Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
The hand-wringing by transportation trade groups that greeted the federal government's new rules governing commercial truck driver operations is giving way to the notion, at least in some quarters, that the policy may not be the onerous regulatory hammer initially feared to be.
On Dec. 22, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued its long-awaited final rule governing drivers' "hours of service" (HOS). The rule maintains a limit of 11 hours of continuous time a driver can be behind the wheel. It also keeps the 14-hour ceiling on the time drivers have to complete all on-duty work-related activities before being required to stop.
The rule cuts to 70 from 82 the maximum driver workweek and requires that drivers take a minimum 30-minute break during an eight-hour work period.
But the most controversial language requires that drivers working the maximum number of weekly hours take at least two consecutive rest periods—between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.—during a "restart" period lasting 34 straight hours. Once the 34-hour cycle is over, drivers may effectively restart the clock on their seven-day workweeks, according to the rules.
The rule had barely been announced when it was quickly torn to shreds. The American Trucking Associations (ATA), which represents the nation's largest trucking companies, said the rule could compromise public safety by forcing trucks off the road during off-peak times for motor vehicle traffic and onto the highways to join millions of commuters on their way to work.
ATA also argues that the timing of the mandatory rest periods will keep drivers off the roads longer than 34 hours. The group said that requiring drivers to take two consecutive overnight periods of rest within the 34-hour cycle would have the effect of extending the restart period to closer to 45 or 46 hours.
Trade groups representing the nation's retailers contend that the rest periods will disrupt the productivity of retail supply chains that have been calibrated to handle cargo transported between midnight and dawn when goods can get to their destinations in a timely fashion over less-congested highways.
"Supply chain optimization is the bread and butter of America's most successful retailers. Their ability to move goods efficiently has changed the retail landscape and benefited consumers by reducing prices and increasing product assortments. The new hours-of-service rule will upend the advances in efficiency made over the past decade," said Kelly Kolb, vice president for government relations for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), in a statement.
"A pretty good rule"
But not everyone is perturbed. Don Osterberg, senior vice president of safety and security at Green Bay, Wis.-based truckload and logistics giant Schneider National Inc., said that "it's a pretty good rule. There are people who won't like the restart changes, but on balance, it's a rule we can live with."
Osterberg had been more concerned with language in the original December 2010 proposal that would have required drivers to complete all on-duty work-related activities within 13 hours instead of the current 14 hours. In remarks made at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' 2011 Annual Global Conference in October, Osterberg said the proposed reduction would have the effect of reducing the number of continuous hours a driver can be behind the wheel—even if the government didn't change the driving limit—because most drivers could not complete a continuous 11-hour driving shift under a more compressed overall work schedule. The final rule maintains the 14-hour workday, thus allaying Osterberg's concerns.
Ben Cubitt, senior vice president, consulting and engineering for Dallas-based third-party logistics service provider Transplace, called the rule the "best possible outcome" because it keeps the 11-hour continuous drive times within the 14-hour workday. The other changes "will have only minor impact, [and it] does not appear to be major hit on capacity," Cubitt said.
The National Retail Federation (NRF), while critical of the mandatory rest periods and their potential impact on safety, applauded the FMCSA for keeping the 11-hour continuous drive times. "We're pleased that regulators have seen the wisdom of keeping the current 11-hour limit, but longer overnight breaks create the potential for more big trucks to be mixing with passenger cars during congested daylight hours," said David French, NRF's senior vice president for government relations, in a statement.
Court challenge mulled
The rule is set to take effect on July 1, 2013, giving the supply chain 18 months to adjust. In the interim, industry groups may go to court to try to delay or override the rules—a tactic tried several times since the last version of hours-of-service regulations took effect in 2004.
The ATA plans to hold conference calls with members in the coming days to gauge the rank-and-file response and to determine if acceptance of the new rule is a better option than footing an expensive legal bill in an effort to stop their implementation.
