Category: Freight Forwarding

Less than two months after announcing plans to divest potentially all of its operating segments, except for its less-than-truckload (LTL) offering, XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: XPO) announced that an acquisition is in the works.

In a March 9 press release, the company announced that it has entered into an agreement to buy the bulk of global transportation and logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel International AG’s (OTC US: KHNGY) contract logistics segment in the U.K.

The acquisition includes Kuehne + Nagel’s operations that provide inbound and outbound distribution, reverse logistics management and inventory management. Revenue in these operations are derived from the beverage, technology and e-commerce sectors and totaled approximately GBP 500 million ($656.4 million) in 2019 ($1 equals 0.76 GBP).

In its press release, XPO said that the deal will bolster its contract logistics offering in the U.K., adding 75 facilities and a “blue-chip customer base” to the segment. XPO plans to integrate Kuehne + Nagel’s business onto its technology platform under its pan-European network.

Terms of the transaction that is expected to close in the first half of 2020 were not disclosed.

Equity research analyst Amit Mehrotra with Deutsche Bank noted that the announced acquisition was “a bit of a head-scratcher optically,” but that the deal is likely very small in nature and affords XPO the opportunity to improve profitability on a business that has underperformed.  

“To be sure, we think this is a very small deal despite the big $500 million revenue contribution… sub-$100 million of total consideration is our best guess, which we estimate equates to a very low multiple of trailing EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization],” said Mehrotra.

Mehrotra said that while his firm views Kuehne + Nagel as “good operators,” he believes that this segment of its logistics business was “barely profitable,” noting difficulty surrounding a large customer contract as a headwind. He continued that this may provide XPO the opportunity to “leverage its technology and fixed cost base to re-rate margins of the business [higher].”

In a separate press release, Kuehne + Nagel stated that the transaction includes its “drinks logistics, food services and retail & technology businesses,” with approximately 7,500 employees.

Kuehne + Nagel has been exploring strategic alternatives for this business segment fo the last year.

“One year ago, we first announced the strategic review of our contract logistics business to improve profitability and focus on our core, scalable solutions. We have now reached a major milestone in this effort, having secured an agreement to sell significant non-core assets in the U.K.,” stated Kuehne + Nagel CEO Dr. Detlef Trefzger.

Kuehne + Nagel said that it was retaining its U.K. contract logistics operations serving aerospace, government and pharmaceutical customers.

As previously announced, XPO’s divestiture plan is to put nearly $13 billion of the company’s $17 billion in revenue up for sale. When announced in January, all units except for LTL were being shopped.

Shares of XPO are off more than 10%, nearly doubling the loss of broader equity markets which continue to move lower on coronavirus concerns.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Philadelphia airport recently intercepted and removed an express shipment of counterfeit electric toothbrush heads from Turkey before they could end up in the hands of unwitting American consumers.

The 1,440 counterfeit Oral-B electric toothbrush heads, which were destined for an address in Joliet, Illinois, had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $12,274, if genuine. The shipment consisted of 260 four-packs and 200 two-packs, according to the agency.

CBP officers suspected the toothbrush heads were counterfeit based on the “poor packaging and questionable quality” of the product, the agency said.

The officers contacted the agency’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Centers of Excellence and Expertise in Atlanta, where trade specialists worked with the Oral-B trademark holder to determine that the toothbrush heads were counterfeit. CBP seized the shipment on February 24.

“Customs and Border Protection will continue to work with our trade and consumer safety partners to identify and seize counterfeit consumer goods that threaten American shoppers, such as these potentially dangerous toothbrush heads,” said Anne Maricich, acting director of field operations in the agency’s Baltimore field office, in a statement on March 6. “CBP urges consumers to protect themselves and their families by purchasing authentic health and hygiene products from reputable vendors.”

CBP warned that counterfeit toothbrush heads pose a health threat to consumers, since they are likely “manufactured in unsanitary facilities with substandard materials that may sicken users or cause bleeding to a user’s gums or mouth, and structural defects may cause the brush head to detach and potentially choke users.”

The agency suspects that counterfeit Oral-B toothbrush heads are sold online from garage-based businesses or at flea markets.

“You think you’re getting a good value from the seller, and the next thing you know you’re hurting yourself,” CBP spokesman Stephen Sapp told American Shipper.

