Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

Ryder launches $50 million venture capital fund to back supply chain tech startups

Initiative follows similar investment arms at logistics powers like Zebra, Maersk, UPS.

ryder venture screen shot
Ben Ames
By Ben AmesOct 28, 2020
Ben Ames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
See Full Bio

Logistics and transportation provider Ryder System Inc. is predicting fast growth in supply chain technology and has created a $50 million venture capital fund to ride that wave, the company said today.

The “RyderVentures” initiative is intended to invest in and partner with startup companies that are developing new technologies and business models that deliver advancements and automation in the logistics and transportation industries, the Miami-based firm said.

More specifically, Ryder plans to invest that money over the next five years, focusing on startups that are tackling disruptions in the supply chain, driven by accelerating demand for e-commerce fulfillment, asset sharing, next-generation vehicles, automation, and data analytics.

By creating a venture arm, Ryder joins other logistics sector companies that also invest in startups, such as Zebra Technologies, A.P. Moller-Maersk, and UPS Inc. For example, in 2019, UPS Ventures bought a minority stake in the self-driving truck tech startup TuSimple and also backed a blockchain-based e-commerce startup called Inxeption Corp. Also in 2019, Zebra Ventures provided funding for the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) vendor Locus Robotics, following its investment in the robotic automation startup Plus One Robotics Inc. And in 2018, Maersk Growth invested in the digital freight matching (DFM) startup Loadsmart.

But according to Ryder, it brings more than a fat wallet to the investment game. The company also plans to leverage its position in the logistics industry to help those young firms accelerate their development through pilot projects where they can perfect their products in real use cases, conducted through Ryder’s relationships with more than 50,000 customers across 20 industries and relationships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

In addition, the company says this is not its first foray into launching new technology platforms, but rather it follows the company’s own recent launches of the peer-to-peer commercial truck sharing platform COOP by Ryder, and its real-time visibility and collaboration platform RyderShare.

ArticleSC Services
zebra technologiesdecember 2020upsmaersk lineryder system, inc.
ArticleSC Services
zebra technologiesdecember 2020upsmaersk lineryder system, inc.

The Latest

Webinar

Webcast: Optimize Automation Project Delivery

Deutsche Bahn to sell DB Schenker to DSV
Featured

Deutsche Bahn to sell DB Schenker to DSV

CEOs: Our supply chains have a resiliency problem
Article

CEOs: Our supply chains have a resiliency problem

More Stories

Image of earth made of sculpted paper, surrounded by trees and green

Creating a sustainability roadmap for the apparel industry: interview with Michael Sadowski

Michael Sadowski
Michael Sadowski

Most of the apparel sold in North America is manufactured in Asia, meaning the finished goods travel long distances to reach end markets, with all the associated greenhouse gas emissions. On top of that, apparel manufacturing itself requires a significant amount of energy, water, and raw materials like cotton. Overall, the production of apparel is responsible for about 2% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report titled

Taking Stock of Progress Against the Roadmap to Net Zeroby the Apparel Impact Institute. Founded in 2017, the Apparel Impact Institute is an organization dedicated to identifying, funding, and then scaling solutions aimed at reducing the carbon emissions and other environmental impacts of the apparel and textile industries.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

xeneta air-freight.jpeg

Air cargo carriers enjoy 24% rise in average spot rates

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%.

Keep ReadingShow less
littler Screenshot 2024-09-04 at 2.59.02 PM.png

Congressional gridlock and election outcomes complicate search for labor

Worker shortages remain a persistent challenge for U.S. employers, even as labor force participation for prime-age workers continues to increase, according to an industry report from labor law firm Littler Mendelson P.C.

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.

Keep ReadingShow less
stax PR_13August2024-NEW.jpg

Toyota picks vendor to control smokestack emissions from its ro-ro ships

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.

Keep ReadingShow less
trucker premium_photo-1670650045209-54756fb80f7f.jpeg

ATA survey: Truckload drivers earn median salary of $76,420

Truckload drivers in the U.S. earned a median annual amount of $76,420 in 2023, posting an increase of 10% over the last survey, done two years ago, according to an industry survey from the fleet owners’ trade group American Trucking Associations (ATA).

That result showed that driver wages across the industry continue to increase post-pandemic, despite a challenging freight market for motor carriers. The data comes from ATA’s “Driver Compensation Study,” which asked 120 fleets, more than 150,000 employee drivers, and 14,000 independent contractors about their wage and benefit information.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2024.