b'SePTemBeR 14 - 27, 2020intermodal19(BATTLEcontinued fromstocking facilities. Theyre notThe pandemicClass I railroads step uppage 14) reallylastmile,becausethey forconvenience,safetyandhave to be sorted elsewhere, but necessity.Thepandemichasthey stand as one way to coun- By Peter Buxbaum, AJOTactuallyhighlightedthelastter Amazons micro-fulfillment mile and the delivery system tocenters, the small warehousesNorth American railroads have been calledounces of hand sanitizer for UP employees.consumers,becauseconsum- Amazon is building in and onupon to distribute essential goods during theTheCanadianNationalRailwayactually ers have become much biggerthe edge of cities. These kindsCOVID-19 pandemic, sometimes in unusualbuilt its own production line to produce and dis-usersofthatsystem,saidof warehouses, said Maciuba,ways.UnionPacifichelpedoutbygivingtribute sanitization kits for employees and loco-AnneGoodchild,thefound- represent the hottest trend inmedical supplies priority status, updating itsmotives. CNs supply-chain team realized early ingdirectorofUniversityoflast mile right now.code system, and attaching a priority label toon that it would be difficult to procure these WashingtonsSupplyChainLast mile is expensive. Itten medical shippers.materials, so they acquired 13,000 gallons of TransportationandLogisticsaccounts for anywhere fromMedical supplies often move by air, saiddisinfecting material and large quantities of dry Center. In turn, thats helped30% to 50% of total shippingJimBishop,aUnionPacificmarketingandwipes, and formed an assembly line to create to highlight the importance andcosts, according to estimatessales director, but with fewer flights, capacityCNs own canisters of disinfecting wipes. the complexity of last mile. andtotalsmanybillionsofis limited, and were seeing some of those goodsSomeconsumers,facinglockdowns, The statistics are telling.dollarseachyear.Itsalsocome from Asia by ocean carrier, and then ontoavoided store-bought bread and turned instead According to the US Censusinefficient,especiallywhenUnion Pacific trains for dissemination to medi- to baking. After Ardent Mills, the largest U.S. Bureau,e-commercefortheitcomestoe-commerce.cal centers and communities nationwide. flourmillerandacustomerofBNSF,saw firstsevenmonthsof2020Its a single package deliv- A priority code ensures containers get intoshifting patterns in consumption, the railroad was up about 20% over a yearery to a residence that oftenthe ramp without a reservation and are added tocontactedthecompanytofindouthowto earlier in the US, while tradi- isntlocatedincloseprox- the train first. These trains are among the fastestmake service changes to business shifts.tional retailing was down 2%.imitytootherstops,saidmoving across UPs system, Bishop explained.Similaradjustmentswerealsoneeded DigdeeperandthefiguresMaciuba. So the residentialUponarrivalattheintermodalterminal,itstoaccommodatemeatpackers.Earlyon, are more dramatic. Retail fur- delivery is ugly and it cost aoffloaded first and readied for pick up.therewasincreasedproductiontokeepup niture store sales were downlot of money. Union Pacific also put its engineering andwith demand, which required us to adjust our 13.5%,whileclothingstoreThat becomes even moresupplychaindepartmentsatthedisposalofresources accordingly, said Kristin Hansen, a saleshaveplummetedand(BATTLEcontinued onBrickwayBrewery&Distillery,acompanyBNSF economic development director. The dropped a whopping 36.5%. page 25) locatedinOmaha,tomanufacturer400,000(STEPcontinued on page 25)Whatsmore,retailand supplychainexpertsalike believe this isnt just a tem-porary phenomenon and that theaccelerationofe-com-mercewillcontinue. Covid forced retailers to figure out a solutionbecausepeoplejust werent coming to their stores, saidLawrenceMcCord,the founderandCEOofFrayt Technologies,aCincinnati-based on-demand shipping ser-vice. Its not going away. its here to stay.Amazonhasadvanced last mile delivery in ways that leaveeveryoneelsegasping. Its like Amazon is playing 4D chess. said Jack Buffington, a professor at University of Den-versDenverTransportation Institute.Amazonsmaking thewholecommercemodel more complex and everybody else is trying to keep up.J ostLing for tHeP riCeyL astm iLeButAmazonandits sometimesfancifuldelivery devices arent the only stories that resonate. Large and small businesses,transportopera- PROPEL YOUR CARGO IN tors and logistics providers are all trying to maneuver through the last mile, with a variety ofPOWERFUL NEW WAYSapproaches and solutions.IntheNetherlands,the countrys second largest e-tailer, Coolblue,expectstodeliverPort Everglades provides the fastest path for your cargo. Less waves. More speed. onemillionparcelsthisyearVisit porteverglades.net or call 800-421-0188.by a kind of tricked-out cargo bicycle.Twomonthsback,it expandeditsbicycledeliveryLess than one mile from the Rail connections throughout the U.S.service into Germany. Atlantic Shipping LanesOn-port Foreign-Trade ZoneAutomated parcel lockers are commonplace in Europe Direct highway accessOcean shipping to 150 ports inas well. In the US, shippersOne traffic signal to Los Angeles 70 countriesare pushing so-called third-party,retailaccesspoints. Consumers can pick up their parcelsatlocalCVS,Wal-greens or Michaels. Large retailers are attempt-ingtofightback,usingtheir retail stores to expedite e-com-mercedelivery.Mostnotablyport.everglades |@porteverglades | PortEvergladesFLWalmart, but also Target, Best-Buy and AutoZone are desig-nating certain stores as forward PEG755_AJOT_propeller_HP_mech.indd 1 1/23/17 1:34 PM'