This is not the first time that CBP officers at Philadelphia airport have encountered counterfeit toothbrushes in express consignments from overseas. In October 2019, the officers seized a shipment from China containing 20,400 counterfeit Oral-B toothbrush heads. The shipment, if genuine, had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $95,600, the agency said.

In recent years, CBP has stepped up its enforcement against imports containing counterfeit products. On a typical day last year, the agency seized $4.3 million of these illicit goods at U.S. ports of entry.

According to CBP, China continues to be the primary source for counterfeit and pirated goods. It’s estimated that 66% of all U.S. intellectual property rights seizures, with a value of more than $1 billion if the products had been genuine, originated in China during fiscal year 2019.  

“Trademark holders share sensitive product information with us,” Sapp said. “From this information, our officers and trade specialists become even better at identifying the telltale signs of counterfeit goods.”

While I was writing this commentary on March 3, 2020, the United States Federal Reserve took the emergency step of cutting its benchmark rate by 0.5% as it attempted to head off risks to the economy. You can read about the action in these statements issued on the Fed’s website:

Some media outlets described the rate cut as the steepest since the financial crisis.

On March 2, the Wall Street Journal published Apple Bet Everything on China. Then Coronavirus Hit. While the article focuses on Apple, it highlights the issues that senior executives of other large multinational companies must grapple with as the world awakes to the reality of COVID-19, and the impact that such exogenous variables have on supply chains.

Before that, on February 18, 2020, Professor Yossi Sheffi of MIT penned an op-ed in the Journal’s Logistics Report; Commentary: Supply-Chain Risks From the Coronavirus Demand Immediate Action, in which he argues that companies must act quickly to mitigate the risks presented by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Moreover, it is nearly impossible to avoid mention of supply chain risk if you follow the news. In fact, supply chain risk featured prominently in the press conference, and the news reports, immediately following the emergency action by the Fed, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stating, “We do recognize a rate cut will not reduce the rate of infection, it won’t fix a broken supply chain.”

Defining the problem – what is supply chain risk?

Companies build supply chain networks in order to enable them to make and distribute the products or services that they sell to their customers. Supply chain risks are any risks that make it impossible for companies to satisfy demand from their customers. This means that supply chain risk is a form of operational risk, except that while we think of operational risk as being within the confines of a specific company, we typically think of supply chain risk as existing outside the walls of a specific company, but within its network of suppliers and business partners. The article about Apple highlights how much manufacturing has become concentrated in China, not just for Apple but for many other large multinational corporations, and even for entire industries.

We can think of supply chain risks in three categories –  global, systemic and unique. A global risk represents the probability of an event that knocks out supply chains across industries and geographical boundaries around the world. A systemic risk is much more limited, affecting the entire supply chain of just one company or affecting supply chain operations in just one country, or just one region of the world. A unique supply chain risk is even more limited than a systemic risk, because a unique supply chain risk is limited to just one node or just one participant, or just one small cluster of nodes in a company’s supply chain.

As you might guess, part of the apprehension surrounding COVID-19 is that, for most people alive today, this is the first time that they are experiencing an event that has the potential to impair the smooth operation of supply chains all over the world. It is the first time that people who ordinarily do not have to worry about supply chains have been forced to think about what they will do if the daily necessities they have come to rely on are no longer available because of a supply chain disruption. COVID-19 has made supply chains everyone’s business.

What type of supply chain network is your company building?

In their book The Starfish and The Spider, Ori Brafman and Rob Beckstrom describe two types of networks. The spider describes a highly centralized network, one that collapses and dies if its head is cut off. The starfish describes a decentralized network, one that is capable of regeneration and restrengthening when any one of its nodes is destroyed. In a world that is likely to become more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, the ability to build supply chain networks that continue to improve in the face of internal and external shocks is going to become a source of competitive advantage.

As recently as a decade ago, executives would be forgiven for arguing that they had no alternatives to highly centralized supply chain networks. Given the advances in digital technologies, that excuse is no longer valid. Moreover, 2020 marks a watershed moment in how we all think about supply chain risk and how corporate executives think about managing the risks inherent in their supply chain.

