The nation’s ports continued to post strong results this week, driven by imports as companies restock inventories and prepare for the peak holiday shopping season.
Officials at the Port of Los Angeles processed 883,625 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in September, up more than 13% compared to the year-ago period and marking the busiest September in the Port’s history, officials said Wednesday. September’s loaded imports increased more than 17% compared to a year ago, while loaded exports fell less than 1%. Year-to-date, cargo decreased nearly 9% compared to last year.
“Despite unresolved questions about our nation’s health, economy, and export strength, imports have improved significantly after a difficult spring,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a statement announcing the monthly results. “I commend our longshore labor force, Los Angeles marine terminal operators, truckers, and supply chain stakeholders who continue to rise to the challenge throughout this pandemic.”
On the East Coast, officials at the Port of Virginia said the port set a new record volume for September and marked its fourth straight month of growth this year. The port moved 256,439 TEUs, up 4% compared to August. The growth was driven by loaded exports and imports, which were 75,526 TEUs and 121,115 TEUs, respectively. In a year-on-year comparison, September’s volume topped last year’s mark by more than 15,000 TEUs, officials said.
“The rebound continues and we are seeing indicators that imports could remain strong into 2021 as inventory restocking continues and the retail season gets underway,” John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, said in a statement announcing the results. “What is interesting is that September’s record volume was accompanied by the fewest number of vessel calls for the month. The ship owners are beginning to capitalize on their investments in big ships. They’re running fewer vessels, but carrying more cargo. Since 2015, the average number of containers per vessel calling Virginia has increased more than 71% to more than 1,200 boxes today versus 700-plus in 2015.”
Reinhart added that recent expansion projects at the port are designed to accommodate the growth.
Officials at the Port of New York and New Jersey also emphasized a rebound in cargo activity this week, citing data for August, which is the most recent available. Container volumes rebounded sharply during the month, consistent with the elimination of most blank sailings, officials said. The Port returned to 2019 levels in August, setting a new all-time monthly container record, including a new record for intermodal rail volume. At almost 65,000 lifts, the port-wide intermodal ExpressRail system handled 7.8% more volume than August 2019, with overall rail volume up 1.4% year-to-date through August 2020.
Supply chains are poised for accelerated adoption of mobile robots and drones as those technologies mature and companies focus on implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and automation across their logistics operations.
That’s according to data from Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Mobile Robots and Drones, released this week. The report shows that several mobile robotics technologies will mature over the next two to five years, and also identifies breakthrough and rising technologies set to have an impact further out.
Gartner’s Hype Cycle is a graphical depiction of a common pattern that arises with each new technology or innovation through five phases of maturity and adoption. Chief supply chain officers can use the research to find robotic solutions that meet their needs, according to Gartner.
Gartner, Inc.
The mobile robotic technologies set to mature over the next two to five years are: collaborative in-aisle picking robots, light-cargo delivery robots, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for transport, mobile robotic goods-to-person systems, and robotic cube storage systems.
“As organizations look to further improve logistic operations, support automation and augment humans in various jobs, supply chain leaders have turned to mobile robots to support their strategy,” Dwight Klappich, VP analyst and Gartner fellow with the Gartner Supply Chain practice, said in a statement announcing the findings. “Mobile robots are continuing to evolve, becoming more powerful and practical, thus paving the way for continued technology innovation.”
Technologies that are on the rise include autonomous data collection and inspection technologies, which are expected to deliver benefits over the next five to 10 years. These include solutions like indoor-flying drones, which utilize AI-enabled vision or RFID to help with time-consuming inventory management, inspection, and surveillance tasks. The technology can also alleviate safety concerns that arise in warehouses, such as workers counting inventory in hard-to-reach places.
“Automating labor-intensive tasks can provide notable benefits,” Klappich said. “With AI capabilities increasingly embedded in mobile robots and drones, the potential to function unaided and adapt to environments will make it possible to support a growing number of use cases.”
Humanoid robots—which resemble the human body in shape—are among the technologies in the breakthrough stage, meaning that they are expected to have a transformational effect on supply chains, but their mainstream adoption could take 10 years or more.
“For supply chains with high-volume and predictable processes, humanoid robots have the potential to enhance or supplement the supply chain workforce,” Klappich also said. “However, while the pace of innovation is encouraging, the industry is years away from general-purpose humanoid robots being used in more complex retail and industrial environments.”
An eight-year veteran of the Georgia company, Hakala will begin his new role on January 1, when the current CEO, Tero Peltomäki, will retire after a long and noteworthy career, continuing as a member of the board of directors, Cimcorp said.
According to Hakala, automation is an inevitable course in Cimcorp’s core sectors, and the company’s end-to-end capabilities will be crucial for clients’ success. In the past, both the tire and grocery retail industries have automated individual machines and parts of their operations. In recent years, automation has spread throughout the facilities, as companies want to be able to see their entire operation with one look, utilize analytics, optimize processes, and lead with data.
