Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Strict carbon-emissions and fuel-efficiency standards proposed Friday by the Obama administration will lead to a dramatic increase in the average miles per gallon logged by heavy-duty trucks, potentially yielding billions of dollars in fuel savings for shippers and carriers by the middle to the end of next decade, according to a leading environmental group.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) estimated that the tougher fuel and greenhouse-gas caps jointly proposed by the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency will spawn the development of higher-efficiency tractor-trailers that will get 9.5 miles per gallon. As of 2010, tractor-trailers, on average, got 5.8 mpg.
Jim Bierfeldt, an EDF spokesman, said neither federal agency has disclosed an estimate on impoved miles-per-gallon efficiency. A Department of Energy-sponsored initiative called the "Super Truck" program supports the development of tractor-trailers that can operate at 10.7 mpg, the environmental advocacy group said. At that level, truck owners would save 5,000 gallons of diesel, cut fuel costs by $20,000 per year, and attain $73,000 in net fuel savings over the life of the truck, EDF said, citing a 2014 White House report. Truck upgrade costs would be recouped in one year, according to the group, again citing administration estimates.
The proposed caps would apply to tractor-trailers, heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, commercial and school buses, and garbage trucks, but would not affect current efficiency standards for passenger cars and light pickups.
Calling the plan "ambitious yet achievable," EPA and DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed to extend the current "Phase 1" limits that cover vehicles built between 2014 and 2018. If approved, the proposed "Phase 2" caps would cover heavy-duty trucks built in model years 2021 to 2027, and trailers built between 2018 and 2027.
In an effort to finalize the proposed standards by 2016, EPA and DOT will host two public hearings and collect feedback through a 60-day public comment period, as well as
a series of open-door meetings with interested stakeholders.
The specific limits vary according to truck model and year, but a tractor-trailer built in 2027—when the standard is fully phased in—would cut both fuel use and CO2 emissions by 24 percent compared to current standards, the EPA website shows. That efficiency boost would be 8 percent for trailers, 16 percent for vocational vehicles such as garbage trucks, and 16 percent for heavy pickup trucks.
The suggested standards target medium- and heavy-duty trucks because they account for only 4 percent of U.S.-registered vehicles but generate about one-quarter of all highway fuel use and greenhouse-gas emissions, according to U.S. government data. Worldwide, heavy-duty trucks account for 58 percent of all logistics-related greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Economic Forum.
To comply, vehicle manufacturers could use technologies such as improved transmissions and engine combustion optimization, while trailer builders could meet the efficiency limits through options such as aerodynamic devices and lighter-weight construction, the EPA said.
Some transportation-industry figures are concerned about the cost of compliance to trucking companies and the financial impact of passing those costs on to shippers.
"The devil is in the details, but we will continue to work with our partners to ensure the final rule is strong but still implementable for our industry," Doug Stotlar, president and CEO of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Con-way Inc., one of the nation's largest transportation companies, said in a statement.
Michael L. Ducker, president and CEO of FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) unit of Memphis-based FedEx Corp., added in the same statement that the federal government needs to "ensure national harmonization of standards and compliance requirements in order to maximize environmental benefits and fuel cost savings for fleets so as to decrease U.S. dependency on oil."
Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), praised the administration for meeting 14 of ATA's 15 "guiding principles" for meeting the Phase 2 goals. However, Graves said that some of the fuel-efficiency technologies necessary to meet the new targets are not ready to be implemented.
"In 2014, trucking spent nearly $150 billion on diesel fuel alone," Graves said. "So the potential for real cost savings and associated environmental benefits of this rule are there—but fleets will need a wide variety of proven and durable technologies to meet these new standards throughout the various implementation stages."
In response, administration officials downplayed the financial effect of compliance with the new fuel regulations, saying the rapid returns on investment more than justify the expense.
"Once upon a time, to be proenvironment you had to be anti-big-vehicles. This rule will change that," U.S transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said in a release. "In fact, these efficiency standards are good for the environment—and the economy. When trucks use less fuel, shipping costs go down. It's good news all around, especially for anyone with an online shopping habit."
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.