User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Trucks World News
Google
 
Loading

Aug 4, 2017

DRIVERLESS TRUCKS * USA: "Don’t mean mass unemployment"

* California - Uber drivers, and a new kinds of jobs

... The topic of automation and its implications for workers is inescapable—and often anxiety-inducing. Understandably so. Technology and social changes are poised to reshape nearly every aspect of what and how work gets done, and by whom... Even the much-anticipated emergence of driverless trucks could prove a boon for today’s drivers. The trucking industry faces a seemingly-chronic shortage of commercially licensed drivers, and the major industry group estimates that nearly 900,000 new drivers will be needed in the US over the next decade. The industry also faces high turnover and low interest from younger workers. Now consider one possible future that could occur soon, where autonomous trucks travel highways with a human “monitor” in the cab who can assist with particularly challenging driving like navigating city centers and ensure goods are delivered safely. Since the vehicles can operate for much longer periods without stopping, fewer total drivers would be needed, helping to alleviate the shortage. The jobs that remain could be less fatiguing and require shorter stints away from home (again, because the truck can operate almost constantly). Much depends, of course, on how both technology and regulation evolve, but we may find that there is a soft landing, as the current generation of truckers ages out and self-driving systems mature and become more widely adopted... A balanced approach means acknowledging that, yes, rideshare drivers in urban areas are likely going to see job changes and job pressures. Long-haul truckers, too, although likely later and more slowly. But it also means appreciating that new, potentially higher-value jobs are also likely to emerge, and that there can be society-wide benefits to these changes... California regulators release safety reports filed by 11 companies that have been testing self-driving car prototypes on public roads on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. The papers report the number of times in 2016 that human backup drivers took control from the cars' self-driving software, though companies argue such "disengagements" don't always reflect something going wrong... 
(Image from AP, by Eric Risberg - Photo shows a row of Google self-driving Lexus cars at a Google event outside the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif)  --  Los Angeles, CAL, USA - QUARTZ - 1st. August 2017

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 7:08 AM  0 comments

Mar 30, 2017

ELECTRIC TRUCKS & DRONES * USA: The future of the trucking industry ?

* Ohio - How drones and electric trucks will change the package delivery business

--- "Innovation is something that we tend to recognize only in hindsight, after – sometimes long after – it has occurred. But it’s hard not to acknowledge that we are living in a period of dramatic change for how packages get delivered. Just picture the fleets of delivery trucks driving around our neighborhoods throughout the Christmas season. How many of us have bought an item from an online retailer in the afternoon only to see it arrive at our doorstep the next day?" ... "Thank the innovators in Silicon Valley and at Amazon.com as well as the rise of e-commerce for developing a better way for finding, purchasing and receiving goods from our homes..."
(Photo: Jerry Hirsch/Trucks.com - Burns, Workhorse Group chief executive holds the company's HorsesFly package delivery drone) -- Loveland, OH, USA - Trucks.com, written by Stephen Burns, founder and chief executive of Workhorse Group - 29 March 2017

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 5:31 AM  0 comments

Jan 20, 2017

DRIVERS' SHORTAGE * Japan - To subsidize pickup lockers to reduce parcel deliveries

* Tokyo - Online shopping, shrinking workforce pushing logistics industry to the limit

--- With the boom in internet shopping imposing a heavy burden on Japanese logistics providers, the government will start subsidizing the installation of pickup lockers at train stations and convenience stores, with an eye toward reducing repeat delivery runs... Small-lot deliveries in Japan surged 10% over five years to 3.7 billion in fiscal 2015, thanks to the growing popularity of e-retailers. But the rise in single-member and dual-income households means fewer people at home to receive the shipments. About 20% must be delivered again -- a task said to require an annual 90,000 workers, or 10% of those in the field... Logistics companies worry that the growing personnel shortage, coupled with an increase in online shopping, will make their delivery networks difficult to maintain. Parties including the ministries overseeing the economy, transportation and the environment are together supporting efforts to cut down on redeliveries... 
(Photo: Public funds will help pay for parcel pickup lockers to help cut down on unnecessary redeliveries)  --  Tokyo, Japan- Nikkei Asia Review - January 17, 2017

Labels: , ,

posted by Unknown @ 12:17 PM  0 comments

Sep 27, 2016

NEW TRADE-EXCHANGE MONEY * UK - BITCOIN's BLOCKCHAIN ?

