Technology
Commercial freight transportation businesses rely on data, intelligence, and novel solutions for operational efficiency. Transport Topics technology coverage investigates available technologies, real-world applications of business solutions, and the strategies necessary for advancement. News topics focus on the latest applied science, and issues range from autonomous vehicle and robotics innovations to management software, tracking and transparency, data analytics, blockchain, and the internet of things.
Amazon Jumps Into Freight Brokerage
Amazon.com has jumped into the market of the third-party logistics broker, roiling the waters and raising concern that the Seattle-based e-commerce giant could disrupt the freight industry forever and indelibly.
Self-Driving Shuttle Pulled Over in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A self-driving shuttle got pulled over by police on its first day carrying passengers on a new Rhode Island route.
Startup Valqari Aims to Prepare Mailboxes for Drone Delivery
You can build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door, Ralph Waldo Emerson noted in the late 19th century. More than 100 years later, Ryan Walsh is building a better mailbox so the world’s goods can be delivered to your door.
In Shift to Electric Buses, China Is Ahead of US
Plodding down DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn is a bus moving under the power of an eerily quiet motor. It looks newer than most buses on the route, with a vivid digital display facing the driver and doors that part with a futuristic pneumatic swoosh. Commuters trundling aboard at rush hour don’t seem to realize this is one of the few electric buses—300 last year, to be exact—in America.
Britain Is Falling Behind in Employing Robots
The U.K. is falling behind in employing robots as firms make do with older machines or hire human workers.
Penske Joins Autonomous Vehicle Coalition PAVE
Penske Truck Leasing has joined Partners for Automated Vehicle Education, a coalition of industry leaders that seeks to educate and assure the public about automated vehicles, according to a news release from the two organizations.
Letter: Crash ‘Preventability’ Tough to Define
Transport Topics reports in its April 3 article entitled “Crash Not Your Fault? FMCSA Says Soon It Won’t Hurt Your CSA Score” that the agency intends to identify no-fault crashes beginning in August. The article states the agency will implement its test “preventability” study and incorporate it into CSA without rulemaking.
May 14, 2019Amazon Launches Click-and-Collect Counters With U.K.’s Next
Amazon is launching a delivery option that will let customers retrieve parcels from staffed counters at U.K. and Italian retailers, aiming to take advantage of the popularity of click-and-collect services across Europe.
Letter: A Future Vision for Diesel Engines
I read with a skeptical eye the article quoting Mr. Roger Nielsen on the demise of the diesel (Transport Topics 4-29, p. 1). It’s true that the clipper ship Cutty Sark had only a decade before the age of steam kicked her off her pedestal as the fastest way to transport tea, but I also wonder if Mr. Nielsen’s predicted demise of the diesel engine may turn out to be an exaggeration.
May 14, 2019Walmart Matches Amazon With Free One-Day Shipping on Many Items
Walmart Inc. wants to one-up Amazon.com in the fight for online shoppers. The world’s largest retailer is rolling out a next-day delivery service to counter Amazon’s recent move to speed shipment times for top customers to just one day from two.