Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

JD Logistics launches hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric trucks in China

Each 31-foot vehicle can haul freight about 250 miles on a 10-minute refueling session

JD logistics Screen Shot 2024-01-31 at 3.05.41 PM.png

Supply chain and logistics service provider JD Logistics on Tuesday announced a large-scale implementation of “hydrogen-powered” heavy-duty trucks in China, saying the move aligns with its commitments to clean energy usage and environmental stewardship.

The new fleet consists of 31-foot, heavy-duty logistics trucks, each with an 18-ton carrying capacity, or about 36,000 pounds. The hydrogen vehicles are engineered for high efficiency, capable of traveling some 250 miles on a single 10-minute refueling session. This deployment is projected to cut down carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1,000 tons per year.


JD Logistics did not respond to a query about the precise number or the manufacturer of the new vehicles. Nor did it describe the powertrain in detail, which presumably operates as an electric truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells (as opposed to burning the fuel through internal combustion).

However, the company said that compared to traditional gasoline and electric vehicles, the hydrogen-powered trucks offer superior environmental adaptability and longer service life. They can operate in extreme temperatures ranging from -22F to 113F, have a service life of up to 10 years, and are more cost-effective.

Alongside hydrogen vehicles, the company has expanded its use of electric logistics vehicles overall, including battery swap vehicles, electric tractors, and methanol-powered small trucks. The company has also utilized LNG clean energy logistics vehicles extensively in Northwest China and was China’s first logistics enterprise to put Level 4 autonomous light vehicles and Level 3 autonomous heavy vehicles in operation, JD Logistics said.

According to JD Logistics, which is an arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, its approach is part of the company’s broader “Go Zero” transportation initiative, which emphasizes shared responsibility and collaborative efforts in reducing carbon emissions across the supply chain, achieved by partnering with upstream and downstream suppliers and contractors.

 

 

The Latest

More Stories

U.S. map with drought risk

Everstream Analytics quantifies how climate risk affects supply chains

Supply chain risk analytics company Everstream Analytics has launched a product that can quantify the impact of leading climate indicators and project how identified risk will impact customer supply chains.

Expanding upon the weather and climate intelligence Everstream already provides, the new “Climate Risk Scores” tool enables clients to apply eight climate indicator risk projection scores to their facilities and supplier locations to forecast future climate risk and support business continuity.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

packaging supplies plastic films

Innotex Packaging launched from merger of three companies

The investment firm LongueVue Capital has bundled three shipping product companies together to create Innotex Packaging Solutions, calling it an integrated flexible packaging solutions provider that unites Summit Plastics, ClearView Packaging, and Fredman Packaging.

According to New Orleans-based LongueVue, the “strategic rebranding” brings together the complementary capabilities of these three companies to form a vertically integrated flexible packaging leader with expertise in blown film production, flexographic printing, adhesive laminations, and converting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stampin’ Up!’s Riverton, Utah, distribution center

Stampin’ Up!’s Riverton, Utah, distribution center

Picking reimagined

What happens when your warehouse technology upgrade turns into a complete process overhaul? That may sound like a headache to some, but for leaders at paper crafting company Stampin’ Up! it’s been a golden opportunity—especially when it comes to boosting productivity. The Utah-based direct marketing company has increased its average pick rate by more than 70% in the past year and a half. And it’s all due to a warehouse management system (WMS) implementation that opened the door to process changes and new technologies that are speeding its high-velocity, high-SKU (stock-keeping unit) order fulfillment operations.

The bottom line: Stampin’ Up! is filling orders faster than ever before, with less manpower, since it shifted to an easy-to-use voice picking system that makes adapting to seasonal product changes and promotions a piece of cake. Here’s how.

Keep ReadingShow less
autostore AS/RS at toyota materal handling site

New AutoStore AS/RS at Toyota Material Handling’s DC will increase parts volume and fulfillment speed

With its new AutoStore automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS) system, Toyota Material Handling Inc.’s parts distribution center, located at its U.S. headquarters campus in Columbus, Indiana, will be able to store more forklift and other parts and move them more quickly. The new system represents a major step toward achieving TMH’s goal of next-day parts delivery to 98% of its customers in the U.S. and Canada by 2030, said TMH North America President and CEO Brett Wood at the launch event on October 28. The upgrade to the DC was designed, built, and installed through a close collaboration between TMH, AutoStore, and Bastian Solutions, the Toyota-owned material handling automation designer and systems integrator that is a cornerstone of the forklift maker’s Toyota Automated Logistics business unit. The AS/RS is Bastian’s 100th AutoStore installation in North America.

TMH’s AutoStore system deploys 28 energy-efficient robotic shuttles to retrieve and deliver totes from within a vertical storage grid. To expedite processing, artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced software determines optimal storage locations based on whether parts are high- or low-demand items. The shuttles, each independently controlled and selected based on shortest distance to the stored tote, swiftly deliver the ordered parts to four picking ports. Each port can process up to 175 totes per hour; the company’s initial goal is 150 totes per hour, with room to grow. The AS/RS also eliminates the need for order pickers to walk up to 10 miles per day, saving time, boosting picking accuracy, and improving ergonomics for associates.

Keep ReadingShow less
nimble smart robots for fedex

FedEx picks Nimble for fulfillment automation

Parcel giant FedEx Corp. is automating its fulfillment flows by investing in the AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology firm Nimble, and announcing plans to use the San Francisco-based startup’s tech in its own returns network.

The size of FedEx’s investment wasn’t disclosed, but the company was the lead investor of Nimble’s $106 million “series C” funding round, announced last week. The round was co-led by existing shareholder Cedar Pine LLC.

Keep ReadingShow less