Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

short takes

The EPA's SmartWay voluntary emissions-reduction program has awarded YRC Worldwide Inc. its highest ranking for the fifth consecutive year. YRC was recognized for its fuel efficiency and environmentally sustainable operations. ... Landstar System has purchased two Michigan-based supply chain transportation firms that focus on transportation technology systems. The two firms are Detroit-based Premier Logistics, which provides freight management services through its Web-based software, and Ann Arborbased A3 Integration, which offers Web-based transportation and supply chain management technologies. …Maersk Group is merging three of its subsidiaries into a single company that will operate under the Damco brand. The subsidiaries are Maersk Logistics (the company's supply chain management division), Maersk Customs Services (its custom brokerage arm), and the current Damco freight forwarding unit. ... Chicago-based Echo Global Logistics, a transportation management outsourcing company, has acquired Raytrans Distribution Services, a transportation brokerage firm based in Matteson, Ill. ... The Port of Virginia will be the first U.S. East Coast port of call for a reconfigured service that connects the Caribbean with the eastern United States. The service will be operated by French steamship line CMA CGM. ... DHL is launching weekly direct less-than-containerload (LCL) service from Tokyo and Yokohama to Chicago. DHL says the new guaranteed service will reduce transit times by at least three days compared to current offerings. …Sick USA, a manufacturer of controls, sensors, and safety systems, has published Guidelines for Safe Machinery – Six Steps to a Safe Machine. The 116-page illustrated guide, which also provides a brief outline of North American laws, regulations, and standards, can be downloaded for free at www.sickusa.com.

The Latest

More Stories

a product on a conveyor belt

Picked to perfection

Fruit company McDougall & Sons is running a tighter ship these days, thanks to an automated material handling solution from systems integrator RH Brown, now a Bastian Solutions company.

McDougall is a fourth-generation, family-run business based in Wenatchee, Washington, that grows, processes, and distributes cherries, apples, and pears. Company leaders were facing a host of challenges during cherry season, so they turned to the integrator for a solution. As for what problems they were looking to solve with the project, the McDougall leaders had several specific goals in mind: They wanted to increase cherry processing rates, better manage capacity during peak times, balance production between two cherry lines, and improve the accuracy and speed of data collection and reporting on the processed cherries.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Jump Start 25 conference opens in Atlanta

Jump Start 25 conference opens in Atlanta

Artificial intelligence (AI) and the economy were hot topics on the opening day of SMC3 Jump Start 25, a less-than-truckload (LTL)-focused supply chain event taking place in Atlanta this week. The three-day event kicked off Monday morning to record attendance, with more than 700 people registered, according to conference planners.

The event opened with a keynote presentation from AI futurist Zack Kass, former head of go to market for OpenAI. He talked about the evolution of AI as well as real-world applications of the technology, furthering his mission to demystify AI and make it accessible and understandable to people everywhere. Kass is a speaker and consultant who works with businesses and governments around the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
diagram of lithium-ion battery in EV

Lithium refinery to build $1.2 billion factory in Oklahoma

A lithium refinery that broke ground this week on construction of a $1.2 billion plant in Oklahoma will soon become one of the nation’s largest factories for producing materials for batteries, according to officials with Connecticut-based Stardust Power Inc.

Stardust Power says it is a developer of battery-grade lithium products designed to bolster America’s energy leadership by building resilient supply chains. The company forecasts that demand for lithium is expected to increase in coming years due to the growing demand for electric vehicles, renewable energy storage systems, portable electronics, and industrial applications.

Keep ReadingShow less
cargo handling cranes at a port

Port of Savannah got four more ship-to-shore cranes on Saturday

The Port of Savannah received four collossal new electric ship-to-shore cranes on Saturday, bringing its total to eight and soon enabling the Georgia facility’s Ocean Terminal to service two vessels simultaneously.

The Super Post Panamax cranes were all designed by Finland-based Konecranes. The specific manufacturer of the cranes is significant in an era where U.S. security agencies have warned in recent months that the Chinese-made cranes currently installed at most U.S. cargo ports pose cybersecurity and espionage risks if hackers tapped into their networked sensors to monitor details of cargo port operations.

Keep ReadingShow less
warehouse workers handling boxes

Aptean picks up fellow supply chain software vendor Logility

The Georgia-based enterprise software vendor Aptean has agreed to acquire Logility Supply Chain Solutions Inc., a fellow supply chain software vendor that has been under pressure from its investors to find a buyer to take the NASDAQ-traded company private and increase its profit margins.

It appears to have found that buyer in Aptean, a deep-pocketed firm that is backed by the private equity firms TA Associates, Insight Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners, and Clearlake Capital Group.

Keep ReadingShow less