* England - Blockchain makes inroads in shipping

--- Marine Transport International Ltd., a U.K.-based freight fowarder, has started using blockchain to create real-time digital ledgers of shipping data for use by port officials, cargo owners and others along global supply chains, the company said Thursday... Blockchain, the technology behind the bitcoin virtual currency, has already captured the attention of bankers and financial firms, such as Nasdaq, J.P. Morgan Chase &Co., and Bank of America Corp., who are testing its use in logging and monitoring financial transactions... Blockchain technology works by creating an online record of transactions that can be shared among a distributed network of users. By using cryptography, it allows users within a network to securely add transactions to the ledger, without the need for a central authority. Instead, network users run algorithms to verify any changes before a new “block” is approved and added to the ongoing chain... MTI, which says it made its first public blockchain transaction on Sept. 1, is among only a handful of companies outside of the financial sector to deploy blockchain within its core operations. Others include Toyota Motor, which is using the technology to monitor its supply chain... The move, it says, seeks to replace cumbersome and costly legacy systems, such as logs, spreadsheets, data intermediaries and private databases, which cause delays and prevent carriers from making timely changes to services... These companies will be keeping a close eye on the financial sector’s use of blockchain, as it seeks to establish industry-wide standards... 
(Photo by Bob Riha Jr. / Reuters - Shipping containers sit at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., Feb. 6, 2015) --  Woking, EN, UK - The WSJ, by ANGUS LOTEN - Sep 22, 2016

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 5:52 AM  0 comments

Sep 16, 2016

BOSCH's * Germany: COMMERCIAL VEHICLES PROGNOSIS

* Stuttgart - Bosch Mobility Solutions

  (Video from Bosch Mobility Solutions- Sep 14, 2016 - VisionX concept study shows the future of commercial vehicles. Connected, electrified, and automated – that’s the future of trucks. And that’s what Bosch has encapsulated in VisionX) 

--- Bosch, a supplier for a number of manufacturers, has its own vision of what roads will look like then, and the VisionX truck is a manifestation of those beliefs... As drivers lose the requirement to, you know, drive, there'll be plenty of other jobs for them to do. Bosch says truck "drivers" of the future will plan routes, work on documents or simply sit back and observe... Bosch envisions the future of trucking as a largely automated affair, with heavy reliance on connectivity and electrification -- or, barring that, high-efficiency diesel engines. Of course, being a pie-in-the-sky concept, VisionX isn't loaded up with specific technologies, so there's no discussion of range or horsepower or anything like... 
Stuttgart, Germany - RoadShow/CNet - 15 Sept 2016

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 7:25 AM  0 comments

Sep 15, 2016

AUTOMATIZATION: TRUCKS / WAREHOUSES / ETC * USA: Changes in the industry

* California - Automated trucks, warehouses seen transforming distribution


--- When the future of driverless or autonomous trucks is discussed, the focus tends to fall on the technology, their effect on drivers, or how they would share highways with motorists, and rarely on their impact on warehousing and industrial distribution networks... Autonomous trucks are coming, and they will change how warehouses, receiving docks and logistics parks are designed, a report from industrial real estates services firm CBRE Group says...
(Photo: Automated warehouses like the one pictured could become more common as autonomous vehicles come into wider use) -- Los Ángeles, CAL, USA -   - JOC, by William B. Cassidy - Sep 14, 2016

Labels: , ,

posted by Unknown @ 12:21 PM  0 comments

Jul 12, 2016

TRUCKING PROGNOSIS * Europe: Testing 6-wheeled robotic delivery trucks

* UK -  These cute 6-wheeled robotic delivery trucks begin testing in Europe

  (Video from The Verge . Feb 23, 2016: Starship is a self-driving delivery robot made for the suburbs. It can carry food, groceries, or packages up to two miles at a top speed of four miles an hour. It drives on sidewalks, so it uses cameras and computers to avoid obstacles like pedestrians or animals) 