If you are a team working on software products to help companies manage supply chain risk, we’d love to tell your story in FreightWaves. I am easy to reach on LinkedIn and Twitter. Alternatively, you can reach out to any member of the editorial team at FreightWaves at media@freightwaves.com. 

On March 3 President Trump signed legislation that will help increase the ranks of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) agriculture specialists and technicians to step up protection for America’s farming and forestry industries against the introduction of destructive pests and diseases.

The legislation, 2019 Protecting America’s Food and Agriculture Act (S. 2107), authorizes CBP to hire and train 240 new agriculture specialists annually for the next three fiscal years.

The agency is also authorized to hire 200 new agriculture technicians, as well as 20 agriculture canine teams, each fiscal year over the same period.

Specifically, the legislation provides $29.9 million for fiscal year 2020 to hire the first 240 CBP agriculture specialists, followed by $36.1 million and $40.5 million, respectively, for fiscal years 2021 and 2022. For CBP’s new agriculture technician hires, the legislation provides $11 million, $25 million, and $38 million, respectively, over the next three fiscal years. 

The agriculture canine team budget includes $3.5 million, $7.4 million and $12.2 million, respectively, for fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022.

In addition, the legislation includes $6 million annually for training of these new CBP agriculture specialists, technicians and canine teams.

In January, a group of more than 80 trade associations representing the agricultural products industry lobbied the Senate and House of Representatives to pass the Protecting America’s Food and Agriculture Act to boost the presence of CBP’s agriculture specialist at the nation’s ports of entry.

According to CBP’s Agriculture Specialist Resource Allocation Model (AgRAM), the agency requires an additional 721 agriculture specialists to efficiently oversee the agricultural trade entering and exiting the U.S.

The Trump administration is pushing back against the UN Human Rights Council for its recent publication of a database of companies that currently provide goods and services to Israelis living in the Palestinian West Bank area.

The administration called the UN database a “blacklist,” which could effectively facilitate international boycotts against the listed enterprises.

“The UN ‘blacklist’ is anti-business, seeks to isolate Israel, has no factual basis or legal force whatsoever, and should not be adhered to in any respect,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a March 3 statement.

He added the U.S. “fully supports the U.S. companies identified on the list and encourages all U.S. businesses to continue to work with and invest in Israeli as well as Palestinian communities.”

The UN published its report on the database Feb. 12 in advance of the Human Rights Council’s 43rd Session, Feb. 24-March 20. Work on the report began in March 2016.

Of the 112 companies on the list, 94 are Israeli and the rest are international companies. Six U.S. companies were placed on the list, including TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP), Airbnb, Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE), General Mills (NYSE: GIS) and Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI).

The other non-Israeli companies on the UN list are Alstom (OTCMKTS: ALSMY) of France; eDreams ODIGEO (BME: EDR) of Luxembourg; Indorama Ventures (OTCMKTS: INDOY) of Thailand; Altice Europe (OTCMKTS: ALLVF), Kardan (TLV: KRNV) and Tahal Group International of the Netherlands; and JC Bamford Excavators, Greenkote and Opodo Ltd. of the U.K.

“The report makes clear that the reference to these business entities is not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process,” the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said. “While the settlements as such are regarded as illegal under international law, this report does not provide a legal characterization of the activities in question, or of business enterprises’ involvement in them.”

The U.S. has antiboycott regulations on the books which prohibit U.S. persons from complying with certain requirements of unsanctioned boycotts. In addition, the regulations require that persons report the receipt of these boycott requests to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.

The antiboycott regulations date back more than 40 years ago — namely to Congress’ 1977 amendments to the Export Administration Act (EAA) and the Ribicoff Amendment to the 1976 Tax Reform Act — and were aimed primarily at precluding U.S. participation in the Arab League’s boycott of Israel. However, they also apply to all boycotts imposed by foreign governments against countries that are friendly to the United States.

Israeli military forces captured the West Bank territory from the Palestinians during the 1967 Six Day War. The occupation and recent spread of Israeli settlements have been widely viewed as illegal by the international community, while Israel and the U.S. argue against it.

Good
day,

Deutsche Post DHL Group said it
will no longer be seeking a buyer for its StreetScooter business and will
instead wind down production of the vehicles.

