ST. PETERSBURG, FL – January 18, 2023 – Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL), a leading manufacturing solutions provider, today announced that its renowned optical design center in Jena, Germany, is currently demonstrating a prototype of a next-generation 3D camera with the ability to seamlessly operate in both indoor and outdoor environments up to a range of 20 meters. Jabil, ams OSRAM and Artilux combined their proprietary technologies in 3D sensing architecture design, semiconductor lasers and germanium-silicon (GeSi) sensor arrays based on a scalable complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology platform, respectively, to demonstrate a 3D camera that operates in the short-wavelength infrared (SWIR), at 1130 nanometers.
Steep growth in automation is driving performance improvements for robotic and mobile automation platforms in industrial environments. The industrial robot market is forecast to grow at over 11% compound annual growth rate to over $35 billion by 2029.1 The 3D sensor data from these innovative depth cameras will improve automated functions such as obstacle identification, collision avoidance, localization and route planning — key applications necessary for autonomous platforms.
“For too long, industry has accepted 3D sensing solutions limiting the operation of their material handling platforms to environments not impacted by the sun. The new SWIR camera provides a glimpse of the unbounded future of 3D sensing where sunlight no longer impinges on the utility of autonomous platforms,” said Ian Blasch, senior director of business development for Jabil’s Optics division. “This new generation of 3D cameras will not only change the expected industry standard for mid-range ambient light tolerance but will usher in a new paradigm of sensors capable of working across all lighting environments.”
“1130nm is the first of its kind SWIR VCSEL technology from ams OSRAM, offering enhanced eye safety, outstanding performance in high sunlight environments, and skin detection capability, which is of critical importance for collision avoidance when, for example humans and industrial robots interact”, says Dr. Joerg Strauss, senior vice president and general manager at ams OSRAM for business line visualization and sensing. “We are excited to partner with Jabil to make the next-generation 3D sensing and machine vision solutions a reality.”
Dr. Stanley Yeh, vice president of platform at Artilux, concurs, “We are glad to work with Jabil and ams OSRAM to deliver the first mid-range SWIR 3D camera with the use of near infrared (NIR)-like components such as CMOS-based sensor and VCSEL. It's a significant step toward the mass-adoption of SWIR spectrum sensing and being the leader of CMOS SWIR 2D/3D imaging technology.”
For nearly two decades, Jabil’s optical division has been recognized by leading technology companies as the premier service provider for advanced optical design, industrialization and manufacturing. Our Optics division has more than 170 employees across four locations. Jabil’s optics designers, engineers and researchers specialize in solving complex optical problems for its customers in 3D sensing, augmented and virtual reality, action camera, automotive, industrial and healthcare markets. Additionally, Jabil customers leverage expertise in product design, process development, testing, in-house active alignment (from Kasalis, a technology division of Jabil), supply chain management and manufacturing expertise.
More information and the test data could be found at the following website: www.jabil.com/3DCamera
About Jabil:
Jabil (NYSE: JBL) is a manufacturing solutions provider with over 260,000 employees across 100 locations in 30 countries. The world's leading brands rely on Jabil's unmatched breadth and depth of end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply chain insights and global product management expertise. Driven by a common purpose, Jabil and its people are committed to making a positive impact on their local community and the environment. Visit www.jabil.com to learn more.
However, that trend is counterbalanced by economic uncertainty driven by geopolitics, which is prompting many companies to diversity their supply chains, Dun & Bradstreet said in its “Q4 2024 Global Business Optimism Insights” report, which was based on research conducted during the third quarter.
“While overall global business optimism has increased and inflation has abated, it’s important to recognize that geopolitics contribute to economic uncertainty,” Neeraj Sahai, president of Dun & Bradstreet International, said in a release. “Industry-specific regulatory risks and more stringent data requirements have emerged as the top concerns among a third of respondents. To mitigate these risks, businesses are considering diversifying their supply chains and markets to manage regulatory risk.”
According to the report, nearly four in five businesses are expressing increased optimism in domestic and export orders, capital expenditures, and financial risk due to a combination of easing financial pressures, shifts in monetary policies, robust regulatory frameworks, and higher participation in sustainability initiatives.
