Despite protests from giant corporations and powerful trade groups, the government has decided to let a new rule governing truck drivers' hours of service stand. The rule, which represents the first major change to the hours of service (HOS) regs in more than 60 years, affects drivers of big rigs: vehicles with weight ratings over 10,000 pounds. It allows drivers to operate a vehicle for 11 hours within a 14-hour period after at least 10 consecutive hours off duty. (The current rule allows 10 hours of driving within a 15-hour on-duty period after eight hours off.) Unlike the existing rule, mid-day breaks can't be used to extend an on-duty period. Drivers are limited to 60 hours on duty over seven consecutive days or 70 hours in eight consecutive days.
Though the rule won't take effect until Jan.4, several giant companies and influential trade groups petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to reconsider the rule this past summer. For example, Wal-Mart executives, in a meeting with FMCSA officials in August, argued that including mid-day breaks in the 14-hour daily work limit would hurt the retailer's scheduling system and force it to hire additional drivers. In its petition,Wal-Mart argued that the new rule would reduce driver productivity by about 6 percent. To make up for that loss,the company contends that it would have to add 275 new drivers and 300 new tractors. (Wal-Mart operates a private fleet of 7,100 drivers, 6,000 tractors and 35,000 trailers.)
Other protests were lodged by the Short-Haul Hours-of-Service Coalition. The group asked FMCSA to allow short-haul carriers to use either the new 14-hour rule or the current 15-hour rule, which allows extending the work day through breaks during the day. It argued that the new rule limited members' flexibility to schedule non-driving functions and contended that it would lead employers to discourage drivers from taking breaks during the 14-hour work period.
Along with Wal-Mart and the Short-Haul Hours-of-Service Coalition (whose members include such powerhouses as the Grocery Manufacturers of America,the American Supply Association, the International Mass Retail Association, the National Soft Drink Association, the Snack Food Association and the American Bakers Association),other petitioners included Pinnacle West Capital Corp. and its subsidiary Arizona Public Service Co.; Southern California Edison Co.; Edison Electric Institute; FOX News; the National Propane Gas Association; and Sabil Uplink Communications.
Ultimately, their efforts were in vain. The FMCSA, which developed the new rule, announced last month that it had denied all those petitions, which fell into four broad categories: requests to allow off-duty time to extend the 14-hour on-duty limit; requests to exempt utility vehicles and workers from the hours-of-servi ce regulations; requests for miscellaneous changes, such as changing the definition of commercial motor vehicles; and requests to allow early compliance with the new hours-of-service rules. In her announcement, FMCSA Administrator Annette M. Sandberg defended the new rule, noting that it "strikes a balance between reasonableness, consistency, and enforce ability, while improving safety and protecting all highw ay users."
The FMCSA contends the new hours-of-service rule will save up to 75 lives and prevent as many as 1,326 fatiguerelated crashes annually. The agency argues that the rule reflects scientific driver fatigue studies and a careful evaluation of the more than 53,000 public comments on the proposed rule.
This final hours-of-service rule can be viewed on the Department of Transportation's online Document Management System. Search for docket number FMCSA-97-2350 at https://dms.dot.gov. Go to page 465 of the table of contents: the final rule is document number 23305 on that page.
Meal kit producer HelloFresh relies on automation to guarantee fresh and accurate shipments to customers—and that reliance has only increased as the company has grown from a small German startup to a global enterprise serving consumers in 18 countries. Surging demand, expanding menus, and the ever-present challenge of meeting high food quality and safety standards add complexity to the HelloFresh model, necessitating a focus on technologies that can give the business an edge as it grows.
Zeroing in on the U.S. market, company leaders took a leap nearly five years ago that would help HelloFresh meet burgeoning local demand and set the stage for further expansion of its menu and capabilities. They added a brand-new distribution center (DC) in Irving, Texas, that would feature the most advanced technology in the company's North American fulfillment network to date.
"Once we had identified that we were moving toward a greenfield site, we saw the opportunity to have an enhanced fulfillment system in the building," Kyle DeGroot, vice president of operations engineering and technology for HelloFresh, says of the Irving project. "We wanted the capability to expand our product offering while maintaining or increasing efficiency from a fulfillment standpoint."
The answer to that challenge: an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) from AutoStore. The system is now the centerpiece of a customized, high-tech fulfillment process that is speeding operations, increasing throughput, and improving productivity—all while giving HelloFresh the flexibility to shift and expand its menu without complicating the fulfillment process.
TAMING COMPLEXITY
HelloFresh was founded in 2011 in Berlin and has grown from its early days as a community-based business into a global organization that delivered more than 1 billion meals to customers in 2023, according to company data. Faced with escalating demand in the U.S., HelloFresh set out to expand its fulfillment network in 2020, adding the 377,000-square-foot Irving facility and bringing the company's U.S. fulfillment network to a total of eight DCs.
