Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Under pressure from souring economic conditions, some investors and corporations are throttling back their rush to build fully self-driving automobiles and focusing instead on partially autonomous vehicles with “driver-assist” features to promote safety for human drivers, an industry expert says.
The latest example came last week when Ford and Volkswagen shut down Argo AI, the Pittsburgh-based startup they had jointly founded—and richly funded—to create fully autonomous commercial cars. That news was closely followed by the unveiling of lawsuits against aspiring autonomous vehicle (AV) automakers Tesla (accused of overhyping its “autopilot” system in passenger vehicles) and TuSimple (for allegedly transferring technology to a Chinese company). TuSimple promptly released its CEO, Xiaodi Hou, but proclaimed it will continue to pursue work related to reservations for autonomous trucks from major freight transportation providers including Penske, Schneider, and U.S. Xpress.
Those stumbles come as both small startups and large automakers have been pouring resources into AV technology since about 2014, says Tony Wayda, principal at JBF Consulting, a Connecticut-based logistics consulting and systems integration firm. That race to bring new products to market has recently slowed to a more strategic rollout of the components that have proven successful so far, as investors seek to generate reliable revenue instead of funding speculative research and development.
According to Wayda, the change in approach can be measured by the yardstick of the six levels of autonomous driving defined by the Pennsylvania-based engineering standards group SAE International. Those ranks span from Level 0 (No Driving Automation) through Level 1 (Driver Assistance), Level 2 (Partial Driving Automation), Level 3 (Conditional Driving Automation), Level 4 (High Driving Automation), and Level 5 (Full Driving Automation).
“Given the current economic downturn, recession fears and tightening of [private equity] and [venture capital] dollars, companies are reevaluating their position on Level 4 and Level 5. While we believe Level 4 is attainable it is still several years away from becoming mainstream,” Wayda said in an email. “For this reason, we are seeing automakers starting to give less focus on Level 4 & 5 AD and focusing on automation that can drive safety, which in turn can drive revenue. Level 2 and Level 3 are attainable in the near future and in some cases are already implemented, such as lane assist and auto braking.”
These events appear to have paused the development of full AV technology for commercial passenger cars, but related efforts continue in the freight trucking sector. Just this week, San Francisco-based Embark Trucks said it had expanded its coverage map of transfer points for trucks equipped with its autonomous technology. The company continues to run pilot tests in which its vehicles haul loads over highway routes before handing them off to human drivers for last-mile delivery. Other AV technology providers such as Torc Robotics, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, Kodiak Robotics, Waymo Via, and Gatik are following similar patterns.
Despite that progress, the host of aspiring AV truck providers may likewise slow their advance and begin to follow a more deliberate path toward the twin goals of full commercialization and full autonomy, Wayda said.
“The more fundamental problems with [AVs] are the safety concerns and public perception,” Wayda said. “While we believe we will continue to see automakers incorporate more Level 2 and Level 3 capabilities into their systems, moving into Level 4 will take a much larger effort. Lawmakers and government agencies will need to work closely with the [AV] tech companies and automakers to gain public confidence and trust. We believe this will likely come in phases.”
For example, with sufficient planning, autonomous trucks could begin to ply their highway miles along dedicated lanes on certain U.S. interstates, where they could drive down paths that are cordoned off with barriers, much like express lanes in areas of high traffic congestion, he said.
The U.S., U.K., and Australia will strengthen supply chain resiliency by sharing data and taking joint actions under the terms of a pact signed last week, the three nations said.
The agreement creates a “Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group” designed to build resilience in priority supply chains and to enhance the members’ mutual ability to identify and address risks, threats, and disruptions, according to the U.K.’s Department for Business and Trade.
One of the top priorities for the new group is developing an early warning pilot focused on the telecommunications supply chain, which is essential for the three countries’ global, digitized economies, they said. By identifying and monitoring disruption risks to the telecommunications supply chain, this pilot will enhance all three countries’ knowledge of relevant vulnerabilities, criticality, and residual risks. It will also develop procedures for sharing this information and responding cooperatively to disruptions.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the group chose that sector because telecommunications infrastructure is vital to the distribution of public safety information, emergency services, and the day to day lives of many citizens. For example, undersea fiberoptic cables carry over 95% of transoceanic data traffic without which smartphones, financial networks, and communications systems would cease to function reliably.
“The resilience of our critical supply chains is a homeland security and economic security imperative,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a release. “Collaboration with international partners allows us to anticipate and mitigate disruptions before they occur. Our new U.S.-U.K.-Australia Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group will help ensure that our communities continue to have the essential goods and services they need, when they need them.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help users build “smart and responsive supply chains” by increasing workforce productivity, expanding visibility, accelerating processes, and prioritizing the next best action to drive results, according to business software vendor Oracle.
To help reach that goal, the Texas company last week released software upgrades including user experience (UX) enhancements to its Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing (SCM) suite.
“Organizations are under pressure to create efficient and resilient supply chains that can quickly adapt to economic conditions, control costs, and protect margins,” Chris Leone, executive vice president, Applications Development, Oracle, said in a release. “The latest enhancements to Oracle Cloud SCM help customers create a smarter, more responsive supply chain by enabling them to optimize planning and execution and improve the speed and accuracy of processes.”
According to Oracle, specific upgrades feature changes to its:
Production Supervisor Workbench, which helps organizations improve manufacturing performance by providing real-time insight into work orders and generative AI-powered shift reporting.
Maintenance Supervisor Workbench, which helps organizations increase productivity and reduce asset downtime by resolving maintenance issues faster.
Order Management Enhancements, which help organizations increase operational performance by enabling users to quickly create and find orders, take actions, and engage customers.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Enhancements, which help organizations accelerate product development and go-to-market by enabling users to quickly find items and configure critical objects and navigation paths to meet business-critical priorities.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
Businesses were preparing to deal with the effects of the latest major storm of the 2024 hurricane season as Francine barreled toward the Gulf Coast Wednesday.
Louisiana was experiencing heavy rain and wind gusts at midday as the storm moved northeast through the Gulf and was expected to pick up speed. The state will bear the brunt of Francine’s wind, rain, and storm damage, according to forecasters at weather service provider AccuWeather.
“AccuWeather meteorologists are projecting a storm surge of 6-10 feet along much of the Louisiana coast with a pocket of 10-15 feet on some of the inland bays in south-central Louisiana,” the company reported in an afternoon update Wednesday.
Businesses and supply chains were prepping for delays and disruptions from the storm earlier this week. Supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc said the storm will have a “significant impact” on a wide range of industries along the Gulf Coast, including aerospace, life sciences, manufacturing, oil and gas, and high-tech, among others. In a statement, Resilinc said energy companies had evacuated personnel and suspended operations on oil platforms as of Tuesday. In addition, the firm said its proprietary data showed the storm could affect nearly 11,000 manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, fabrication, and testing sites across the region, putting at risk more than 57,000 parts used in everyday items and the manufacture of more than 4,000 products.
Francine, which was expected to make landfall as a category 2 hurricane, according to AccuWeather, follows the devastating effects of two storms earlier this summer: Hurricane Beryl, which hit the Texas coast in July, and Hurricane Debby, which caused $28 billion in damage and economic loss after hitting the Southeast on August 5.