U.S. businesses recorded a nearly 9% rise in optimism, aided by falling inflation and expectations of further rate cuts. Similarly, business optimism in the U.K. and Spain showed notable recoveries as their respective central banks initiated monetary easing, rising by 13% and 9%, respectively. Emerging economies, such as Argentina and India, saw jumps in optimism levels due to declining inflation and increased domestic demand respectively.
"Businesses are increasingly confident as borrowing costs decline, boosting optimism for higher sales, stronger exports, and reduced financial risks," Arun Singh, Global Chief Economist at Dun & Bradstreet, said. "This confidence is driving capital investments, with easing supply chain pressures supporting growth in the year's final quarter."
For example, millions of residents and workers in the Tampa region have now left their homes and jobs, heeding increasingly dire evacuation warnings from state officials. They’re fleeing the estimated 10 to 20 feet of storm surge that is forecast to swamp the area, due to Hurricane Milton’s status as the strongest hurricane in the Gulf since Rita in 2005, the fifth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on pressure, and the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on its peak winds, according to market data provider Industrial Info Resources.
Between that mass migration and the storm’s effect on buildings and infrastructure, supply chain impacts could hit the energy logistics and agriculture sectors particularly hard, according to a report from Everstream Analytics.
The Tampa Bay metro area is the most vulnerable area, with the potential for storm surge to halt port operations, roads, rails, air travel, and business operations – possibly for an extended period of time. In contrast to those “severe to potentially catastrophic” effects, key supply chain hubs outside of the core zone of impact—including the Miami metro area along with Jacksonville, FL and Savannah, GA—could also be impacted but to a more moderate level, such as slowdowns in port operations and air cargo, Everstream Analytics’ Chief Meteorologist Jon Davis said in a report.
Although it was recently downgraded from a Category 5 to Category 4 storm, Milton is anticipated to have major disruptions for transportation, in large part because it will strike an “already fragile supply chain environment” that is still reeling from the fury of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago and the ILA port strike that ended just five days ago and crippled ports along the East and Gulf Coasts, a report from Project44 said.
The storm will also affect supply chain operations at sea, since approximately 74 container vessels are located near the storm and may experience delays as they await safe entry into major ports. Vessels already at the ports may face delays departing as they wait for storm conditions to clear, Project44 said.
On land, Florida will likely also face impacts in the Last Mile delivery industry as roads become difficult to navigate and workers evacuate for safety.
Likewise, freight rail networks are also shifting engines, cars, and shipments out of the path of the storm as the industry continues “adapting to a world shaped by climate change,” the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said. Before floods arrive, railroads may relocate locomotives, elevate track infrastructure, and remove sensitive electronic equipment such as sensors, signals and switches. However, forceful water can move a bridge from its support beams or destabilize it by unearthing the supporting soil, so in certain conditions, railroads may park rail cars full of heavy materials — like rocks and ballast — on a bridge before a flood to weigh it down, AAR said.
The North American robotics market saw a decline in both units ordered (down 7.9% to 15,705 units) and revenue (down 6.8% to $982.83 million) during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, as North American manufacturers faced ongoing economic headwinds, according to a report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).
“Rising inflation and borrowing costs have dampened spending on robotics, with many companies opting to delay major investments,” said Jeff Burnstein, president, A3. “Despite these challenges, the push for operational efficiency and workforce augmentation continues to drive demand for robotics in industries such as food and consumer goods and life sciences, among others. As companies navigate labor shortages and increased production costs, the role of automation is becoming ever more critical in maintaining global competitiveness.”
The downward trend was led by weakness in automotive manufacturing, which traditionally leads the charge in buying robots. In the first half of 2024, automotive OEMs ordered 4,159 units (up 14.4%) but generated revenue of $259.96 million (down 12.0%). The Automotive Components sector was even worse, orders 3,574 units (down 38.8%) for $191.93 million in revenue (down 27.3%). Declines also happened in the Semiconductor & Electronics/Photonics sector and the Plastics & Rubber sector.
