MHI Blog—The first draft of the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics: Version 2.0 has been released. The purpose of the Roadmap is to help the industry determine how logistics and supply chain trends and challenges can be turned into action plans to develop needed capabilities in the U.S. between now and 2030.

Supply Chain Brain—Consumer products - such as wearables and connected electronics - make up a large part of the market, but IDC estimates that more than 80 percent of IoT spending through 2020 will be on such things as B2B applications. The Internet of Things will also create a self-learning environment that will drive digital disruption in the physical world.

Venturebeat—U.K.-based supermarket Ocado has been working on a humanoid robot called SecondHands to help the company pack and dispatch goods from the company’s warehouses. This robot understands human speech, has 3D vision, and uses artificial intelligence and machine learning.

SCMR—A recent report from IHS Markit found several trends likely to emerge in supply chains during 2017. The report indicated industrial automation will become more widespread, including the use of artificial intelligence on the shop floor.

MHI Blog—Most will agree that the shortage of talent is impacting supply chains. The field can’t find drivers, can’t find pickers, can’t find managers—just plain can’t find the talent needed to keep systems running. For some, the answer is simple: do what we do best, create a supply chain.

U.S. Department of Commerce—The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) unveiled a report aimed at enhancing U.S supply chain efficiency and competitiveness and reducing port congestion. The report, Improving American Competitiveness: Best Practices by U.S. Port Communities, describes key findings and lessons learned from U.S. ports and their stakeholders during regional port roundtables convened by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in 2016. The report comes from DOC’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC). Over the past year, the ACSCC has convened several roundtable discussions and attempted to engage the Departments of Labor and Transportation on port operation and congestion issues.

Air Cargo World—For cargo firms seeking a low-cost last-mile delivery system, a new semi-autonomous robot, launched by Starship Technologies, will soon begin running deliveries for restaurants through Postmates and DoorDash services. The DoorDash trial will take place in Redwood City, and Postmates customers can expect robots at the door in Washington, D.C.'s city limits. The six-wheeled robots have a payload of 20 pounds and, at a top speed of four miles per hour, are restricted to sidewalks.

As part of MHI view's ongoing video program, this new episode focuses on: Creating an Optimal Supply Chain Strategy

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

Forbes—More than two years after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration first issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to mandate vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications in the U.S., the agency is finally ready to move forward. Following an extended comment and testing period, NHTSA published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for what is expected to become Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 150. If the NPRM makes it to the FMVSS stage without significant changes, all manufacturers would be required to install dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) radios into new vehicles, probably starting in about 2020.

Food Navigator USA—The consumer packaged goods sector may lag behind other industries in terms of e-commerce, but IRI’s experts and analysts say shopping online is increasingly becoming the new norm, even for groceries.

Supply Chain Digest—It has been boom times for several years for companies building and leasing warehouse and distribution center space in the US and much of the rest of the world. However, the rate of growth in absorption of U.S. warehouse space decelerated in Q4, the report from CBRE said.

Automotive Logistics—Toyota and Volkswagen subsidiary Scania will launch an autonomous truck platooning trial in Singapore for three years. The two-phase project will begin with a design, testing and refining process of the technology to meet local conditions.

TED Magazine —Manufacturers and distributors agree that collaboration is necessary, but each increasingly believes the other side isn't ready to work together, according to a survey by the National Association of Electrical Distributors. "Our research shows that the cornerstones of a solid manufacturer-distributor working relationship are common goals and two-way communication," said Industrial Performance Group's Robert Nadeau.

The Associated Press —Proposed legal changes could make it easier for Europe's Starship Technologies to test rolling delivery robots in Virginia. The robots can carry about three grocery bags' worth of products and deliver them within a two- or three-mile radius.

MHI Blog—Slow global growth, Brexit fallout, oil and gas credit risks and U.S. election fallout continue to present risks for the year ahead. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported global growth at 3.1 percent for 2015, with expected growth of 3.1 percent for 2016. On the upside, in October 2016, the IMF presented its forecast for 2017 global growth at 3.4 percent. However, IMF forecasts are usually too high, and I believe IMF growth expectations for 2017 are likely to be revised lower.

Colorado Public Radio—The Colorado Department of Transportation has started a pilot program to study a pay-per-mile fee for vehicles that will fund road and bridge construction. The agency has recruited 100 volunteers whose vehicle miles will be tracked, and the goal is to see if a 1.2-cent fee per mile could be a sustainable alternative to the gas tax.

Governing magazine—Amazon will begin to collect sales tax in six more states as of Feb 1. The states affected are Missouri, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

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