Featured Video of the Week: The Warehouse Simulator

Airline pilots and astronauts work with flight simulators. Why shouldn’t forklift operators? That’s the thinking behind a new warehouse simulator computer program created by Yale forklifts. The simulator allows users to visualize improvements and calculate efficiencies in your warehouse by stimulating real-world scenarios based on unforeseen changes in your operations. Old-school analytical tools such as … Read more

Corrugated Industry Shows Significant Environmental Improvement

An increase in the use of recycling in the corrugated products industry has allowed it to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by an astonishing 32% between 2006 and 2010, according to a report issued recently by the Corrugated Packaging Alliance. The first-ever life cycle assessment, which was conducted by the National Council for Air and … Read more

Military logistics-how material handling saves lives in combat

Army logistics: Material handling on a higher level Many material handlers face challenges that can make the workday feel like a battle. You have to wrap pallets to prevent collapse, and you to negotiate obstacles carefully and quickly as you move your load across the warehouse floor-tasks the average person can’t understand if they’ve never … Read more

Union Pacific Increases Intermodal Frequency between Chicago and West Coast

If it seems like there have been more freight trains causing traffic tie ups in the Chicago area, that’s because there are. Union Pacific recently increased the frequency of its two main intermodal services — Portland, Oregon, to Chicago and Northern California to Chicago — by offering four-day delivery each morning. The move comes in … Read more

Memphis Continues to Benefit from Online Shopping Boom

For decades, Memphis was known mostly as a sleepy mid-South city that had good barbecue, Beale Street and Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland. But today, it’s quickly becoming the primary beneficiary of the rise of web-based retailing. In the latest round of good news for the western Tennessee city, United Parcel Service announced that it will … Read more

Trucking Capacity Remains Tight But Congestion Easing

A new study of the nation’s over-the-road trucking capacity concluded that while trucking freight is still tight, it’s not quite as bad as it was earlier in the year. The Shippers Condition Index (SCI) — which is compiled by FTR, a freight transportation consulting group — measures all market influences that affect shippers. A reading … Read more

Electronic Logging Devices Backed by Trucking Group

The American Trucking Associations recently called on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to require that electronic logging devices be used to record drivers’ hours of service. In the ATA’s comments, which were filed with the FMCSA last month, the group argued that the devices were necessary to protect the safety of the nation’s highway … Read more

Retailers Fear Supply Chain Unprepared for Omni-Channel Shopping

Traditional retail organizations have relatively predictable supply chain flow: Boost your inventories before anticipated busy seasons and keep it minimal during slower periods. But the rise in omni-channel shopping — in which customers can order products from their mobile devices, clients could be located anywhere in the world, and other modern retailing realities — has … Read more

‘Ergobot’ to Handle Packing Tasks Too Tough for Humans

Motion Controls Robotics has teamed with Combi Packaging Systems to create a new automated case packing product called the Ergobot. The robot is an automated version of Combi’s Ergopack ergonomic hand packing station. Motion Controls  Robotics applied its expertise in robotic packaging, case packing and palletizing to expand the ability of both companies to fully … Read more