New Services and Solutions

Services

• SEKO Logistics expanded its White Glove delivery offering by adding a full-assembly, nationwide service for heavyweight and bulky business-to-consumer e-commerce products. The new option includes installation, setup, syncing smart devices, and removing packaging. Supported by a 24/7 customer service center, SEKO monitors deliveries around the clock.
• To accommodate intermodal rail cargo volume growth.South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) opened Inland Port Dillon, its second inland facility in the state. SCPA expects Inland Port Dillon to convert an estimated 45,000 container movements from truck to rail in its first year of operation.
• Crowley Logistics opened an expanded warehouse in Miami, consolidating the company’s Medley and Doral facilities in Florida. The 180,000-square-foot warehouse features more than 5,000 pallet rack positions and 95 container parking spots along with a single-direction truck flow to prevent cross-traffic.




• Pilot Freight Services, a provider of transportation and logistics services, expanded its El Paso, Texas, station to 40,000 square feet. Receiving authorization as a Foreign Trade Zone, the Pilot facility runs new inventory and security systems to document and track products and materials held on site until they are ready to be shipped to Mexico.
• Expanding on its freight audit and payment and TMS offerings, CTSI-Global launched a full managed services solution. The new solution gives shippers visibility through in-transit tracking, including proactive visibility to all exceptions such as late deliveries and damaged freight. It also provides expected delivery date and time, for improved resource planning.
• Night Tech Gear, a creator of industrial shoe lighting systems, launched Night Shift Shoe Lights, designed to help workers identify potential hazards and reduce workplace falls. The product has two ultra-light shoe lights illuminating the space ahead of the worker, while rear-facing lights keep the wearer visible to other workers or vehicles from all angles.

Transportation

• United Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo launched an air cargo joint venture to manage sales and booking of standard and express shipments on routes between Europe and the United States. The carriers will expand the geographical scope in the coming months.
• A new Gold Star Line (GSL) service now operates on a weekly rotation, providing a direct connection between China, South East Asia, and South Africa. The SA1 service has a 63-day rotation comprising eight 3,300-TEU vessels. GSL also offers intermodal services to inland areas of South Africa, primarily via Durban.
• Supply chain solutions provider Panalpina added Querétaro, Mexico, to its charter network, which also connects Mexico City and Guadalajara with its airfreight gateway in Huntsville, Alabama. Panalpina’s 747-8F operates this route to Querétaro International Airport.
• DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group, deployed a second dedicated Boeing 747-400 freighter to connect the United States, Europe, and Asia. With a capacity of 100 tons, the aircraft provides freight space on the transpacific route from Shanghai Pudong Airport to Cincinnati, from where it returns to Incheon, South Korea.
• Bansar, a freight forwarder in China, now provides rail freight service from China to Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. The new service includes customs clearance, loading, inspection, and packaging, and offers shippers three transport options: FCL, LCL, and rail.
• Honeywell Intelligrated, a provider of materials handling solutions and software, launched TechSight, a real-time augmented-reality maintenance solution for distribution centers. Designed to reduce repair time and operational disruption, it leverages smart glasses and a videoconferencing platform to connect on-site technicians with remote technical support experts, enabling live service instruction via two-way audio and visual communication.

Technology

• FR8 Revolution, creator of the FR8Star.com marketplace for shippers and open deck carriers, unveiled a Price Lock feature that allows shippers to obtain a guaranteed fair market rate and immediately book freight for legal and permitted flatbed and open deck freight.
• TMS software provider 3Gtms teamed up with 10-4 Systems, a supply chain visibility technology provider, to expand visibility and automation capabilities for its users. The partnership lets 3Gtms customers track freight through a carrier integration or using 10-4’s mobile tracking solution.
• TMS provider Kuebix introduced SupplierMAX, a program designed to increase the efficiency of inbound freight operations. With SupplierMAX, companies manage all or a portion of their inbound freight and increase warehouse and distribution center efficiency through strategies such as consolidating LTL shipments into full truckloads.
• PayCargo, an online payment platform and provider of electronic invoicing and settlement solutions, and Gemini Shippers Group, an association of importers and exporters, unveiled an integrated payment solution for shippers. The new solution allows Gemini Shippers Group members to view, audit, and pay freight invoices directly from its platform.
• BDP International, a logistics and transportation services company, updated BDP Smart Tower to streamline visibility and maintenance of ISO tanks. The improved platform makes compliance easier and offers a precise view of available assets when they are approaching a warning stage where inspection is required.
• Artificial intelligence company and robot maker Geek+ launched the P800 picking robot equipped with laser navigation technology that allows it to follow floor markings or navigate point to point. The P800 has a maximum load of more than 2,200 pounds and can operate in temperatures ranging from -22 degrees to 122 degrees F, making it ideal for handling refrigerated goods or working in non-air-conditioned spaces.

Products

• Pallet supplier Litco International introduced the Exporter, an engineered molded wood pallet providing a sustainable unit-load solution for one-way and export shipping. Nail-free and with curved corners, Exporter pallets are approved for export as-is per ISPM 15a.
• AeroVironment, a supplier of charging solutions for electric forklifts, introduced PosiCharge ProCore OC, the newest addition to its intelligent charging family. It charges all forklift batteries, regardless of type, chemistry, voltage, or size.
• Rugged mobile device maker Xplore Technologies introduced the Xplore M60, a 6-inch handheld Android device for materials handlers. Weighing 0.81 pounds, the M60 is easy to grip for long periods. It’s available with a built-in barcode scanner.
• The latest solution from forklift maker The Raymond Corporation increases productivity by weighing product directly on the walkie pallet fork. The Raymond Model 8210, with an integrated mobile weigh scale, is available in two configurations: a legal-for-trade configuration in adherence to the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) or in a non-NTEP configuration.
• Rite-Hite’s redesigned RHV-4100 Vertical-Storing Hydraulic Dock Leveler helps protect workers from injury and improves efficiency and security at the loading dock. With this interior dock configuration, trucks back up to the loading dock with their doors closed. When they are secured at the dock, the doors are then opened into the building, ensuring cold-chain integrity.
• Plastic pallet maker One Way Solutions introduced a stackable light-duty three-runner plastic pallet, offering high capacity, low tare weight, and reinforced perimeter for increased impact resistance. The 40-inch by 48-inch pallet weighs 18 pounds and provides 2,800 pounds of dynamic capacity.
• Reflective insulation maker TLX Cargo introduced a cargo cover/thermal blanket that incorporates phase change material (PCM) into its structure to offset temperature spikes when the pallet is off-loaded onto the tarmac at hot locations. TLX PCM cargo covers have an outer surface that reflects 97 percent of thermal radiation.