Transportation TIP List: Week of August 20th, 2017

As many southern states anticipate a week of stormy weather, we wanted to compile a positive forecast of trends that are impacting the future of the transportation industry. This week’s TIP List includes stories such as trucking’s impact on the U.S. economy and the increase of robots in the automotive sector — read on for all of the trends that are shining through!

• Trucking Industry Revenue Hit $676.2 Billion Last Year: The ATA recently revealed that the trucking industry generated $676.2 billion in revenue last year, making up nearly 80% of the nation’s freight bill. Trucks moved 70.6% of all domestic freight tonnage for a total of 10.42 billion tons of freight last year.

• Where the Robots Are: Robots are coming, and they’re landing in clusters in the U.S. The auto industry accounts for nearly half of all industrial robots in use in the country, with Detroit alone having almost five times the number of any other major U.S. city.

• How Will the ELD Mandate Impact Pricing?: When the ELD mandate is fully implemented in December, trucking productivity could take a 2.5% hit, requiring the hiring of 60,000 additional drivers.

• Returns of Online Purchases a Key Factor in E-Commerce Boom: While the growth of e-commerce is widely viewed as a boon for last-mile deliveries, customer returns of delivered merchandise are also forcing change across carriers’ and shippers’ supply chains.

• Food Logistics Names 2017 Top 3PL & Cold Storage Providers: Maintaining the cold chain is vital to protecting and meeting the demands of today’s ever-changing supply chain. Take a look at this list of the 2017 Top 3PL & Cold Storage Providers.

How are you using robots and automation to improve your supply chain operations?

Click here to check out other TIP lists from Logistically Speaking.