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Donald Pratt died at the age of 72 in Charlotte, N.C. For more than 20 years, Pratt was the head of Carolina Handling, one of material handling equipment manufacturer Raymond's largest dealers. He took the company from three employees to over 200 at his retirement. Pratt also founded battery-changing company Multi-Shifter in 1974. … Port terminal operator MTC Holdings is being purchased by Highstar Capital, a subsidiary of AIG Global Investment Group. Headquartered in San Francisco, MTC is one of the largest independent terminal operators on the West Coast and is growing its operations on the East Coast. … Old Dominion Freight Line has opened a new service center in Long Beach, Calif. … Kansas-based supply chain consulting firm Xelocity has acquired PPM Ltd., a consulting and training company based in New Zealand and South Africa. … Horizon Lines has signed a letter of intent to purchase Honolulu-based Hawaii Stevedores. … RedPrairie has announced a standard integration of its products with the Microsoft Dynamics GP enterprise resource planning suite. The objective of the integration is to enable faster and less costly implementations. … Third-party logistics company C.H. Robinson Worldwide has expanded operations in Southeast Asia with the opening of a new office in Singapore. … Also in Singapore, Menlo Worldwide has acquired Singaporebased Cougar Logistics Corp., which includes Cougar Express Logistics, a freight forwarding, warehousing, logistics, and distribution management company. … A newly formed company, Goods Movement Inc., has acquired design and integration firm W&H Systems, headquartered in Carlstadt, N.J. Goods Movement, which is based in Rancho Dominguez, Calif., will add W&H to its portfolio, which now includes Total Transportation Services and North American Conveyor Inc.

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Port of Oakland to modernize wharves with $50 million grant

The Port of Oakland has been awarded $50 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) to modernize wharves and terminal infrastructure at its Outer Harbor facility, the port said today.

Those upgrades would enable the Outer Harbor to accommodate Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs), which are now a regular part of the shipping fleet calling on West Coast ports. Each of these ships has a handling capacity of up to 24,000 TEUs (20-foot containers) but are currently restricted at portions of Oakland’s Outer Harbor by aging wharves which were originally designed for smaller ships.

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Commercial fleets drawn to GPS fleet tracking, in-cab video

Commercial fleet operators are steadily increasing their use of GPS fleet tracking, in-cab video solutions, and predictive analytics, driven by rising costs, evolving regulations, and competitive pressures, according to an industry report from Verizon Connect.

Those conclusions come from the company’s fifth annual “Fleet Technology Trends Report,” conducted in partnership with Bobit Business Media, and based on responses from 543 fleet management professionals.

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Averitt tracks three hurdles for international trade in 2025

Businesses engaged in international trade face three major supply chain hurdles as they head into 2025: the disruptions caused by Chinese New Year (CNY), the looming threat of potential tariffs on foreign-made products that could be imposed by the incoming Trump Administration, and the unresolved contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), according to an analysis from trucking and logistics provider Averitt.

Each of those factors could lead to significant shipping delays, production slowdowns, and increased costs, Averitt said.

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FTR: Trucking sector outlook is bright for a two-year horizon

The trucking freight market is still on course to rebound from a two-year recession despite stumbling in September, according to the latest assessment by transportation industry analysis group FTR.

Bloomington, Indiana-based FTR said its Trucking Conditions Index declined in September to -2.47 from -1.39 in August as weakness in the principal freight dynamics – freight rates, utilization, and volume – offset lower fuel costs and slightly less unfavorable financing costs.

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Global robot density in factories has doubled in 7 years

Global robot density in factories has doubled in seven years, according to the “World Robotics 2024 report,” presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

Specifically, the new global average robot density has reached a record 162 units per 10,000 employees in 2023, which is more than double the mark of 74 units measured seven years ago.

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