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Forget fuel cells. Toyota announces plans to market a hybrid-diesel forklift truck.

Toyota Industries Corp. (TICO) will begin selling an internal-combustion hybrid lift truck in Japan in December. This is believed to be the first commercially available hybrid of its kind. There's no word yet on when Toyota's U.S. material handling subsidiary, Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (TMHU), will make the vehicle available to the North American market.

The new lift truck, to be known as the Geneo-Hybrid, will be an 8,000-pound counterbalanced vehicle combining a 2.5-liter diesel engine with an electric motor and nickel-metal hydride battery. The new hybrid reportedly delivers the same operational performance as a conventional diesel-powered lift truck while producing half the CO2 emissions and consuming half as much fuel.


The Geneo-Hybrid combines a Series Hybrid System for driving with a Parallel Hybrid System for load handling. With the Series Hybrid System, the lift truck's drive motor runs on electric energy from the engine-powered generator and battery. Load handling functions are powered by a Parallel Hybrid System with a hydraulic pump that receives mechanical energy from the diesel engine and generator, and electric energy from the battery. The nickel hydride battery is recharged by the engine's operation and does not require plug-in recharging.

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NRF: Retail sales increased again in September

Retail sales increased again in September as employment grew and inflation and interest rates fell, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF)’s analysisof U.S. Census Bureau data released today.

“While there have been some signs of tightening in consumer spending, September’s numbers show consumers are willing to spend where they see value,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a release. “September sales come amid the recent trend of payroll gains and other positive economic signs. Clearly, consumers continue to carry the economy, and conditions for the retail sector remain favorable as we move into the holiday season.”

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JD Logistics warehouse with automation

JD Logistics to double its overseas warehouse space by 2025

Chinese supply chain service provider JD Logistics today announced plans to double its overseas warehouse space by the end of 2025 as part of the company’s broader global supply chain strategy to meet the growing demand for cross-border logistics solutions.

As part of that effort, the company will also expand its network of bonded and direct-mail warehouses. That would mark a significant expansion since JD Logistics—which is the logistics arm of JD.com and is also known as “JingDong Logistics”—currently operates nearly 100 bonded, direct mail, and overseas warehouses. Those facilities total about 10 million square feet in markets such as the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, France, the U.K., Vietnam, the UAE, Australia, and Malaysia.

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Logistics services continue to “go green”

Logistics services continue to “go green”

The market for environmentally friendly logistics services is expected to grow by nearly 8% between now and 2033, reaching a value of $2.8 billion, according to research from Custom Market Insights (CMI), released earlier this year.

The “green logistics services market” encompasses environmentally sustainable logistics practices aimed at reducing carbon emissions, minimizing waste, and improving energy efficiency throughout the supply chain, according to CMI. The market involves the use of eco-friendly transportation methods—such as electric and hybrid vehicles—as well as renewable energy-powered warehouses, and advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for optimizing logistics operations.

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deloitte obrien speaking at IFS show

Deloitte: clean energy transition offers opportunities

The clean energy transition continuing to sweep the globe will give companies in every sector the choice to either be disrupted or to capitalize on new opportunities, a sustainability expert from Deloitte said in a session today at a conference in Orlando held by the enterprise resource planning (ERP) firm IFS.

While corporate chief sustainability officers (CSOs) are likely already tracking those impacts, the truth is that they will actually affect every aspect of operations regardless of people’s role in a business, said John O’Brien, managing director of Deloitte’s sustainability and climate practice.

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MIT professor Weill speaks at IFS show

MIT: Businesses thrive more with real-time data flows

Companies that integrate real-time data flows into their operations consistently outperform their competitors, an MIT professor said in a session today at a conference held by IFS, the Swedish enterprise resource planning (ERP) and artificial intelligence (AI) firm.

A real-time business is one that uses trusted, real-time data to enable people and systems to make real-time decisions, Peter Weill, the chairman of MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), said at the “IFS Unleashed” show in Orlando.

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