“Cimcorp has always grown by starting small in the new business segments. We’ve created one solution first, and as we’ve gained more knowledge of our clients’ challenges, we have been able to expand,” Hakala said in a release. “In every phase, we aim to bring our experience to the table and even challenge the client’s initial perspective. We are interested in what our client does and how it could be done better and more efficiently.”
Although many shoppers will
return to physical stores this holiday season, online shopping remains a driving force behind peak-season shipping challenges, especially when it comes to the last mile. Consumers still want fast, free shipping if they can get it—without any delays or disruptions to their holiday deliveries.
One disruptor that gets a lot of headlines this time of year is package theft—committed by so-called “porch pirates.” These are thieves who snatch parcels from front stairs, side porches, and driveways in neighborhoods across the country. The problem adds up to billions of dollars in stolen merchandise each year—not to mention headaches for shippers, parcel delivery companies, and, of course, consumers.
Given the scope of the problem, it’s no wonder online shoppers are worried about it—especially during holiday season. In its annual report on package theft trends, released in October, the
security-focused research and product review firm Security.org found that:
17% of Americans had a package stolen in the past three months, with the typical stolen parcel worth about $50. Some 44% said they’d had a package taken at some point in their life.
Package thieves poached more than $8 billion in merchandise over the past year.
18% of adults said they’d had a package stolen that contained a gift for someone else.
Ahead of the holiday season, 88% of adults said they were worried about theft of online purchases, with more than a quarter saying they were “extremely” or “very” concerned.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are some low-tech steps consumers can take to help guard against porch piracy along with some high-tech logistics-focused innovations in the pipeline that can protect deliveries in the last mile. First, some common-sense advice on avoiding package theft from the Security.org research:
Install a doorbell camera, which is a relatively low-cost deterrent.
Bring packages inside promptly or arrange to have them delivered to a secure location if no one will be at home.
Consider using click-and-collect options when possible.
If the retailer allows you to specify delivery-time windows, consider doing so to avoid having packages sit outside for extended periods.
These steps may sound basic, but they are by no means a given: Fewer than half of Americans consider the timing of deliveries, less than a third have a doorbell camera, and nearly one-fifth take no precautions to prevent package theft, according to the research.
Tech vendors are stepping up to help. One example is
Arrive AI, which develops smart mailboxes for last-mile delivery and pickup. The company says its Mailbox-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform will revolutionize the last mile by building a network of parcel-storage boxes that can be accessed by people, drones, or robots. In a nutshell: Packages are placed into a weatherproof box via drone, robot, driverless carrier, or traditional delivery method—and no one other than the rightful owner can access it.
Although the platform is still in development, the company already offers solutions for business clients looking to secure high-value deliveries and sensitive shipments. The health-care industry is one example: Arrive AI offers secure drone delivery of medical supplies, prescriptions, lab samples, and the like to hospitals and other health-care facilities. The platform provides real-time tracking, chain-of-custody controls, and theft-prevention features. Arrive is conducting short-term deployments between logistics companies and health-care partners now, according to a company spokesperson.
The MaaS solution has a pretty high cool factor. And the common-sense best practices just seem like solid advice. Maybe combining both is the key to a more secure last mile—during peak shipping season and throughout the year as well.
The Boston-based enterprise software vendor Board has acquired the California company Prevedere, a provider of predictive planning technology, saying the move will integrate internal performance metrics with external economic intelligence.
According to Board, the combined technologies will integrate millions of external data points—ranging from macroeconomic indicators to AI-driven predictive models—to help companies build predictive models for critical planning needs, cutting costs by reducing inventory excess and optimizing logistics in response to global trade dynamics.
That is particularly valuable in today’s rapidly changing markets, where companies face evolving customer preferences and economic shifts, the company said. “Our customers spend significant time analyzing internal data but often lack visibility into how external factors might impact their planning,” Jeff Casale, CEO of Board, said in a release. “By integrating Prevedere, we eliminate those blind spots, equipping executives with a complete view of their operating environment. This empowers them to respond dynamically to market changes and make informed decisions that drive competitive advantage.”
Material handling automation provider Vecna Robotics today named Karl Iagnemma as its new CEO and announced $14.5 million in additional funding from existing investors, the Waltham, Massachusetts firm said.
The fresh funding is earmarked to accelerate technology and product enhancements to address the automation needs of operators in automotive, general manufacturing, and high-volume warehousing.
Iagnemma comes to the company after roles as an MIT researcher and inventor, and with leadership titles including co-founder and CEO of autonomous vehicle technology company nuTonomy. The tier 1 supplier Aptiv acquired Aptiv in 2017 for $450 million, and named Iagnemma as founding CEO of Motional, its $4 billion robotaxi joint venture with automaker Hyundai Motor Group.
“Automation in logistics today is similar to the current state of robotaxis, in that there is a massive market opportunity but little market penetration,” Iagnemma said in a release. “I join Vecna Robotics at an inflection point in the material handling market, where operators are poised to adopt automation at scale. Vecna is uniquely positioned to shape the market with state-of-the-art technology and products that are easy to purchase, deploy, and operate reliably across many different workflows.”