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Electric and autonomous trucks have made huge leaps in technology in the past several years.  Having said that, wide scale implementation within the trucking industry is still years away.  Automated distribution centers however will be tested very soon. Tech companies have received financing to launch startup businesses within the sector. “Outrider, a technology based company out of Golden, Colorado, has received $53 million to launch its startup and will begin beta testing of automated electric trucks at five yards in the U.S.,” Josh Fisher of FleetOwner reports.  Outrider posted a short video to its Twitter page to give the public a glimpse of how the process works, see below:

Yesterday, the trucking industry received a much-needed jolt to kick off 2020.  The United States and China signed a trade agreement that is expected to create a boost in U.S. manufacturing and an increase in the number of exported American goods.  While this deal will not completely mend the transportation industry after a historically turbulent 2019, it does provide a solid base from where negotiations can continue.  Vice Premier Liu He filled in for Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the meeting, reading a letter to President Trump from Jinping stating, “the first phase is good for China, the U.S. and the whole world.”

During the holiday season millions of gifts are purchased and exchanged among family and friends however, the amount of merchandise that gets returned has increased exponentially over the last several years.  According to CBRE and Optoro, Americans are projected to return $41.6 billion in online holiday merchandise this year, up from $37 billion returned last year.  With the uptick in online shopping, consumers have more purchasing power than ever before. They can purchase any number of items from the comfort of their home while knowing they can return anything at no cost. This leaves retailers wondering how they can make up for  lost profits on returned goods,  as well as putting immense pressure on the distribution centers in charge of handling.

A bill seeking to improve pipeline safety and reduce emissions concerning climate change was introduced to the House of Representatives on November 15, 2019.  The Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Environmentally Responsible (SAFER) Pipelines Act of 2019 was introduced by representative Peter DeFazio (Democrat, Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) and Frank Pallone (Democrat, Chairman of The House Energy and Commerce Committee). Current federal regulations are supposed to enforce safety in our environment and the public. DeFazio claims that the current legislation is, “woefully outdated”, he adds, “In 2018 alone there were 636 pipeline incidents that left eight people dead and injured another 90, including the horrific incident that occurred in Merrimack Valley Massachusetts.”  The National Safety Transportation Board recently declared the cause of the Merrimack explosion resulted from inadequate management and poor oversight from Columbia Gas of Massachusetts.