 --- Here comes a shiny new fleet of prototype robotic delivery vans from Starship Technologies, all revved up for real-life trials in London, Dusseldorf and Bern, zipping around town carrying meals to hungry customers via a partnership with take-out services Pronto and Just Eat and carting small packages for Metro Group and Hermes. With dozens of six-wheeled, self-driving Starship vehicles set to prowl city streets, these upcoming tests will provide Starship with comprehensive data and "know-how on running real robotic delivery services" at short distances. If you're thinking about swiping one, beware! The futuristic mini-vans invented by Skype co-founders are equipped with a lock-out mechanism and loudspeakers for theft deterrence... Although eventually aimed at autonomous operation, the first trials will utilize humans operating the miniature vans remotely through their system of onboard sensors and cameras. After an order is placed, customers will be texted a special PIN number via their cell phone to unlock the van's storage trunk to retrieve their goods or food. Starships are designed to cruise along at 4 mph and work within a 2-3 mile radius of their launch point, zooming in and out of hinged pet doors at restaurants or warehouses to destinations nearby... 
London, EN, UK - Blastr by Jeff Spry - Jul 07, 2016

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 4:50 AM  0 comments

Feb 3, 2016

* PROGNOSIS: AUTOMATED DELIVERY TRUCKS SYSTEM * Switzerland

* Swiss considering $3.4 billion cargo tunnel for

 (Video from AMBERG LOGLAY AG - Jan 27, 2016: Underground logistics infrastructure system. Here's how it's all supposed to come together)

-- In the parts of the world where it seems that just about everyone has a car, we all want to get away from the crush of traffic. But after a certain point, traffic problems can’t be solved by building more roads. They’ll just generate more traffic, unless you do irritating things like charging money to use them. Switzerland, where the volume of road traffic directly related to the transport of goods is expected to increase by 45 percent over the next 15 years, lacks the infrastructure to handle that growth. So it’s in need of a creative solution, and fast... One alternative is building an expensive transit option like rail lines. But Switzerland is considering a novel (and even more expensive) solution: a $3.4 billion underground cargo tube full of automated delivery carts... Last week, Cargo Sous Terrain presented a feasibility study in Zurich detailing its plan for, uh, cargo sous terrain (underground cargo). The idea is to dig a 66.7-kilometer-long, 6-meter-wide tunnel 50 meters below ground. The thoroughfare would connect Zurich with logistics centers out to the west, south of Bern. The pilot tunnel would connect to four above-ground waystations that link the tunnel to cargo transfer points. The eventual goal is to expand the dedicated cargo network so that it connects Zurich with Lucerne and eventually Geneva... The tunnel itself would contain three lanes for autonomous, inductively powered electric delivery truck-things as in the rendering above. The trucks would zip along at 30 kilometers per hour; above them, there would be a separate monorail system whisking smaller packages from Point A to Point B at 60 km/h. Power to run the underground parcel hauling system is supposed to come from renewables, including the energy collected by solar panels mounted on the roofs of the transfer stations... Part of the idea here is that you could replace big trucks with smaller vehicles that deliver things more frequently in urban areas (vans, cars, scooters, or eventually even small ground robots or delivery drones). Rather than getting one big delivery at the beginning of the day, businesses could depend on a constant trickle of goods, which would be more flexible. And you'd never see big trucks in urban areas at all, since they'd spend their time moving goods directly to the cargo transfer stations as opposed to businesses themselves... The entire project will depend on private financing; but who’ll put up the money remains an unanswered question. $3.4 billion is, after all, kind of a lot of money. It's not too difficult to imagine that using the tunnel would save distributors enough time and money that it could pay for itself over time with delivery fees. But who’ll be willing to make such an enormous up-front investment on an unproven idea? This isn't the first time we've heard of schemes for underground cargo transport; none of the rest of them have panned out... Even if funding were secured, the earliest we could expect to see the tunnel operational is 2030... 
Zurich, Switzerland - IEEE Spectrum, by Evan Ackerman - 1 Feb 2016

