Transportation TIP List: Week of June 9th, 2019

It’s a thrilling time in the sports world as the NBA Finals, the NHL Stanley Cup and the Women’s World Cup are all currently in full swing. And as this week’s TIP List shows, it’s also an exciting time in the shipping world. From an exploration of some of the ways that companies should plan for potential capacity challenges, to the latest info on the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on Mexican goods – check out the full lineup of articles below!

• Mexico Avoids Tariffs for Now, but the Threat Lingers: The deal the U.S. and Mexico struck to prevent the U.S. from imposing tariffs largely reaffirms the countries’ commitments to existing measures on immigration, but will allow Washington to keep up pressure on Mexico.
• How to Prepare Your Supply Chain for Transportation Capacity Challenges: If there is one lesson many companies learned the hard way last year, it’s that you have to be prepared for whatever twists and turns might emerge in the transportation market. But how do you know if your business is on the right path?
• Class 8 Orders Drop to Smallest Total in Nearly 3 Years: FTR reported this week that Class 8 orders for May scraped the bottom of the order cycle, coming it at 10,400 units, or 29% below the slow April activity. This is the lowest volume for Class 8 orders since July 2016.
• Life on the Road Gets a Little Easier as Truckers Adopt Digital Technology: Trucking, logistics and supply chain operators are taking the digital tools, such as AI and machine learning, used to automate repetitive tasks around the office and using them in the cabs of long-haul trucks.
• 3 Ways to Transform the Supply Chain With AI: A recent survey around supply chain technology found that end-to-end visibility was the top priority for industry professionals. But in order to make this a reality, AI, machine learning and cognitive analytics will be critical.

What current industry trends are you scouting out?