On the positive side, Food & Consumer Goods companies ordered 1,173 units (up 85.6%) for $62.84 million in revenue (up 56.2%). This growth reflects the increasing reliance on robotics for efficiency in food processing and packaging as companies seek to address labor shortages and rising costs, A3 said. And the Life Sciences industry ordered 1,007 units (up 47.9%) for revenue of $47.29 million (up 86.7%) as it continued its reliance on robotics for efficiency and precision.
The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico are brewing up another massive storm this week that is on track to smash into the western coast of Florida by Wednesday morning, bringing a consecutive round of storm surge and damaging winds to the storm-weary state.
Before reaching the U.S., Hurricane Milton will rake the northern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with dangerous weather. But hurricane watches are already in effect for parts of Florida, which could see heavy rainfall, flash and urban flooding, and moderate to major river floods, according to forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
As it revs its massive engines with fuel from the historically warm Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Milton could possibly hit Tampa as a Category 5 storm, according to the FEWSION Project at Northern Arizona University, which tracks supply chains throughout the country.
With that much power, Milton could shut down the port and seriously disrupt the fuel supply into western and central Florida, which could then hinder recovery efforts. That’s because fuel supplies for much of Florida, especially central Florida, arrive from Texas and Louisiana through the Port of Tampa. That means that anyone who depends on generators or fuel for critical functions should plan for an extended period without access to fuel. And recovery crews and logisticians should consider bringing their own fuel when responding to the storm, FEWSION said.
One of those disaster recovery efforts will be led by nonprofit group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN), which is already mobilizing its forces for Hurricane Milton, even as it devotes other energy to the Hurricane Helene response. “In an ideal world we’d have plenty of time to focus all of our efforts on Hurricane Helene clean-up and recovery,” Kathy Fulton, ALAN’s Executive Director, said in a release. “But in the real world, major hurricanes don’t always wait for their turn. As a result, we are officially activating for Hurricane Milton.”
In the meantime, many weary residents of the region are thinking of moving to another part of the country instead of getting hit by vicious storms several times a year. Nearly one-third (32%) of U.S. residents aged 18-34 say they’re reconsidering where they want to move in the future after seeing or hearing about the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, according to a survey commissioned by real estate brokerage Redfin.
“Scores of Americans flocked to the Sun Belt during the pandemic because remote work allowed them to take advantage of the region’s relatively low cost of living. Some thought Appalachia was insulated from hurricane risk, not realizing that the area is prone to flooding and that hurricanes can sometimes cause flash flooding far away from the ocean,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in a release. “Americans are beginning to realize that nowhere is truly immune to the impacts of climate change, and we’re starting to see that impact where people want to live—even people who haven’t experienced a catastrophic weather event firsthand.”
The report is based on a commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos on Oct. 2-3, fielded to 1,005 U.S. adults. After making landfall in Florida in late September, Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across Appalachia, becoming the deadliest storm to hit mainland America in almost two decades. In North Carolina, the death toll has surpassed 100 and the city of Asheville has been devastated.
Shippers and carriers at ports along the East and Gulf coasts today are working through a backlog of stranded containers stuck on ships at sea, now that dockworkers and port operators have agreed to a tentative deal that ends the dockworkers strike.
In the meantime, U.S. importers and exporters face a mountain of shipping boxes that are now several days behind schedule. By the latest estimate from Everstream Analytics, the number of cargo boxes on ships floating outside affected ports has slightly decreased by 20,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), dropping to 386,000 from its highpoint of 406,000 yesterday.
To chip away at the problem, some facilities like the Port of Charleston have announced extended daily gate hours to give shippers and carriers more time each day to shuffle through the backlog. And Georgia Ports Authority likewise announced plans to stay open on Saturday and Sunday, saying, “We will be offering weekend gates to help restore your supply chain fluidity.”
But they face a lot of work; the number of container ships waiting outside of U.S. Gulf and East Coast ports on Friday morning had decreased overnight to 54, down from a Thursday peak of 59. Overall, with each day of strike roughly needing about one week to clear the backlog, the 3-day all-out strike will likely take minimum three weeks to return to normal operations at U.S. ports, Everstream said.