Not since the days of transportation regulation have we seen a case of governmental crisis creation on a par with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's handling of the truck driver hours-of-service (HOS) controversy.
Not since the days of transportation regulation have we seen such a case of governmental crisis creation as we've experienced with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and its handling of the truck driver hours-of-service (HOS) controversy. I hesitated to even write about it since we've all heard so much rhetoric on the subject, but the recent move by the FMCSA seems to suggest that it does not support an orderly, final resolution of the long-standing disagreement between the government and the industry.
Drivers' hours have been discussed off and on for as long as I've been in the industry, but the regulations under which carriers and drivers now operate were established in 2004. They've been the subject of almost continuous controversy since then, with one side raising concerns about highway safety and the other (representing industry in general) arguing that trucking would take a huge hit in productivity and capacity if drivers' hours were reduced. Finally, in 2011, the FMCSA published proposed rule changes that have met with considerable pushback. Without repeating all the changes here, briefly stated, the most controversial portions of the new rules reduce the total time a driver can work in a week by 12 hours, and modify the 34-hour restart provision.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has been particularly vocal in its opposition to the new regulations and in February 2012, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to overturn the FMCSA's proposed changes. ATA argued that FMCSA had relied on flawed assumptions to justify the rule change—a reference to the agency's views on the threat posed by drowsy drivers. One of the FMCSA's main arguments in favor of amending the rule was that driver fatigue was contributing to highway fatalities, but the ATA pointed out that since 2004, fatalities involving trucks have decreased by 34 percent.
Court proceedings take time, of course, and the new rules are scheduled to take effect July 1, 2013. Since oral arguments were scheduled for March 15, the chances of a decision by July 1 are probably slim to none. Quite logically, I think, ATA sent a letter to the FMCSA on Jan. 25, asking it to delay enforcement of the new regulations until the court reached a decision. In its letter, the ATA suggested that to begin enforcement before the court ruled on the ATA lawsuit could only result in a waste of financial and other resources if the court ruled in the ATA's favor. It estimated that such a circumstance would cost the industry a whopping $320 million. The FMCSA rejected the request, however, stating that uncertainty about the decision did not justify such a delay.
To me, that decision borders on the irresponsible. I don't know whether it will cost $320 million, although I have no reason to doubt it. But to ask carriers to install systems and processes necessary to conform to the rules effective on July 1, then, if the court decision warrants it, change everything back a few months later makes no sense at all. Even if the ATA loses, no great harm would be done. This argument has been going on for so long, another few months' delay will make little difference.
This issue has created so much controversy and resulted in so much expense already, why compound it by taking such a risk? It just seems that the FMCSA is determined to make these changes as difficult as possible for all concerned. Hopefully, everyone is focused on finding a solution that is best for the drivers and those who share the highways with them, not on winning or losing the argument.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.