Lift truck industry celebrates National Forklift Safety Day 2022 with special offers and local events
The lift truck industry will be observing National Forklift Safety Day on June 14, 2022. Here are a few examples of the special programs and offers that will be available for lift truck fleet managers and operators.
In addition, lift truck manufacturers, dealers, and providers of associated products and services around the country will offer safety-themed training classes and information resources to help customers keep forklift safety top of mind. The following are just a few examples:
Clark Material Handling Company invites customers and the community to visit Clark Global Headquarters, 700 Enterprise Drive, Lexington, Kentucky, on June 14 from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. as the company celebrates National Forklift Safety Day with food, games, door prizes, a forklift rodeo, an opportunity to test-drive a forklift, and more. During the event, Clark will share forklift safety tips, offer a factory tour to showcase the safety procedures designed for the manufacturing facility, and highlight the company’s “SMART, STRONG, and SAFE” S-SERIES forklifts. Can’t join in person? Join virtually on Facebook as experts share important safety tips, resources, and videos throughout the event. For more information, find the event here on Facebook.
Kion North America President and CEO Jonathan Dawley is this year’s National Forklift Safety Day chair. (Read our forklift safety Q&A with him here.) Kion and its Linde Material Handling divisionwill host a safety program at its headquarters in Summerville, S.C., on June 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day will include a demo of the Linde Guardian safety system by forklift accident and pedestrian awareness experts; a tour of the company’s manufacturing plant; and a look at Linde’s automation offerings. Lunch and transportation will be provided. Click here to register for this free event. Linde’s website also features a National Forklift Safety Day page with relevant articles and information resources.
Coinciding with National Forklift Safety Day, Hyster Company and Yale Materials Handling Corporation are introducing completely redesigned training videos for their newly updated operator training programs. Developed with contemporary adult learning methodologies to support engagement and comprehension, the new videos help businesses train their lift truck operators and staff up quickly. The videos are available through participating Hyster and Yale dealers, who can also offer training resources for full OSHA certification. For more information, go to the “Train My Operators” section of the Hyster and Yale websites.
Toyota Material Handling says it holds itself and its employees to a high standard because everyone understands the importance of creating a safe environment that is ingrained at all levels of the company. To recognize National Forklift Safety Day and help forklift fleets bring safety to the forefront of their operations, Toyota dealers will be providing free site surveys. To request a site survey, visit: https://bit.ly/3akef0D . Toyota’s National Forklift Safety Day web page also includes a wealth of articles, videos, and reference resources about forklift safety and operator training.
In recognition of the 9th National Forklift Safety Day, The Raymond Corporation is highlighting three of its safety-enhancing products:
The updated VR Simulator with redesigned wireless headset uses the latest immersive technology to quickly increase new operator proficiency and continually expand operator skills.
Safety On The Moveis a modular, online operator training program that introduces best practices for warehouse environments to help protect employees, equipment, and materials while complying with OSHA requirements.
The Steps To Safetytraining program teaches pedestrians how to act responsibly in environments where lift trucks are in operation, emphasizing the importance of operators and pedestrians working together to create a safe environment.
Click here for more information about Raymond’s forklift safety training products.
Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas group and its family of brands—Cat lift trucks, Mitsubishi forklift trucks, Jungheinrich, UniCarriers Forklifts, and Rocla AGV Solutions—has announced a call-to-action for its employees, dealers, and customers to sign the #SafetyDrivesUs pledge. Employees and dealers who sign the pledge are making a personal commitment to improving overall safety and wellness in their industry. Additionally, for every pledge received from June 14–30, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas will give back to the local Habitat for Humanity to help aid in its vision to help everyone have a safe and decent place to live. This year’s goal is to collect 3,000 pledges by June 30, 2022, and in exchange, the company will make a $5,000 contribution toward forklift certification and safety gear for Habitat’s employees and volunteers. To join in this year’s Safety Drives Us campaign and take the pledge, visit www.logisnextamericas.com/safety.
The Port of Oakland has been awarded $50 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) to modernize wharves and terminal infrastructure at its Outer Harbor facility, the port said today.
Those upgrades would enable the Outer Harbor to accommodate Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs), which are now a regular part of the shipping fleet calling on West Coast ports. Each of these ships has a handling capacity of up to 24,000 TEUs (20-foot containers) but are currently restricted at portions of Oakland’s Outer Harbor by aging wharves which were originally designed for smaller ships.
According to the port, those changes will let it handle newer, larger vessels, which are more efficient, cost effective, and environmentally cleaner to operate than older ships. Specific investments for the project will include: wharf strengthening, structural repairs, replacing container crane rails, adding support piles, strengthening support beams, and replacing electrical bus bar system to accommodate larger ship-to-shore cranes.
The Florida logistics technology startup OneRail has raised $42 million in venture backing to lift the fulfillment software company its next level of growth, the company said today.
The “series C” round was led by Los Angeles-based Aliment Capital, with additional participation from new investors eGateway Capital and Florida Opportunity Fund, as well as current investors Arsenal Growth Equity, Piva Capital, Bullpen Capital, Las Olas Venture Capital, Chicago Ventures, Gaingels and Mana Ventures. According to OneRail, the funding comes amidst a challenging funding environment where venture capital funding in the logistics sector has seen a 90% decline over the past two years.
The latest infusion follows the firm’s $33 million Series B round in 2022, and its move earlier in 2024 to acquire the Vancouver, Canada-based company Orderbot, a provider of enterprise inventory and distributed order management (DOM) software.
Orlando-based OneRail says its omnichannel fulfillment solution pairs its OmniPoint cloud software with a logistics as a service platform and a real-time, connected network of 12 million drivers. The firm says that its OmniPointsoftware automates fulfillment orchestration and last mile logistics, intelligently selecting the right place to fulfill inventory from, the right shipping mode, and the right carrier to optimize every order.
