside and outside of the workplace are to blame for the lack of diligence and resiliency on the job. Internally, workers say they are under pressure to deliver more despite reduced capacity. Among the external pressures, respondents cited the rising cost of living as the biggest problem (39%), closely followed by inflation rates, supply chain challenges, and energy prices.
“People are being asked to deliver more at work when their resilience is being challenged by economic and political headwinds,” Ideagen’s CEO Ben Dorks said in a statement announcing the findings. “Ultimately, this is having a determinantal impact on business productivity, workplace health and safety, and the quality of work produced, as well as further reducing the resilience of the nation at large.”
Respondents said they believe technology will eventually alleviate some of the stress occurring in manufacturing and logistics, however.
“People are optimistic that emerging tech and AI will ultimately lighten the load, but they’re not yet feeling the benefits,” Dorks added. “It’s a gap that now, more than ever, business leaders must look to close and support their workforce to ensure their staff remain safe and compliance needs are met across the business.”
The “2024 Year in Review” report lists the various transportation delays, freight volume restrictions, and infrastructure repair costs of a long string of events. Those disruptions include labor strikes at Canadian ports and postal sites, the U.S. East and Gulf coast port strike; hurricanes Helene, Francine, and Milton; the Francis Scott key Bridge collapse in Baltimore Harbor; the CrowdStrike cyber attack; and Red Sea missile attacks on passing cargo ships.
“While 2024 was characterized by frequent and overlapping disruptions that exposed many supply chain vulnerabilities, it was also a year of resilience,” the Project44 report said. “From labor strikes and natural disasters to geopolitical tensions, each event served as a critical learning opportunity, underscoring the necessity for robust contingency planning, effective labor relations, and durable infrastructure. As supply chains continue to evolve, the lessons learned this past year highlight the increased importance of proactive measures and collaborative efforts. These strategies are essential to fostering stability and adaptability in a world where unpredictability is becoming the norm.”
In addition to tallying the supply chain impact of those events, the report also made four broad predictions for trends in 2025 that may affect logistics operations. In Project44’s analysis, they include:
More technology and automation will be introduced into supply chains, particularly ports. This will help make operations more efficient but also increase the risk of cybersecurity attacks and service interruptions due to glitches and bugs. This could also add tensions among the labor pool and unions, who do not want jobs to be replaced with automation.
The new administration in the United States introduces a lot of uncertainty, with talks of major tariffs for numerous countries as well as talks of US freight getting preferential treatment through the Panama Canal. If these things do come to fruition, expect to see shifts in global trade patterns and sourcing.
Natural disasters will continue to become more frequent and more severe, as exhibited by the wildfires in Los Angeles and the winter storms throughout the southern states in the U.S. As a result, expect companies to invest more heavily in sustainability to mitigate climate change.
The peace treaty announced on Wednesday between Isael and Hamas in the Middle East could support increased freight volumes returning to the Suez Canal as political crisis in the area are resolved.
The French transportation visibility provider Shippeo today said it has raised $30 million in financial backing, saying the money will support its accelerated expansion across North America and APAC, while driving enhancements to its “Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platform” product.
The funding round was led by Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth fund, with participation from existing investors: Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, Bpifrance Digital Venture, LFX Venture Partners, Shift4Good and Yamaha Motor Ventures. With this round, Shippeo’s total funding exceeds $140 million.
Shippeo says it offers real-time shipment tracking across all transport modes, helping companies create sustainable, resilient supply chains. Its platform enables users to reduce logistics-related carbon emissions by making informed trade-offs between modes and carriers based on carbon footprint data.
"Global supply chains are facing unprecedented complexity, and real-time transport visibility is essential for building resilience” Prashant Bothra, Principal at Woven Capital, who is joining the Shippeo board, said in a release. “Shippeo’s platform empowers businesses to proactively address disruptions by transforming fragmented operations into streamlined, data-driven processes across all transport modes, offering precise tracking and predictive ETAs at scale—capabilities that would be resource-intensive to develop in-house. We are excited to support Shippeo’s journey to accelerate digitization while enhancing cost efficiency, planning accuracy, and customer experience across the supply chain.”
Donald Trump has been clear that he plans to hit the ground running after his inauguration on January 20, launching ambitious plans that could have significant repercussions for global supply chains.
As Mark Baxa, CSCMP president and CEO, says in the executive forward to the white paper, the incoming Trump Administration and a majority Republican congress are “poised to reshape trade policies, regulatory frameworks, and the very fabric of how we approach global commerce.”
The paper is written by import/export expert Thomas Cook, managing director for Blue Tiger International, a U.S.-based supply chain management consulting company that focuses on international trade. Cook is the former CEO of American River International in New York and Apex Global Logistics Supply Chain Operation in Los Angeles and has written 19 books on global trade.
In the paper, Cook, of course, takes a close look at tariff implications and new trade deals, emphasizing that Trump will seek revisions that will favor U.S. businesses and encourage manufacturing to return to the U.S. The paper, however, also looks beyond global trade to addresses topics such as Trump’s tougher stance on immigration and the possibility of mass deportations, greater support of Israel in the Middle East, proposals for increased energy production and mining, and intent to end the war in the Ukraine.
In general, Cook believes that many of the administration’s new policies will be beneficial to the overall economy. He does warn, however, that some policies will be disruptive and add risk and cost to global supply chains.
In light of those risks and possible disruptions, Cook’s paper offers 14 recommendations. Some of which include:
Create a team responsible for studying the changes Trump will introduce when he takes office;
Attend trade shows and make connections with vendors, suppliers, and service providers who can help you navigate those changes;
Consider becoming C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) certified to help mitigate potential import/export issues;
Adopt a risk management mindset and shift from focusing on lowest cost to best value for your spend;
Increase collaboration with internal and external partners;
Expect warehousing costs to rise in the short term as companies look to bring in foreign-made goods ahead of tariffs;
Expect greater scrutiny from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol of origin statements for imports in recognition of attempts by some Chinese manufacturers to evade U.S. import policies;
Reduce dependency on China for sourcing; and
Consider manufacturing and/or sourcing in the United States.
Cook advises readers to expect a loosening up of regulations and a reduction in government under Trump. He warns that while some world leaders will look to work with Trump, others will take more of a defiant stance. As a result, companies should expect to see retaliatory tariffs and duties on exports.
Cook concludes by offering advice to the incoming administration, including being sensitive to the effect retaliatory tariffs can have on American exports, working on federal debt reduction, and considering promoting free trade zones. He also proposes an ambitious water works program through the Army Corps of Engineers.