By Jacob Whitson, CORE Program Manager at CALSTART
The electrification of forklifts shows no signs of slowing, with incentives being put in place to encourage even faster decarbonization of off-road vehicles.
The Port of Long Beach is proposing a 400 acre state-of-the-art wind turbine manufacturing facility producing floating wind turbines for new California wind farms, according to the Port’s Executive Director Mario Cordero.
Ocean carriers should focus on transitioning from fossil fuels to decarbonized green fuels but expect an added cost of between $2000-$3000 per forty-foot container, warned Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Express (ONE).
“Offshore wind has the potential to be the biggest new opportunity for the domestic maritime industry in a generation.” - Jennifer Carpenter, president and CEO, American Waterways Operators (AWO)
By Mike Babiak, Director of Supply Chain Technology Strategy for Longbow Advantage
Throughout the industrial world and across every continent, businesses are making significant investments in robotics and automation. According to the McKinsey Global Industrial Robotics Survey, automated systems will account for 25% of capital spending over the next five years1. Many of these businesses believe robotics-driven automation systems will drive major benefits in output quality, efficiency, and uptime.
Small to medium-sized businesses face many of the same challenges that large enterprises face within their supply chains: Labor shortages, rising raw material costs, supply shortages, higher transportation costs, and weather-related disruptions are just a few.
There are “many gaps in the U.S. manufacturing sector and in its infrastructure and planning activities which pose a significant barrier to the development of offshore wind,” according to a co-author of the recently released U.S. report on wind farm supply chain prospects.
Stakeholders throughout the supply chain understand 2023 will not be like any other year—and this is especially true for the cold chain, both in terms of challenges and opportunities. Offering reliability and predictability, the reefer market continues to grow and has proven to be more resilient in the face of supply chain disruption as the movement of temperature-controlled cargo continues to be prioritized.