Labels: , ,

posted by Unknown @ 11:10 AM  0 comments

Jan 18, 2016

PROGNOSIS: TRUCKING OUTLOOK 2016 * USA: POOR. Analists say

* New York - The reason: too many trucks and railcars, not enough cargo

-- Freight rates are unlikely to fully rebound in 2016. Shippers have the power as low fuel prices and stagnant freight volumes increase the availability of trucks analysts say... Low diesel fuel prices and increased availability of trucks in the spot market will keep transportation costs down for retailers and manufacturers, while causing pain for the freight and logistics industry, according to industry analysts... Growth in freight volumes slowed in the final months of 2015 after a strong start to the year. Shippers are having an easier time finding trucks to hire as a result. That’s giving them power to demand cheaper rates, reversing the dynamic seen for much of 2014 and early 2015, when trucking companies could charge higher prices because they knew shippers had few alternatives... That dynamic is likely to continue this year, with freight rates held back by widespread availability for trucks. With the price of fuel down 25%, providers of truckload and less-than-truckload services have been forced to slash prices... But transportation analysts with FTR painted a rosier picture for the trucking industry for the coming year. Speaking on a conference call Thursday, FTR’s Noel Perry said truckload and rail-carload pricing would stage a slight “comeback” this year. New regulations set to kick in later this year and early in 2017 should also drive up rates by reducing the number of available trucks and drivers, he said. “We’re still pretty optimistic in 2016,” Mr. Perry said... 
(PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS - Freight rates are unlikely to fully rebound in 2016, analysts say)   --  NY, USA - The WSJ, by ERICA E. PHILLIPS - Jan. 14, 2016

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 7:14 AM  0 comments

Sep 10, 2015

TRUCK FLEET MANAGEMENT through LIFT TRUCKS * USA: New developments in wireless communication and data collection will soon allow it

* New York -  Lift truck data: The next frontier

... Lift trucks would one day function as mobile data hubs, connecting to systems and devices beyond warehouse management systems (WMS). It could soon be possible, he said, to use the resulting data to better manage the warehouse as a whole... Lift truck telematics—the transmission of data to and from industrial trucks— and the technologies used for collecting, sharing, and analyzing lift truck-related data have made great strides... These developments have enabled the once-humble forklift to become a full-fledged member of the Internet of Things (IoT), which the McKinsey Global Institute defines as devices that can "monitor their environment, report their status, receive instructions, and even take action based on the information they receive" ... With the right technology on board, lift trucks can do all that and more, opening the way for them to function as the data hubs envisioned several years ago. But it doesn't end there. Engineers and software developers are thinking up additional ways to apply lift truck telematics and data technologies. If their ideas become reality, then the forklift of the future could be more than to the basic material handling tool of the past... Providers of these systems expect that concerns about the technology's maturity and implementation costs will dissipate as prices drop. It won't be long, they say, before fleet managers stop thinking of telematics as a futuristic concept and come to see it as a necessary part of everyday operations... But many fleet managers are just beginning to recognize that telematics can introduce game-changing efficiencies to their operations... 
NY, USA -  DC Velocity, by Toby Gooley - September 7, 2015

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 10:09 AM  0 comments

Jul 30, 2015

TRUCKING INDUSTRY PROGNOSIS * USA: Expected 50,000 trucks off Georgia highways

* Georgia - Appalachian Regional Port announced in Murray County


-- Atlanta-area drivers and Chattanooga's (Tennessee) Volkswagen assembly plant should both benefit from a new "inland port" due to open in 2018 in Murray County, said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal... The Georgia Ports Authority, Murray County and CSX Transportation officials announced the "Appalachian Regional Port," at which shipping containers will be loaded onto trains and shipped to the Port of Savannah... When it opens in 2018, it will take 50,000 long-haul trucks off highways in the Atlanta area and elsewhere in Georgia, officials said... Deal said Chattanooga Volkswagen representatives were at the ceremony and are interested in shipping parts via rail, instead of by truck... 
(Photo: Appalachian Regional Port announced in Georgia) -- Chatsworth, GA, USA - Times Free Press, by Tim Omarzu - July 28th, 2015

