LOGISTICS TECH STARTUP VEHO VALUED AT 1.5 BILLION

Veho, a logistics startup that uses technology to help with next-day package delivery, has raised “$170 million in an early-stage funding round led by Tiger Global that valued it at $1.5 billion.” This news comes only six weeks after the company raised “$125 million at a valuation of $1 billion.” The funds will go towards creating more automated warehouses across the nation and quadrupling its headcount to 2,000. Read more…

TRUCK COMPANIES STRUGGLE TO MEET EMISSIONS DEMAND

With truck companies struggling to meet CA emissions demand, many are worrying that not only will the supply chain issues get worse, but drivers could lose their jobs. These companies need to have engine models of 2010 or newer by 2023, but it’s becoming harder to afford newer models due to the ongoing semi-conductor shortage. According to the Western States Trucking Association, “40,000 vehicles in the state are older than 2010 models. If those don’t get upgraded, they won’t be allowed on the road.” Read more…

TRUCK DRIVERS FRUSTRATED BY MORE THAN JUST COVID

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, United States truck drivers had already been blighted with problems such as “bad pay for long hours and weeks away from home,” but these issues hadn’t been thrust into the spotlight until the nation started reeling from supply chain issues. With tough working conditions, it is extremely difficult to retain drivers, as “the average annualized turnover rate of long-haul drivers at larger companies was 96% during the third quarter of last year,” according to the American Trucking Associations. Read more…

MACHINES MAY TAKE OVER LOGISTICS BY 2025

Logistic experts are prognosticating that “machines will take over 50% of workplace tasks by 2025,” according to a report released by DHL last week. Multitudinous changes, “from shifting demographics, technology advancement, to the COVID-19 pandemic,” are all leading to a massive change to the “long established status quo at a pace and scale never seen before in the logistics industry.” Read more…

MOBILE ROBOTICS CAN IMPACT THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY

With the mobile robotic industry growing immensely over the past few years, the advances in robotics and artificial intelligence may soon yield efficient and cost effective ways to assuage many of the labor issues blighting the global logistics industry. Mobile robotics can be used to help with “a range of logistics operations, including material handling, material picking, long-haul distribution, and last mile delivery.” Read more…