For good or ill, the rules demonstrate that the federal government will be in the trucking industry's collective face for years to come. Noel Perry, senior consultant at Nashville, Ind.-based FTR Associates, said the changes would reduce industry productivity by about 3 percent. And John G. Larkin, Baltimore-based managing director and lead transport analyst at investment firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., said "many carriers will struggle to recruit [and] train drivers and keep costs in line as the industry becomes more highly regulated."
Larkin said the trend toward increased government intervention will "end up playing into the hands" of well-managed carriers with strong safety ratings and effective driver recruitment and retention strategies. It will be critical for those select group of truckers to raise rates quickly in response to cost pressures that will be "inevitable" in a new world of government involvement, Larkin added.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
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%.
The second reason for higher rates was an ocean-to-air shift in freight volumes due to Red Sea disruptions and e-commerce demand.
Those factors could soon be amplified as e-commerce shows continued strong growth approaching the hotly anticipated winter peak season. E-commerce and low-value goods exports from China in the first seven months of 2024 increased 30% year-on-year, including shipments to Europe and the US rising 38% and 30% growth respectively, Xeneta said.
“Typically, air cargo market performance in August tends to follow the July trend. But another month of double-digit demand growth and the strongest rate growths of the year means there was definitely no summer slack season in 2024,” Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said in a release.
“Rates we saw bottoming out in late July started picking up again in mid-August. This is too short a period to call a season. This has been a busy summer, and now we’re at the threshold of Q4, it will be interesting to see what will happen and if all the anticipation of a red-hot peak season materializes,” van de Wouw said.
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.
That information comes from the “2024 Labor Day Report” released by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm.
“We continue to see a labor shortage and an urgent need to upskill the current workforce to adapt to the new world of work,” said Michael Lotito, Littler shareholder and co-chair of WPI. “As corporate executives and business leaders look to the future, they are focused on realizing the many benefits of AI to streamline operations and guide strategic decision-making, while cultivating a talent pipeline that can support this growth.”
But while the need is clear, solutions may be complicated by public policy changes such as the upcoming U.S. general election and the proliferation of employment-related legislation at the state and local levels amid Congressional gridlock.
“We are heading into a contentious election that has already proven to be unpredictable and is poised to create even more uncertainty for employers, no matter the outcome,” Shannon Meade, WPI’s executive director, said in a release. “At the same time, the growing patchwork of state and local requirements across the U.S. is exacerbating compliance challenges for companies. That, coupled with looming changes following several Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to upend rulemaking, gives C-suite executives much to contend with in planning their workforce-related strategies.”
Stax Engineering, the venture-backed startup that provides smokestack emissions reduction services for maritime ships, will service all vessels from Toyota Motor North America Inc. visiting the Toyota Berth at the Port of Long Beach, according to a new five-year deal announced today.
Beginning in 2025 to coincide with new California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, STAX will become the first and only emissions control provider to service roll-on/roll-off (ro-ros) vessels in the state of California, the company said.
Stax has rapidly grown since its launch in the first quarter of this year, supported in part by a $40 million funding round from investors, announced in July. It now holds exclusive service agreements at California ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Benicia, Richmond, and Oakland. The firm has also partnered with individual companies like NYK Line, Hyundai GLOVIS, Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US (Shell), and now Toyota.
Stax says it offers an alternative to shore power with land- and barge-based, mobile emissions capture and control technology for shipping terminal and fleet operators without the need for retrofits.
In the case of this latest deal, the Toyota Long Beach Vehicle Distribution Center imports about 200,000 vehicles each year on ro-ro vessels. Stax will keep those ships green with its flexible exhaust capture system, which attaches to all vessel classes without modification to remove 99% of emitted particulate matter (PM) and 95% of emitted oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Over the lifetime of this new agreement with Toyota, Stax estimated the service will account for approximately 3,700 hours and more than 47 tons of emissions controlled.
“We set out to provide an emissions capture and control solution that was reliable, easily accessible, and cost-effective. As we begin to service Toyota, we’re confident that we can meet the needs of the full breadth of the maritime industry, furthering our impact on the local air quality, public health, and environment,” Mike Walker, CEO of Stax, said in a release. “Continuing to establish strong partnerships will help build momentum for and trust in our technology as we expand beyond the state of California.”