StreetScooter, acquired by DHL in
2014, makes electric delivery vehicles. DHL was initially attracted to the
startup because it couldn’t find an electric vehicle it felt met its delivery
requirements. In May 2019, DHL announced it would seek a buyer for the unit, but
in its earnings release on Feb. 28, the company said it would no longer pursue
that path.

“Thanks to our StreetScooter we
have one of the biggest electric delivery fleets in the world and have made a
significant contribution to the development of e-mobility,” said Frank Appel,
CEO of Deutshe Post DHL. “We have always said that we do not want to be a car
manufacturer. A further scaling of the business without the right partner does
not fit our long-term strategic goals. Independent from the decision today, we
will further foster the transition of our fleet towards e-mobility. We are
committed to our Mission 2050, which means zero-emission logistics by 2050.”

The release said that StreetScooter
would “concentrate on the operation of the current fleet of e-vehicles.”

In November 2019, it was announced
that StreetScooter vehicles would travel U.S. roadways in 2020. The company also struck a deal with Amazon to deploy electric
vehicles in Germany.

Rueben Scriven, lead analyst for
electric trucks at market research firm Interact Analysis, said DHL found it difficult to grow share in a crowded space.

“A number of factors have
contributed to the demise of StreetScooter,” he said. “Firstly, there was a
significant decline in the growth of the European light-duty electric truck
market which only grew by just over 15% in 2019 compared to more than 40% in
2018. Secondly, StreetScooter was looking to tap into the Chinese market;
however, the Chinese light-duty electric truck market has contracted
significantly due to fears that the Chinese government will phase out subsidies
after 2020.”

Competition from ARRIVAL and Rivian
also impacted sales of StreetScooter vehicles in Europe.

“While StreetScooter was the
European market leader for electric light-duty trucks in 2018 with a market
share of more than 30%, ARRIVAL and Rivian, two of StreetScooter’s major
competitors, have disrupted the market using innovative manufacturing processes
and heavy investment in modular skateboard architectures. This has led to the
two companies winning recent large orders of more than 110,000 units in total,”
Scriven said.

There are reportedly more than
10,000 StreetScooters on roadways today with the company producing three
models: the WORK, the WORK L and the WORK XL. The XL is based on a Ford Transit
chassis and has been built by Ford (NYSE: F) in
Cologne, Germany, since October 2018.

Did you know?

The Dow Jones Transportation
Average fell 13.94% last week, just slightly worse than the overall Dow Jones
Industrial Average, which fell 12.36%.

Quotable:

“If the virus spreads into U.S.
communities, consumers are likely to limit their exposure to stores, theaters,
restaurants, sporting events, air travel, and the like. There is no reason to
anticipate that consumers will engage in such extreme measures at this time.”

– Richard Curtin, University of Michigan researcher, on the potential impact of coronavirus on retail sales

In other news:

Household income rises in January

Household income rose 0.6% in
January, the largest gain in 11 months, according to a survey by the University
of Michigan. (Wall Street Journal)

Missouri aluminum plant faces closure

An aluminum smelter in Missouri
that reopened in 2018 following the introduction of aluminum tariffs, is losing
money so fast it will likely close within 60 days, executives said. (Reuters)

Kodiak Robotics founders: The world will love self-driving trucks

The founders of Kodiak Robotics
wrote that people have not fallen in love with self-driving trucks yet, but
they soon will. (World Economic Forum)

Air Cargo Global denies closure

Air Cargo Global said it is not
closing, despite reports, but it is restricting its business, as it seeks
profitability. (STAT Trade Times)

Etihad Cargo hopes to expand service in U.S.

Etihad Cargo is expanding its sales
teams, including in the U.S., as it looks to grab a larger share of the global
air cargo business.(Arabian Industry)

Final thoughts

The coronavirus continues to have
widespread impact on global markets. Last week’s selloff in stocks is sure to
have an impact on decisions companies make in the near-term, and that could
mean cutting costs. Transportation is one of the largest costs, and with supply
chains being impacted, it might be very tempting for companies to reach into
the bucket of tricks and slice their transportation budgets in an effort to
push down rates, if even just a little bit.

Hammer down, everyone!

The airline industry is becoming a leading indicator of the global economic contraction now projected for the first quarter, and possibly for the full year, as the new coronavirus escapes containment efforts in China.