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 7:33 AM  0 comments

Apr 7, 2015

AUTOMATED DRIVING * USA: 3400 miles with no accidents

* California - First coast-to-coast automated drive


  --   Delphi Automotive has completed the longest automated drive in North America, traveling from San Francisco to New York in the first coast-to-coast trip ever taken by an automated vehicle. Nearly 3,400 miles were covered with 99 percent of the drive in fully automated mode... Delphi engineers used the drive to research and collect information that will help further advance active safety technology — the most rapidly growing technology sector of the auto and commercial vehicle industries. The team collected nearly three terabytes of data... The nine-day trip crossed 15 states and the District of Columbia. Along the way, the vehicle encountered complex driving situations such as traffic circles, construction zones, bridges, tunnels, aggressive drivers and a variety of weather conditions... Delphi’s automated driving vehicle is equipped with a full suite of advanced technologies and features, many of which are already on the market today including collision mitigation, integrated radar and camera systems, forward collision and lane departure warning... Delphi Automotive is a leading global supplier of technologies for the automotive and commercial vehicle markets... 
(Photo: Delphi's automated vehicle encountered complex driving situations)  --  Gillingham, U.K. - Trucking News - April 6, 2015

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 8:05 AM  0 comments

Jan 23, 2012

T & L PROGNOSIS * WORLDWIDE

* Global economic uncertainty creates opportunities

London,EN,UK -eyefortransport -Jan 9, 2012: -- 2011 was the year many had expected the global economy to rebound strongly. Despite showing good momentum for perhaps a few months, a series of events, such as the tragic Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the Arab Spring, the European debt crisis and rising oil prices, disrupted global supply chains and shook shippers' confidence...  As a result, by the second half of the year, economic indicators and freight demand were trending downwards. The latest Global Monthly Monitor suggests there were pockets of optimism and these pockets are likely to carry over into 2012... For transport and logistics providers, opportunities will exist in 2012. In particular, opportunities remain in industries that are "recession-proof"; such as healthcare and food & beverage. The Asian domestic market will offer opportunities as will the export markets in the US and Europe... As in any questionable economic period, consolidation is anticipated. This will be the case for the transport and logistics sector as many providers, hit hard by the economic downturn and sluggish recovery, will succumb to either bankruptcy or become acquisition targets for those more financially secured providers...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 9:18 AM  0 comments

Oct 10, 2011

PROGNOSIS * Canada - "By 2020, it will be crazy. Don't expect to get anywhere near a city,"

The effect of congestion on extended supply chains

Rexdale,ONT,CAN -Trucks News, by Lou Smyrlis -Oct 7, 2011: -- North American shippers have enjoyed a 30-year run of declining logistics costs but that is about to change, according to George Stalk, senior advisor with Boston Consulting Group, and lingering unwillingness to deal with a crumbling infrastructure is to blame...  While higher oil prices is a clearly visible factor creating upward pressure on logistics costs, less obvious, but critically important nonetheless, is the effect of congestion on extended supply chains, Stalk told...  He painted a future scenario where gridlock rules everywhere. North American ports, many of which flirted with capacity prior to the recession, will once again be pushing the limits of their capabilities. And they will have a tough time growing beyond their current footprint due to public opposition to further industrial growth on waterfronts...  He painted a future scenario where gridlock rules everywhere. North American ports, many of which flirted with capacity prior to the recession, will once again be pushing the limits of their capabilities. And they will have a tough time growing beyond their current footprint due to public opposition to further industrial growth on waterfronts...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 3:08 PM  0 comments

Feb 10, 2011

T & L COMMENT * Middle Eastern: Instability threatens more than Suez Canal

The impact of political instability on the oil price

(Video from YouTube, by direkirol -5 Dic 2008: Crosssing the Suez Canal with the Egyptian Army)