More than that, the Irving DC was an opportunity to advance the company's use of automated warehouse technology and build on its presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area—both because of the facility's size and because it was a greenfield site, offering a blank slate for innovation. The goal was to leverage the reliability, density, and speed of AutoStore as the heart of an automated meal kit assembly process, according to HelloFresh and leaders at Swisslog, the material handling automation specialist that designed and installed the AutoStore system.
For Swisslog, the project represented a departure from typical AS/RS installations, which are designed to handle traditional distribution center operations, including e-commerce and store fulfillment.
"HelloFresh is in the distribution business, shipping meals to the home. However, once we took a closer look at [the business], we [realized] that it acted more like a production operation," explains Colman Roche, vice president of AutoStore solutions for Swisslog Americas. "Items are moving in and out faster than in a typical system."
That's because HelloFresh orders need to be filled quickly and under precise conditions to meet food freshness and safety standards. And there are a lot of moving parts: HelloFresh subscribers can customize their meal plans from more than 100 weekly menu and market item offerings and choose the day of the week they want orders delivered. The company sources meal ingredients to minimize the time between receipt and shipping, and carefully packages components to ensure freshness and simplify preparation.
The meal kits themselves may include fresh produce, starches, seasonings, recipe cards, and nutritional information along with proteins—such as fish, chicken, and beef. Subscribers can also supplement their meals with snacks, desserts, and other items from the HelloFresh Market. As a result, a typical HelloFresh outbound container includes 16 items, which must be packed in a prescribed sequence. The entire process is conducted in a chilled environment that is maintained at 33 degrees Fahrenheit.
"That insight [into the nature of HelloFresh's operations] allowed us to take a different look at the system design and come up with something that flowed more easily [in a production environment]," Roche explains.
PUTTING THE SYSTEM TO WORK
HelloFresh uses varying levels of automation at its facilities around the world, but the AutoStore system in Irving is by far the most advanced, according to DeGroot, who describes the project as a unique application of the technology. Unlike typical installations—in which orders are initiated within the AutoStore and work their way through the fulfillment process via picking stations, pack out, and eventually to shipping—orders begin outside the AutoStore, in a manual pick zone. Orders are then inducted into the AutoStore via conveyor in a sequence that maximizes throughput and worker productivity.
Roche and DeGroot describe the process as follows: Orders are initiated in a manual pick zone, where box assembly begins with proteins and ice packs. Boxed orders are then transported by conveyor and inducted into the AutoStore in a controlled sequence and dynamically grouped in batches of four based on commonalities across the orders.
The partial orders are then delivered to pickers working at carousel ports, along with bins of ingredients from the AutoStore inventory that are needed to complete the order—this allows workers to pick directly into cartons at the AutoStore ports. Workers can fulfill four orders simultaneously, maximizing the number of picks they make from each bin. Inventory is replenished through the system's 11 induction ports to maintain freshness.
Downstream from the AutoStore, orders are conveyed to automated carton sealers and labeling equipment, and then sorted for shipping.
Swisslog's SynQ warehouse execution system (WES) manages the entire process—including routing, picking across all zones, replenishment, sortation, and label printing. SynQ also provides centralized inventory management and visibility based on a first-expired, first-out (FEFO) strategy that helps ensure freshness. The WES is integrated with the facility's warehouse management system (WMS) as well.
"[SynQ] is the brain behind everything, bringing it all together," says DeGroot.
Getting the system up and running was no small accomplishment, given its size and scale. The cube-based AS/RS takes up 100,000 square feet of the facility's total 377,000 square feet of space. It includes 150 robots, nearly 30,000 storage bins, 18 carousel ports for picking, 11 conveyor ports for induction, four quality assurance ports, 6,000 feet of conveyor, four carton erectors, 12 protein pick zones with pick-to-light cells, a sortation system, and carton sealing and labeling equipment.
HUMMING ALONG
HelloFresh went live with the Irving AutoStore in 2022 and has been operating at full production since 2023. Company leaders say the system is 25% more efficient and accurate while shipping 20% more recipes compared to the rest of its fulfillment network. One of the biggest benefits is flexibility: Today, HelloFresh can easily expand its menu, adding recipes and ingredients without introducing complexity into the fulfillment process—all thanks to the software integration, synchronization, and the power of the AutoStore.
"This is something we could not have done before," DeGroot says, emphasizing the scale, speed, and flexibility of the system. "And it's the reason we use the Irving facility for expansion initiatives."
The third-party logistics provider (3PL) LVK will partner with Instawork, whose app connects hourly professionals with local jobs, with the partners saying the move will answer a structural shortage of warehouse workers.
The deal will work by integrating LVK’s warehouse operations software with Instawork's network of vetted hourly workers, creating a lever to scale up warehouse operations across North America, they said.
That step is necessary because the warehouse industry can’t find enough workers to support its continued expansion to meet surging consumer demand. In fact, Instawork’s State of Warehouse Labor report has found that 43% of businesses had to forego revenue as a result of insufficient staffing.
