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Cold Storage Heats Up
Booming e-commerce and online grocery sales during the COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for cold storage warehousing space in North America, but developers are not building fast enough to meet demand, says a new report from commercial real estate services firm Savills. Keeping up with demand: Developers are not building fast enough to meet demand, […]
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Home for the Holidays
To reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, consumers plan to do their holiday shopping earlier this year, a Voxware survey reports, which may bring significant challenges for distribution centers. Key survey findings include: 51% of consumers expect to start holiday shopping earlier than normal in 2020. 57% plan to have more gifts shipped directly […]
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How Will the Future Unfold?
As the coronavirus continues to disrupt global supply chains, Gartner developed three scenarios to help chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) prepare for recovery and make preemptive decisions to set up their organizations for success. Gartner polled 833 IT and IT/business professionals and found that 84% of organizations are facing varying forms of disruption—from slight disruptions […]
Read MoreTipping the Scales on International Trade
Several key events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. presidential election, and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) implementation, can directly impact international trade in 2020, according to DHL’s survey of U.S. small and mid-sized businesses. DHL’s key findings include: Pullback on international business outlook: 49% of respondents say COVID-19 has caused them to take a […]
Read MoreUpdated Hours-of-Service Rules Drive Flexibility, Maintain Safety
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration updated the hours-of-service rules to provide professional drivers with more flexibility without sacrificing safety. The changes include: Bringing the short-haul on-duty period in line with the rest of the industry, while increasing the air-mile radius of short-haul trucking to 150 air miles. Allowing drivers, under […]
Read MoreMore Companies Seek Sustainability Data
An uptick of 24% more companies are asking their suppliers to report environmental data in 2020 through nonprofit CDP Global, with a 34% surge of growth in North America. Suppliers report data on their impacts, risks, opportunities, and strategies related to climate change, deforestation, and/or water security through CDP’s platform. Companies then use the data […]
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Manufacturers Remain Optimistic
Despite continued impacts across industries (see chart), approximately 91% of manufacturers believe that North American manufacturing can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey by Thomas Insights. The report also highlights the following key findings: A significant jump in COVID-19-related impacts occurred—89% of manufacturers surveyed say they felt impacts from COVID-19 in April […]
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Make a New Plan, Stan
More than half of surveyed industry professionals say their supply chain planning process is only “somewhat effective,” regardless of the technology used, finds new research by AIMMS. A combined 28% state that their planning process is “very effective” or “extremely effective,” while 15% say their process is “not so effective,” and 2% say it is […]
Read MoreSorting Out Retail Priorities
Retailers and logistics service providers shift their risk management and digitization priorities in response to pandemic-related challenges, says a report from Blue Yonder and Reuters Events Supply Chain. Highlights from the report reveal: Reconsidering Risk Management Retailers/manufacturers are hesitant to pursue nearshoring and onshoring plans, with only 29% making an investment. 63% of retailers/manufacturers favor […]
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Empty Trucks Get the Message
Freight technology company Loadsmart partnered with The Home Depot to launch the first-ever automated flatbed platform that pairs capacity and price to a shipment. Called Flatbed Messenger, it combines Loadsmart’s algorithms with The Home Depot’s dedicated capacity to help shippers find capacity at lower rates. Fleets that are dedicated to one customer often experience wasted […]
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