London,UK -Transport Intelligence, by Thomas Cullen -4 Feb 2011: -- With the Egyptian army now stationed on the Suez Canal the chances of a major interruption to shipping caused by the political instability in the Middle-East appear low, at least in the short term. What is more concerning for the logistics sector is the impact of political instability on the oil price... Both the OPEC nations and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have been hurriedly assuring the world that the supply routes for Middle Eastern oil are not in any danger. They point out that even if the canal and the pipeline running parallel to it were closed oil could be re-routed to Europe via the Cape. Nor would it have any effect on supplies to Asia Pacific or the rest of the world. The problem with such assurances is that they do not deal with the larger question of political instability spreading to major oil producers in the region... The implications of all this for the logistics market are two-fold. Although many logistics service providers now apply a fuel surcharge, the effects of higher oil prices will depress both demand and profit margins. It will affect both the types of transport that shippers select - with airfreight in particular very vulnerable - as well as how shippers move goods, with greater emphasis on slower movement of larger batch quantities... Even more concerning are the implications for economic growth in general and world trade in particular. As the economist Nouriel Roubini has pointed out, oil price spike are key triggers for recessions, exemplified by those of the early 1970s, early 1980s and early 1990s. More concerning still is the tendency for 'stagflation', with oil price increases combining with tight conditions in other areas of commodities and the overheating economies of China and India... Therefore the possibility exists that there may be a sharp reversal in the good conditions seen in the logistics markets over the past 12 months - indeed the reversal might even be as sharp as that seen during the recession of 2009...

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 6:42 AM  0 comments

Mar 7, 2010

PROGNOSIS * Canada - Expensive oil to shorten supply chains: Top economist

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking, by Farrah Cole -5 March 2010: -- World-renowned economist Jeff Rubin says unless supply chains are willing to pay for triple-digit oil prices, they’d better start thinking closer to home... Speaking at a conference hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to discuss the findings of its “Transportation and Logistics 2030” survey, Rubin said it’s likely companies will soon have to pay for the carbon footprint they leave behind... He said the price of energy will ultimately decide which modes of shipping will be used by supply chains in the future, but he disagrees with the PwC survey’s focus on only gas and diesel as possible fuel sources in the future. This is unlikely, Rubin believes, especially if price for a barrel of oil hits triple digits within the next two years as he predicts... Oil issues aside, the PWC survey on how supply chains will evolve in a low-carbon world predicts a significant decrease in exports once rising transportation and labor costs make locally produced products more attractive to consumers... The review also predicts the use of larger ships, airplanes, and trucks to make oil dollars go farther. These larger shipments and vessels will demand better dockside and intermodal facilities to accommodate the higher volume of shipments coming in...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 1:02 PM  0 comments

Sep 2, 2009

PROGNOSIS * USA - Driverless trucks and voice-activated pets could be commonplace by 2019

The robot revolution: Using laser-radar and cameras they will scan for traffic and build up a 3-D picture of the road around them. They will be programmed to anticipate dangers such as pedestrians crossing, other vehicles and debris

London,UK -Mail On Line, by David Derbyshire -20 August 2009: -- The idea of a 42-ton lorry with no one at the wheel looming in your rearview mirror is pretty terrifying... But we had all better get used to it because driverless juggernauts could be on Britain's motorways within ten years, experts predicted yesterday... And the trucks look like being the forerunners of a robot revolution... According to the Royal Academy of Engineering, artificially intelligent robots and computers capable of making life and death decisions will become more and more common in all aspects of life... (Picture: The future of travel: The driverless Personal Rapid Transport vehicle, which was unveiled last week, will be in service at Heathrow from next year)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 12:54 PM  0 comments

Jun 20, 2009

Rethinking Truck Freight * Worldwide

* Sweden - Volvo's Future Solution' to road transport... Truck Lanes

Goteborg,Sweden -BigLorryBlog (London,UK) -June 20, 2009: -- Imagine a world where trucks have their own priority 'green lanes' ... And why not says Biglorryblog?: It comes from Volvo Trucks and is part of their crystal ball gazing that's also delivered their 2020 Vision Truck and you can see it on this clip...enjoy the future!

