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Not so fast my friends, this is no ordinary auto business milestone, back in March, General Motors (GM) and Ford struck contracts with the federal government to manufacture ventilators in order to help combat shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These contracts have now been fulfilled, but it was not without the support of some key partners along the way.

The transportation industry has seen an influx of autonomous trucks and vehicles. Companies such as Embark, Daimler, TuSimple and Volvo, may now have to fend off a new competitor. The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania based company, Locomation, has just completed trials of their autonomous relay convoy technology with the asset-based carrier Wilson Logistics. Their unique technology platform combines Al-driven autonomy with driver augmentation in what they call the first combination of its type. Before diving into the results of their first trial, the founders of Locomation have put together a short video detailing the essentials of their technology. Please view at: https://youtu.be/RGJEymZ2dww

One week from today another industry will take part in the efforts to contain the coronavirus. Yesterday, Love’s Travel Stops announced starting July 29th all 520 of their locations are requiring customers to wear face masks before entering their stores. Love’s joins the growing list of other retailers who have implemented a mask policy. Love’s President Shane Wharton states, “We are joining other retailers by implementing a face-covering policy for customers, and will continue to follow the guidance of health officials and adjust our practices to help keep our customers and team members safe.”

If you woke up this morning in Texas, Florida, or other southeastern states, and noticed a hazy or vivid sunrise there’s no need to wipe your eyes. What you noticed was the effects of a giant dust cloud sweeping across the southern U.S. in what many experts have dubbed, “The Godzilla Dust Cloud”. NPR reports, “The technical name for the phenomenon is the Saharan Air Layer according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” Regardless of the name, we’ve never seen a dust cloud of this magnitude since data was recorded using a MODIS satellite back in 2002. Atmospheric scientist, Michael Lowery of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shared data captured from the MODIS satellite which puts this dust cloud into perspective.

Back in 2014 a large trucking company out of Enid Oklahoma was seeking ways mitigate rear-end collisions.  Groendyke Transport who operates a tanker truck fleet was able to reduce rear-end collisions by almost 34% due to the installation of brake warning blinking light devices to the back of their tanker trailers.