Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Baltimore-based Barcoding said the acquisition will help it to target both manufacturing facilities and warehouses that have repeatable material handling processes.
Philadelphia-based Fred Automation was spun out of the electric wheel drive maker ASI Technologies Inc. in 2021. Fred says its AGVs are designed to eliminate the barriers to automation by providing simple, affordable vehicles. The firm’s Fred model has a 2,500-pound payload and its smaller Freddie model has a 400-pound payload.
The move is Barcoding’s latest growth investment, following a move to expand into Canada in 2019 and to acquire mobile data collection specialist Danforth Systems LLC in 2018. More recently, Barcoding joined Zebra Technologies’ partner program in 2022, gaining access to Zebra's portfolio of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
“Barcoding continues to focus on growth and innovation for our customers,” Shane Snyder, president of Barcoding, said in a release. “With today's labor challenges, AGVs like FRED and AMRs like those from Zebra Technologies are the right automation solutions to drive productivity and customer satisfaction. With our acquisition of FRED Automation, Barcoding is now the top solution provider for industrial automation in the AIDC space."
Weather conditions in central Florida are forecasted to rapidly improve throughout the day as Hurricane Milton spins out into the Atlantic, leaving behind a trail of wind and flood damage.
Nurtured by historically hot waters in the Gulf of Mexico, the furious storm was stronger than Hurricane Katrina at peak pressure, and registered the lowest barometric pressure—and thus the most destructive storm power—in the Gulf since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, according to analysis by Everstream Analytics.
Fortunately, it weakened slightly to a Category 3 hurricane by the time it made landfall in Siesta Key, just south of Tampa Bay, at 8:30 pm on Wednesday night. However, extremely heavy rainfall totals caused major flooding in the northern portion of that region, soaking Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It also triggered storm surge levels of 4-9 feet, and spun off scores of tornadoes. The National Weather Service issued 126 tornado warnings in Florida on October 9 alone, which was the most in Florida history.
Supply chain impacts of that weather are occurring largely where the flooding hit, and have caused major disruptions on port operations, roads, rails, air travel, and interruptions to business operations – possibly for an extended period. The interior sections of Florida will also likely have significant impacts via overland and river/creek flooding and damaging winds (fallen trees), according to Jon Davis, chief meteorologist, Everstream Analytics.
As the weather clears, businesses in the citrus belt of central/southern Florida will also start to measure the damage. At this time of year, most of the citrus remains unharvested on the trees, so the impact on crop yields could be severe. And Davis says that tree damage is always the biggest concern since it impacts production for years.
But the group also warned that the true rebuilding process usually lags behind the initial emergency response. “During the first 48 to 72 hours after a hurricane, most of the work on the ground is focused on search and rescue efforts,” Kathy Fulton, ALAN’s Executive Director, said in a release. “Because of this, ALAN usually doesn’t receive the first substantial wave of donated logistics requests until after that, when humanitarian organizations can get in, conduct their initial assessments, and determine what’s most needed.”
“We know that can be frustrating for organizations that want to do something tangible as soon as possible. But we hope they will still be willing to provide their logistics help when the need arises, whether it’s in a few days, a few months – or even beyond that,” Fulton said. “The devastation Hurricane Milton and its many tornadoes have caused is heartbreaking. We mourn for those who have lost family members, pets and homes, and we are already working hand-in-hand with various non-profit partners to deliver help.”
Editor's note:This article was revised on October 10 to add input from ALAN.
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.
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.
Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded for the 10th straight month in September, reaching its highest reading in two years, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released this week.
The LMI registered 58.6, up more than two points from August’s reading and its highest level since September 2022.
The LMI is a monthly measure of business activity across warehousing and transportation markets. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The September data is proof the industry is “back on solid footing” according to the LMI researchers, who pointed to expanding inventory levels driven by a long-expected restocking among retailers gearing up for peak-season demand. That shift is also reflected in higher rates of both warehousing and transportation prices among retailers and other downstream firms—a signal that “retail supply chains are whirring back into motion” for peak.
“The fact that peak season is happening at all should be a bit of a relief for the logistics industry—and economy as a whole—since we have not really seen a traditional seasonal peak since 2021,” the researchers wrote. “… or possibly even 2019, if you don’t consider 2020 or 2021 to be ‘normal.’”
The East Coast dock worker strike earlier this week threatened to complicate that progress, according to LMI researcher Zac Rogers, associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University. Those fears were eased Thursday following a tentative agreement between the union and port operators that would put workers at dozens of ports back on the job Friday.
“We will have normal peak season demand—our first normal seasonality year in the 2020s,” Rogers said in a separate interview, noting that the port of New York and New Jersey had its busiest month on record this past July. “Inventories are moving now, downstream. That, to me, is an encouraging sign.”
The LMI is a monthly survey of logistics managers from across the country. It tracks industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).