Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

FORWARD THINKING

A sneak peek at the Supply Chain Innovation Award finalists

Five finalists will vie for the 2024 SCIA award at this year’s EDGE Conference.

The Supply Chain Innovation Award (SCIA) recognizes those supply chains teams that have pushed the boundaries and produced tangible results in overcoming significant supply chain challenges. The 2024 SCIA finalists include:

  • Gather AI featuring XRC Ventures: “Drone-Powered Inventory Monitoring Decreases the Cost of Inventory Accuracy, Improves Warehouse Productivity, and Boosts Revenue,”
  • SEE ID featuring DOD MUNS: “Revolutionizing Logistics Technology: Innovation and Implication in Military Logistics Operations,”
  • Shippeo and Renault: “Driving the Future: Renault Group's Revolutionary Supply Chain Control Tower in Partnership with Shippeo,”
  • PITT OHIO and Maven: “Digitizing Operations with an AI-Powered Enterprise Platform, Resulting in Improved Productivity, Increased Shipment Count, and Reduced Costs,” and
  • University of Tennessee featuring BP: “How BP and JLL Are Reinventing Strategic Outsourcing: A University of Tennessee Case Study.”

During EDGE, the five finalists will give live presentations on their innovations. The winner will be unveiled at the EDGE Conference closing session on October 2.

Recent

More Stories

aug24-lmi_orig.png

Logistics economy expanded in August

Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in August, though growth slowed slightly from July, according to the most recent Logistics Manager’s Index report (LMI), released this week.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

photo-1556740772-1a741367b93e.jpeg

NRF: U.S. is on the cusp of nailing a “soft landing” in inflation fight

With the economy slowing but still growing, and inflation down as the Federal Reserve prepares to lower interest rates, the United States appears to have dodged a recession, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

“The U.S. economy is clearly not in a recession nor is it likely to head into a recession in the home stretch of 2024,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a release. “Instead, it appears that the economy is on the cusp of nailing a long-awaited soft landing with a simultaneous cooling of growth and inflation.”

Keep ReadingShow less
xeneta air-freight.jpeg

Air cargo carriers enjoy 24% rise in average spot rates

The global air cargo market’s hot summer of double-digit demand growth continued in August with average spot rates showing their largest year-on-year jump with a 24% increase, according to the latest weekly analysis by Xeneta.

Xeneta cited two reasons to explain the increase. First, Global average air cargo spot rates reached $2.68 per kg in August due to continuing supply and demand imbalance. That came as August's global cargo supply grew at its slowest ratio in 2024 to-date at 2% year-on-year, while global cargo demand continued its double-digit growth, rising +11%.

Keep ReadingShow less
seegrid CR1_Renders_1-2_11zon.png

Seegrid lands $50 million backing for autonomous lift trucks

Seegrid Corp., which makes autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for pallet material handling, has landed $50 million in new financial backing to accelerate its autonomous lift truck initiatives, which are generating more growth than expected, the company said today.

“Unrelenting labor shortages and wage inflation, accompanied by increasing consumer demand, are driving rapid market adoption of autonomous technologies in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics,” Seegrid CEO and President Joe Pajer said in a release. “This is particularly true in the area of palletized material flows; areas that are addressed by Seegrid’s autonomous tow tractors and lift trucks. This segment of the market is just now ‘coming into its own,’ and Seegrid is a clear leader.”

Keep ReadingShow less
littler Screenshot 2024-09-04 at 2.59.02 PM.png

Congressional gridlock and election outcomes complicate search for labor

Worker shortages remain a persistent challenge for U.S. employers, even as labor force participation for prime-age workers continues to increase, according to an industry report from labor law firm Littler Mendelson P.C.

The report cites data showing that there are approximately 1.7 million workers missing from the post-pandemic workforce and that 38% of small firms are unable to fill open positions. At the same time, the “skills gap” in the workforce is accelerating as automation and AI create significant shifts in how work is performed.

Keep ReadingShow less