German companies seem particularly aggressive in trying to cut expenses in line with declining revenue trends as passenger demand dries up. On Friday, Fraport AG, which operates the large European hub in Frankfurt, Germany, and has activities in 30 airports around the world, followed German flagship carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG in announcing a series of cost containment measures.

The airport operator said it is freezing all new hiring except for exceptional circumstances, and offering administrative and operational employees voluntary unpaid leave or temporary reduced working hours to align resources a massive slump in passenger and cargo traffic at Frankfurt Airport.

Fraport has about 20,000 employees and the entire airport supports more than 80,000 jobs. 

The company said it is evaluating other steps to reduce costs and will issue guidance for the current fiscal year when it releases financial results on March 13. 

Lufthansa Group this week announced it will park 23 aircraft, reduce short- and long-haul operations, freeze new hiring and training, and encourage workers to take reduced work hours. In the past two weeks, the company’s stock has dropped 23%.

The coronavirus is hitting the German aviation sector just as it prepares for an April increase in Germany’s aviation tax. 

British Airways is also implementing a hiring freeze and cutting flights. 

The coronavirus is now in 60 countries. On Friday, Italy, Iran and South Korea announced 3,500 new cases, more than 10 times the number of new cases in China and double the number of cases announced Thursday. Preliminary indications are that for every person infected the disease gets passed on to two more people, on average, according to health authorities.

Travel demand is falling fast as people look to reduce their chances of exposure to the coronavirus, and airlines are reacting with reduced schedules. Some countries are banning travel to certain destinations and the U.S. government has raised its warning level for travel to Italy and Iran.

Tokyo Disneyland is now closed. The Swiss government ordered all events with more than 1,000 people canceled, ending a popular ski marathon, next week’s Geneva International Motor Show and a big watch convention. Amazon said it is even restricting non-essential domestic travel within the US.

After previously shutting down operations in China, where the new coronavirus originated and where there are about 80,000 confirmed cases, airlines are reducing flights to other parts of Asia, including South Korea, Japan and Singapore. 

Fewer passenger aircraft in the air means fewer options for companies to ship cargo. Dedicated all-cargo carriers could benefit by the new market dynamic, but that assumes that the disease doesn’t force manufacturers to halt production as part of quarantine efforts to control the outbreak.  

Earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association estimated airlines would generate almost $30 billion less revenue this year. That amount is certain to increase as the coronavirus reaches pandemic proportions.

Meanwhile, investment bank JP Morgan forecast the global economy will shrink in the first quarter because of the crisis. And Goldman Sachs on Thursday said S&P 500 companies, on average,  won’t generate any earnings growth this year as the impact of the coronavirus spreads.  

Buckle up.

As Volvo Trucks continues
to innovate, a focus is on building value for trucking fleets and driving
efficiency and productivity for drivers.

That is evident in the new
line of trucks the company’s global operation announced in Europe on Feb. 27,
and it was evident in a conversation FreightWaves had in Atlanta this week with
Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) representatives Allison Athey, product
marketing manager for VTNA’s VNL on-highway tractor, and Ash Makki, product
marketing manager with a focus on connectivity solutions.

“Fuel efficiency is a
topic that is always on the forefront of our customers’ minds,” Athey told
FreightWaves.

To that end, VTNA will be
making FlowBelow’s Tractor AeroKit aerodynamic system a factory option. The
AeroKit, which includes wheel covers and drive wheel fairings, has been shown
to deliver up to 2.23% in fuel saving based on third-party SAE J1321 fuel
economy testing using EPA SmartWay guidelines, FlowBelow has said. The product
has been an aftermarket option since 2017.

Athey noted more fleets
are looking to close trailer gaps and the use of sliding fifth wheels for this
remain popular. Add in Volvo’s Turbo Compounding engine and its Xceed fuel
efficiency package, which was made available on trucks for the first time in
January 2019, and fleets have plenty of options to boost performance.

Volvo said its Xceed fuel
efficiency package, available for Volvo VNL 760 and VNL 860 models, improves
fuel efficiency by up to 11% when compared with Volvo’s Fuel Efficiency Plus
specification. Xceed is 3.5% more efficient than the Fuel Efficiency Advanced
specification, the company has said.