(Video from YouTube, by roadtransport -6 Feb 2009 - Volvo publicity video for their 'Vision 2020' concept truck, designed to drive automatically in convoy -also known as 'platooning')


* USA - ... With Electric Train

A group of Texas researchers would like to resurrect the train as chief freight mover in the U.S.

Texas,USA -Planetary Gear, by Candace Lombardi -June 18, 2009: -- ... The Universal Freight Shuttle is the brainchild of Stephen Roop, assistant director Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), a branch of Texas A&M University's system chain... The automated train, which is designed to accommodate standard shipping containers and trailers, would move forward along a track by linear induction motors powered with electricity... Roop and others at TTI have been working on the concept and design for eight years, keeping in mind not just the technology, but how such an infrastructure would impact federal and state transportation departments, freight companies, shippers, and border security... In addition to providing a cleaner option for shipping freight, the UFS includes a conveyor-like system to screen standard shipping containers at ports and borders while they're in motion, and automatically divert suspect containers to an area for further human inspection... (Credit: Texas Transportation Institute - Artist's rendering of the Universal Freight System loading a standard shipping container on to a train)


* USA - Highly Sophisticated Transport: A Concept Truck

HST Concept Truck 1USA -Tachoblog -19 June 2009: -- This is the HST (Highly Sophisticated Transport) designed by Kioko Muthui, a 24-year old Kenyan with a passion for Heavy Commercial Vehicles and Transportation Design who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Transport Economics....According to Kioko, ‘the HST is a vision for future European long-distance road haulage. Designed to transport a high volume of widely accepted palletized and containerized cargo units, the concept features a proposed overall length of 29 metres with a proposed maximum gross combination weight (GCW) of 65 tonnes. Although the HST is considerably larger than contemporary articulated trucks, the concept would be no more difficult to manoeuvre.’...Kioko’s design also states that ‘by means of a comprehensive yet straightforward computer, the HST would be as simple to operate as a modern passenger car. With a 2.90 metres long cab, the concept would provide a working and living environment that would be far more comfortable than contemporary ‘cab over engine’ trucks.’...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 10:17 AM  0 comments

Mar 15, 2009

PROGNOSIS * USA - American Trucking Associations looks ahead to 2020

Arlington,,VA,USA -Transportation & Logistics (CAN)-10 March 2009: -- The American Trucking Associations (ATA) today released its annual US Freight Transportation Forecast, which projects freight volumes to 2020... The association dubs its forecast “one of the industry’s most respected and anticipated economic reports"... The latest forecast projects freight tonnage and revenue by mode to 2020, as well as the number of trucks that will be required to move the freight. It also includes historical data for al modes of freight, dating back to 1990, the association says...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 10:41 AM  0 comments

Mar 1, 2009

PROGNOSIS * USA - Ports' leaders see slow recovery

Recession and competition from rivals dampen expected volume in Long Beach and L.A.

Ver mapa más grande

San Pedro,CAL,USA -The Contra Costa Times, by Kristopher Hanson -27 Feb 2009: -- Leaders of Southern California's shipping industry gathered Friday against a bleak economic backdrop of sinking profits, sliding trade volumes and stagnant job growth to discuss the future of international trade in the region... And judging by their comments, the outlook isn't particularly rosy - at least in the near-term... Hammered by the global recession and diversion of cargo to competing seaports, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles experienced a nearly 10percent drop in total trade in 2008 - the sharpest decline in more than two decades of record-keeping... And the trend has accelerated this year, mirroring drops at most major U.S. seaports as global trade grinds to a halt... At the same time, a handful of competing ports in Canada and the U.S. - some newly expanded - have been successful in siphoning trade that was previously sent through Long Beach and L.A. on its way to the U.S. interior, or anywhere east of the Rockies... In an effort to stem declines, port authorities in Long Beach and Los Angeles are fighting back by adopting rebate programs offering shippers up to $40 in savings for each container imported or exported by rail... And they're preparing a marketing campaign designed to counter claims by competing seaports - many inaccurate - that imply local ports are charging container fees on cargo moved by rail... The ports' (LA & LB) container fees are restricted to cargo moved by truck...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 6:46 AM  0 comments