I just have to say, I really feel for the person stuck in traffic behind the truck carrying the whale.
- Rail cars used to ship oil called ‘unacceptable’
- Three of Five Modes Carried More U.S.-NAFTA Trade in December 2013 than in December 2012
- 3Gtms Announces the Inaugural Release of 3GTM Transportation Software
- Kraftwurx 3D Printing Service Offers Turnkey Solutions and Fulfillment to E-Commerce Companies
- Savings from automation will benefit consumers: FairPrice
- Smell of rotting whale on truck ‘unbelievable’
A member of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated this week that the rail tank cars used to transport oil pose an unacceptable public risk. Two recent accidents involving the cars, a derailment in Quebec and another in North Dakota, have thrust the vulnerability of these cars into public discourse. In addition, rail transport of crude oil has increased dramatically (2013 transport was about 45 times that of 2008) due to the fracking boom in North America. Rail tank car safety is one of the many logistical challenges posed by the fracking oil boom, as my colleague Dave Lafferty pointed out in a prior LV post.
December 2013 Compared to December 2012
U.S. NAFTA trade increased in December 2013, as compared to 2012. Truck, Vessel, and Pipeline increased, while Air and Rail decreased. Mineral fuels, at $9.7 billion, was the top commodity traded between the US and Canada. Meanwhile, electrical machinery, at $7.6 billion, was the top commodity traded between the US and Mexico.
3Gtms announced the release of its flagship TMS solution, 3GTM. The solution is being offered as either a full suite or as individual modules that customers can use to augment their existing technology footprint. The solution is being marketed as an affordable, functionally-rich, and easy to use alternative to existing higher priced solutions. 3GTM’s existing users include Flagship Logistics Group, Rising Sun Systems and Corporate Traffic.
E-commerce and fulfillment, hot topic. 3D printing (aka additive manufacturing), hot topic. Even President Obama discussed it in his State of the Union speech. Well, a company by the name of Kraftwurx has combined the two processes in support of a novel business model. Kraftwurx announced a service, allowing e-commerce companies to set up a webstore listing their products. As orders come in, Kraftwurx will produce the products using its 3D printing technology. How’s that for on-demand! Hopefully it works better than the Levi’s fray into mass customization years ago. It does sound impressive. Here are a couple quotes from the press release:
With more than 120 manufacturing facilities across the world, Kraftwurx is able to reduce manufacturing and shipping costs for companies by fulfilling orders at locations nearest the customer placing the order….Kraftwurx saves you money on shipping, freight duties and tariffs.
I can see it already. Customs officers and tax authorities scrambling to find a way to obtain their tarriffs.
FairPrice, a grocery retailer in Singapore, expects to complete by the end of 2014, a S$350 million hub that will include a state of the art distribution center holding 52,000 pallets, an automated storage and retrieval system, and a caddy system that uses autonomous vehicles mounted on a monorail system. The article states that this combination of technology is a first in the region.
Finally, the winner of the “worst truckload of the week” award comes to us from the UK. A fifty foot long sperm whale was transported by flat-bed truck on a two lane road. I’ll leave out the gory details. Readers can click on the link for additional information.
Have a great weekend!
Note: 3Gtms is a Logistics Viewpoints sponsor.
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