"By joining forces with LVK, we are taking a significant step towards empowering warehouses with the tools and labor they need to thrive in today's fast-paced environment," Alex Vinden, General Manager of Light Industrial for Instawork, said in a release. "Together, we are poised to deliver unparalleled value to warehouse operators, ensuring they can meet customer demands with precision and agility."
According to Maggie Barnett, CEO of LVK, the new linkage will equip warehouses with both the labor and the technology they need in today's competitive landscape. "LVK is excited to partner with Instawork to bring transformative solutions to the warehouse industry," Barnett said. "Our combined expertise will empower warehouse operators to enhance their operations, reduce costs, and improve service levels, ultimately driving success in a competitive landscape."
“Consumers pulled back in January, taking a breather after a stronger-than-expected holiday season,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in the report. “Despite the monthly decline, the year-over-year increases reflect overall consumer strength as a strong job market and wage gains above the rate of inflation continue to support spending. We’re seeing a ‘choiceful’ and value-conscious consumer who is rotating spending across goods and services and essentials and non-essentials, boosting some sectors while causing challenges in others.”
Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were down 1.07% seasonally adjusted month over month but up 5.44% unadjusted year over year in January, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 1.74% month over month and 7.24% year over year in December.
Likewise, the Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to automobile dealers and gasoline stations) was down 1.27% month over month in January but up 5.72% year over year. That compared with increases of 2.19% month over month and 8.41% year over year in December.
NRF says that unlike survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau, its Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions and does not need to be revised monthly or annually.
As U.S. businesses count down the days until the expiration of the Trump Administration’s monthlong pause of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a report from Uber Freight says the tariffs will likely be avoided through an extended agreement, since the potential for damaging consequences would be so severe for all parties.
If the tariffs occurred, they could push U.S. inflation higher, adding $1,000 to $1,200 to the average person's cost of living. And relief from interest rates would likely not come to the rescue, since inflation is already above the Fed's target, delaying further rate cuts.
A potential impact of the tariffs in the long run might be to boost domestic freight by giving local manufacturers an edge. However, the magnitude and sudden implementation of these tariffs means we likely won't see such benefits for a while, and the immediate damage will be more significant in the meantime, Uber Freight said in its “2025 Q1 Market update & outlook.”
That market volatility comes even as tough times continue in the freight market. In the U.S. full truckload sector, the cost per loaded mile currently exceeds spot rates significantly, which will likely push rate increases.
However, in the first quarter of 2025, spot rates are now falling, as they usually do in February following the winter peak. According to Uber Freight, this situation arose after truck operating costs rose 2 cents/mile in 2023 despite a 9-cent diesel price decline, thanks to increases in insurance (+13%), truck and trailer costs (+9%), and driver wages (+8%). Costs then fell 2 cents/mile in 2024, resulting in stable costs over the past two years.
Fortunately, Uber Freight predicts that the freight cycle could soon begin to turn, as signs of a recovery are emerging despite weak current demand. A measure of manufacturing growth called the ISM PMI edged up to 50.9 in December, surpassing the expansion threshold for the first time in 26 months.
Accordingly, new orders and production increased while employment stabilized. That means the U.S. manufacturing economy appears to be expanding after a prolonged period of contraction, signaling a positive outlook for freight demand, Uber Freight said.
Part of the reason for that situation is that companies can’t adjust to tariffs overnight by finding new suppliers. “Supply chains are complex. Retailers continue to engage in diversification efforts. Unfortunately, it takes significant time to move supply chains, even if you can find available capacity,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in a release.
“While we support the need to address the fentanyl crisis at our borders, new tariffs on China and other countries will mean higher prices for American families,” Gold said. “Retailers have engaged in mitigation strategies to minimize the potential impact of tariffs, including frontloading of some products, but that can lead to increased challenges because of added warehousing and related costs. We hope to resolve our outstanding border security issues as quickly as possible because there will be a significant impact on the economy if increased tariffs are maintained and expanded.”
Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said tariffs on Canada and Mexico would initially have minimal impact at ports because most imports from either country move by truck, rail or pipeline. In the long term, tariffs on goods that receive final manufacturing in Canada or Mexico but originate elsewhere could prompt an increase in direct maritime imports to the U.S. In the meantime, port cargo “could be badly hit” if tariffs on overseas Asian and European nations increase prices and prompt consumers to buy less, he said.
“At this stage, the situation is fluid, and it’s too early to know if the tariffs will be implemented, removed or further delayed,” Hackett said. “As such, our view of North American imports has not changed significantly for the next six months.”
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.14 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in December, although the Port of New York and New Jersey and the Port of Miami have yet to report final data. That was down 0.9% from November but up 14.4% year over year, and would be the busiest December on record. For the year, December brought 2024 to a total of 25.5 million TEU, up 14.8% from 2023 and the highest level since 2021’s record of 25.8 million TEU during the pandemic.
Global Port Tracker provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.