Truck drivers remain key

Drivers, though, are
critical to the equation, and work done inside the cab is equally important.

“Keeping good drivers is
always a challenge,” Athey said. “So, we continue to see [fleets request] more
driver comfort features.”

This includes spec’ing of
Volvo’s iShift automated transmission, which is included on 90% of VNL orders
today. Athey said the inclusion of automated transmissions is one part of the
extensive driver comfort features that fleets are interested in.

“It’s not just how easy it
is to drive [the truck], we’ve made the driving experience [more enjoyable],”
she said.

Athey pointed to the
automotive-style steering wheel with controls at the driver’s fingertips, the
ability to adjust the steering wheel column for more comfort, and the
introduction of Volvo Dynamic Steering (VDS) last year. Announced first in
September 2019, VDS came to the U.S. from Europe. The system analyzes inputs
from sensors throughout the vehicle to continuously monitor drivers’ actions,
environmental factors and road conditions, and provide assistive steering when
needed.

Among Athey’s favorite driver comforts, though, is the
reclining bunk that changes position so drivers no longer have to strain to
watch television or read when on a break.

Other driver-focused features Volvo has introduced in the
last year include:

• A new workstation, optional on the VNL 70-inch sleeper cab and VNX models, with a more comfortable sitting area and folding table that lowers to provide a base for the mattress cushions which can be unfolded to make a bed.
• 23-inch wide-width seats
• A Pre-Trip Assistant upgrade that features an exterior light inspection switch, located to the left of the ignition, to make it easier for drivers to perform an exterior light check during their pre-trip inspection.

Vehicle uptime impacts driver productivity

On the connectivity side
of the equation, driver productivity is also a big part of the equation, Makki
said, and the uptime factor of the vehicle impacts this.

“Our goal is always to
minimize downtime,” he said.

That is evident in the new
over-the-air (OTA) remote diagnostics change VTNA announced last week. Driver
Display Activation gives drivers the ability to complete OTA updates at a more
convenient time for them. According to Makki, once a customer – referred to as
the ‘decision maker’ by Volvo – requests an update, the Volvo Certified Uptime
Center will send that update to the requested vehicle or vehicles and an icon
will flash on the instrument cluster screen. The driver can activate the update via the
truck’s instrument cluster at their next planned stop or at a convenient time – such as during a mandated break.

“We cut the process down
with this next generation by about 50% because we took out the conversation,”
Makki said, noting that time was spent communicating the download to the
driver, and the driver then stopping to allow the download to happen at a time
that may have been as inconvenient for the driver.

If a driver does not
complete the download within a set period of time, the decision maker is
notified and can handle it through the proper fleet protocol for such a
situation. At all times, Makki said, the decision maker is in charge of the
process. Makki compared it to a phone update where the final download occurs
when the phone holder presses the button.

Europe takes the lead

In the case of a global
company like Volvo Trucks, innovations can come from many places. That was true
with VDS, and it could be true again with driver comfort features. Volvo
introduced four new trucks in Europe today with a large focus on driver comfort
and features.

“Drivers who handle their
truck safely and efficiently are an invaluable asset to any transport company.
Responsible driving behavior can help reduce CO₂ emissions
and fuel costs, as well as helping reduce the risk of accidents, injury and
unplanned downtime,” Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, said. “Our new
trucks will help drivers work even more safely and productively and give our
customers stronger arguments when competing to attract the best drivers.”

Volvo introduced new versions of its Volvo FH, FH16, FM and FMX European models, which represent
about two-thirds of its deliveries in Europe. In long-haul trucks, the cab is
often the driver’s second home. In regional transport trucks it often serves as
a mobile office, the company said. Therefore, visibility, comfort, ergonomics,
noise level, maneuverability and safety were focal points when developing the
new trucks.

On the driver comfort
side, Volvo has introduced new cab designs for the FM and FMX models with
improved ergonomics and displays. Their interior volume has been increased by
up to one cubic meter for more working room, and larger windows improve
visibility. The steering wheel is equipped with a neck tilt function, allowing
the driving position to be individually adjusted and the lower bed has been
raised, increasing under-bunk storage. The day cab has a new 40-liter storage
compartment with interior lighting on the back wall. Cab comfort is further
enhanced through reinforced insulation that helps shut out cold, heat and
noise, while a sensor-controlled climate unit with a carbon filter promotes
good air quality in all conditions.

