Transportation TIP List: Week of October 16th, 2016

It’s a busy time of year. All four major sports leagues are in play and the retail and transportation industries are gearing up for the upcoming holiday season. Luckily, this week’s TIP List has a score of stories on what trends to scout including an increase of diesel prices, how automation is impacting the supply chain and the Department of Transportation’s allocation of funds to make U.S. cities smarter – see the full line-up of these stories below!

• What a Global Shipping Crisis Means for Export and Import Costs: The collapse of Hanjin Shipping Co has resulted in significant changes in pricing across the industry, with prices spiking as much as 50 percent to ship a container from Asia to the United States.

• Public Perception of Drone Delivery in the United States: Since Amazon’s introduction of drone technology, there has been a flurry of activity among logistics organizations, drone manufacturers and postal operators exploring how to bring the idea to fruition.

• August 2016 Freight Transportation Services Index: According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics—the freight TSI fell 1.8 percent in August from July, after rising for four consecutive months.

• How Automation is Changing the Supply Chain: The supply chain marketplace is greatly benefiting from its embrace of technology—however, although automated to a degree, the industry still faces the challenges brought about by a large amount of people having to perform slow, manual tasks and manage a complex web of interdependent parts.

• Department of Transportation to provide $165M to make U.S. Cities Smarter: The U.S. Department of Transportation announced new funds that will help it roll out smart city technologies in places across the U.S., as part of the White House’s Smart Cities Initiative.

• Diesel Rises 5.6¢ to $2.445 a Gallon as Oil Hits 12-Month High: The U.S. average retail price of diesel jumped 5.6 cents to $2.445 a gallon and crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Oct. 10 at $51.35 per barrel—the highest price in the past 12 months.

• Retail’s Ups and Downs: the National Retail Federation predicted that holiday sales would climb 3.6 percent this year to $655.8 billion and that online sales alone would climb 7–10 percent this year.

What industry trends are you scouting?