“This new funding round enables us to deepen our decision logic upstream in the order process to help solve some of the acute challenges facing retailers and wholesalers, such as order sourcing logic defaulting to closest store to customer to fulfill inventory from, which leads to split orders, out-of-stocks, or worse, cancelled orders,” OneRail Founder and CEO Bill Catania said in a release. “OneRail has revolutionized that process with a dynamic fulfillment solution that quickly finds available inventory in full, from an array of stores or warehouses within a localized radius of the customer, to meet the delivery promise, which ultimately transforms the end-customer experience.”
Commercial fleet operators are steadily increasing their use of GPS fleet tracking, in-cab video solutions, and predictive analytics, driven by rising costs, evolving regulations, and competitive pressures, according to an industry report from Verizon Connect.
Those conclusions come from the company’s fifth annual “Fleet Technology Trends Report,” conducted in partnership with Bobit Business Media, and based on responses from 543 fleet management professionals.
The study showed that for five consecutive years, at least four out of five respondents have reported using at least one form of fleet technology, said Atlanta-based Verizon Connect, which provides fleet and mobile workforce management software platforms, embedded OEM hardware, and a connected vehicle device called Hum by Verizon.
The most commonly used of those technologies is GPS fleet tracking, with 69% of fleets across industries reporting its use, the survey showed. Of those users, 72% find it extremely or very beneficial, citing improved efficiency (62%) and a reduction in harsh driving/speeding events (49%).
Respondents also reported a focus on safety, with 57% of respondents citing improved driver safety as a key benefit of GPS fleet tracking. And 68% of users said in-cab video solutions are extremely or very beneficial. Together, those technologies help reduce distracted driving incidents, improve coaching sessions, and help reduce accident and insurance costs, Verizon Connect said.
Looking at the future, fleet management software is evolving to meet emerging challenges, including sustainability and electrification, the company said. "The findings from this year's Fleet Technology Trends Report highlight a strong commitment across industries to embracing fleet technology, with GPS tracking and in-cab video solutions consistently delivering measurable results,” Peter Mitchell, General Manager, Verizon Connect, said in a release. “As fleets face rising costs and increased regulatory pressures, these technologies are proving to be indispensable in helping organizations optimize their operations, reduce expenses, and navigate the path toward a more sustainable future.”
Businesses engaged in international trade face three major supply chain hurdles as they head into 2025: the disruptions caused by Chinese New Year (CNY), the looming threat of potential tariffs on foreign-made products that could be imposed by the incoming Trump Administration, and the unresolved contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), according to an analysis from trucking and logistics provider Averitt.
Each of those factors could lead to significant shipping delays, production slowdowns, and increased costs, Averitt said.
First, Chinese New Year 2025 begins on January 29, prompting factories across China and other regions to shut down for weeks, typically causing production to halt and freight demand to skyrocket. The ripple effects can range from increased shipping costs to extended lead times, disrupting even the most well-planned operations. To prepare for that event, shippers should place orders early, build inventory buffers, secure freight space in advance, diversify shipping modes, and communicate with logistics providers, Averitt said.
Second, new or increased tariffs on foreign-made goods could drive up the cost of imports, disrupt established supply chains, and create uncertainty in the marketplace. In turn, shippers may face freight rate volatility and capacity constraints as businesses rush to stockpile inventory ahead of tariff deadlines. To navigate these challenges, shippers should prepare advance shipments and inventory stockpiling, diversity sourcing, negotiate supplier agreements, explore domestic production, and leverage financial strategies.
Third, unresolved contract negotiations between the ILA and the USMX will come to a head by January 15, when the current contract expires. Labor action or strikes could cause severe disruptions at East and Gulf Coast ports, triggering widespread delays and bottlenecks across the supply chain. To prepare for the worst, shippers should adopt a similar strategy to the other potential January threats: collaborate early, secure freight, diversify supply chains, and monitor policy changes.
According to Averitt, companies can cushion the impact of all three challenges by deploying a seamless, end-to-end solution covering the entire path from customs clearance to final-mile delivery. That strategy can help businesses to store inventory closer to their customers, mitigate delays, and reduce costs associated with supply chain disruptions. And combined with proactive communication and real-time visibility tools, the approach allows companies to maintain control and keep their supply chains resilient in the face of global uncertainties, Averitt said.
Bloomington, Indiana-based FTR said its Trucking Conditions Index declined in September to -2.47 from -1.39 in August as weakness in the principal freight dynamics – freight rates, utilization, and volume – offset lower fuel costs and slightly less unfavorable financing costs.
Those negative numbers are nothing new—the TCI has been positive only twice – in May and June of this year – since April 2022, but the group’s current forecast still envisions consistently positive readings through at least a two-year forecast horizon.
“Aside from a near-term boost mostly related to falling diesel prices, we have not changed our Trucking Conditions Index forecast significantly in the wake of the election,” Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, said in a release. “The outlook continues to be more favorable for carriers than what they have experienced for well over two years. Our analysis indicates gradual but steadily rising capacity utilization leading to stronger freight rates in 2025.”
But FTR said its forecast remains unchanged. “Just like everyone else, we’ll be watching closely to see exactly what trade and other economic policies are implemented and over what time frame. Some freight disruptions are likely due to tariffs and other factors, but it is not yet clear that those actions will do more than shift the timing of activity,” Vise said.
The TCI tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market: freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel prices, and financing costs. Combined into a single index indicating the industry’s overall health, a positive score represents good, optimistic conditions while a negative score shows the inverse.