The new driver interface
includes a fully digital 12-inch screen, a supplemental 9-inch side display
available for infotainment, navigation, information and camera monitoring. The
functions can be controlled via buttons on the steering wheel, by voice
control, or via the touchscreen and display control panel.

Whether it is in Europe or
the U.S., Volvo continues to design not just for fleets, but for their drivers.

Democratic Senate Leader Charles Schumer, along with Sens. Sharrod Brown and Robert Menendez, urged the White House to proceed with imposing sanctions against Russian government agencies and officials, and even President Vladimir Putin himself, based on recent U.S. intelligence reports that Russia is already interfering with the upcoming 2020 U.S. presidential election.

“There is virtually no national security threat more serious than that posed by those who would systematically undermine confidence in, and the effective operation of, our democratic elections,” the senators wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Feb. 24.

The lawmakers, who also denounced President Trump’s dismissal of the U.S. intelligence reports against Russia, asked Pompeo and Mnuchin to use their authorities under the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to identify the perpetrators and immediately impose sanctions against them.

“It is long time past for the administration to send a direct, powerful and unmistakable message to President Putin: the U.S. will respond immediately and forcefully to continuing election interference by the government of the Russian Federation and its surrogates, to punish, deter and substantially increase the economic and political costs of such interference,” the senators wrote.

Brown, D-Ohio, serves as ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, while Menendez, D-New Jersey, is the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Russians were also alleged to have actively interfered in the 2016 presidential election by disseminating false information about candidates on Facebook to shape opinions of American voters.

U.S. intelligence has indicated that these cyberattacks originated with Russian intelligence agencies such as the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and Federal Security Service (FSB) (formerly the KGB) and its Special Technology Center in St. Petersburg.

In recent years, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has blacklisted numerous Russian entities and individuals for violating U.S. sanctions. Often, they are placed on the on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.

U.S. individuals and companies are generally prohibited from conducting business with individuals or entities on the SDN List. Additionally, any entities owned 50% or more in the aggregate by these listed individuals or entities are blocked.

Canadian on-demand logistics SaaS solution provider Descartes has announced the acquisition of Peoplevox, a major player in the cloud-based ecommerce warehouse management solutions (eWMS) space, in a deal worth $25.2 million. Based in the U.K., Peoplevox provides web-based eWMS and ecommerce fulfillment solutions to direct-to-consumer (DTC) customers around the world. 

Peoplevox solutions are designed to work seamlessly in automated warehouses that cater to the ecommerce market. The solution connects to webshop front ends, translates order information into a mobile-driven pick-and-pack process within the warehouse, and then feeds parcel delivery systems for shipment execution. 

Descartes has had a good run in the market lately; it enjoyed a 27% rise in its net income and revenue growth of 19% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Descartes has been resolute about acquisitions in recent years, having acquired Visual Compliance, CORE Transport Technologies, and Best Transport – all in under a year. 

The acquisition of Peoplevox will help Descartes expand its customer base, as it can now target DTC brands, ecommerce and traditional storefront retailers that look to enhance their online presence and improve their omnichannel capabilities. 

“Successful ecommerce supply chains require flexible fulfillment systems that can scale up and down during peak periods, while maintaining connections with a complex ecosystem of sales and delivery channels,” said Jonathan Bellwood, founder of Peoplevox and now the vice president of industry solutions at Descartes.

The Peoplevox eWMS platform was built on that idea, helping customers turn fulfillment into a competitive advantage. Bellwood mentioned that by partnering with Descartes, the company sees an opportunity to extend its market reach and integrate with complementary technologies that help manage the full lifecycle of domestic and cross-border ecommerce shipments. 

“Like our investments in Oz, pixi and ShipRush, Peoplevox adds density and domain expertise to what is an increasingly important area of our business – ecommerce,” said Edward Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “We’re thrilled that Peoplevox is joining Descartes to help us better serve businesses looking to enhance their direct-to-consumer fulfillment performance. We welcome Peoplevox employees, customers and partners to the Descartes community.”