The Home Depot

Potential port strike a dilemma for Harris

WASHINGTON — A dockworker strike along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts could endanger Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, say retail and transportation leaders.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) affirmed last week that it plans to strike if its contract demands are not met, and the West Coast ports, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, has pledged solidarity.

That’s why the Biden administration will likely be working behind the scenes – if it isn’t already –...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/potential-port-strike-a-dilemma-for-harris

Why do carriers and shippers oppose FMCSA’s emergency waiver changes?

The federal government projects truck crash-related deaths to increase 10% in 2022, according to the most recent data, and is a primary reason why safety advocates support a proposal that would limit the scope of emergency waivers that temporarily exempt carriers from certain federal regulations.

“Fatal truck crashes continue to occur at an alarmingly high rate,” Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety states in its response to the proposal, which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/why-do-carriers-and-shippers-oppose-fmcsas-emergency-waiver-changes

The Log Book: Loadsmart, Home Depot Foundation give back to veterans

The Log Book is a weekly rundown of human-interest stories related to the transportation industry. This week: Loadsmart teams up with The Home Depot Foundation to support veterans, Ruan aids a community after celebrating its 90th anniversary, and Walmart donates to nonprofits at the grand opening of a new e-commerce fulfillment center in Pennsylvania.

Loadsmart, Home Depot Foundation help veterans

On-demand freight marketplace Loadsmart teamed up this week with its customer’s non-profit arm, The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-log-book-loadsmart-home-depot-foundation-give-back-to-veterans

Loadsmart becomes FreightTech’s next unicorn at $1.3B valuation with SoftBank investment

On-demand freight marketplace Loadsmart announced Tuesday it has closed a $200 million series D round led by SoftBank Group’s Latin America Fund with participation from rail transportation company CSX Corp., asset manager Janus Henderson Group and its existing investor, BlackRock Inc.

The Chicago-based company’s series D round has landed the freight marketplace a $1.3 billion valuation, almost three times its valuation after closing its series C in November, showcasing the desirability of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loadsmart-becomes-freighttechs-next-unicorn-at-13b-valuation-with-softbank-investment

Loadsmart challenges brokers to offer more than automation

Automating for the sake of automating accomplishes little in the way of supply chain optimization.

“People have become obsessed with these automation messages about digital brokerages,” Loadsmart co-founder and co-CEO Felipe Capella told FreightWaves. “Often when you automate the internal inefficiencies of a brokerage, there is no added value to the shippers or carriers. [Shippers and carriers] don’t care about your inefficiencies. We need to start talking about the value proposition [of digital...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loadsmart-challenges-brokers-to-offer-more-than-automation

Discount duress: Dollar Tree says high freight costs will dent earnings

Ocean carriers to honor fewer contractual commitments

Discount chain Dollar Tree reeled in its outlook for fiscal 2021, citing escalating freight costs as the reason. The Chesapeake, Virginia-based retailer said it has started to book its own ocean vessels amid a tight capacity environment and will look for merchandise suppliers outside of Asia to mitigate transportation expenses going forward.

“We’re optimizing which China and U.S. ports we use to take advantage of the shipping availability,” Michael Witynski, president and CEO, told analysts on a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/discount-duress-dollar-tree-says-high-freight-costs-will-dent-earnings

2021 Shipper of Choice profile: The Home Depot

Home Depot

Presented by FreightWaves, in partnership with ArcBest, the Shipper of Choice award recognizes the manufacturers, distributors and retailers that do the best job of keeping the American economy moving by fighting driver detention, providing accessible facilities and understanding what it takes to remove inefficiencies from the supply chain.

Coming in ninth among the Top 25 Shippers of Choice for 2021 is The Home Depot.

Commenting on the Shipper of Choice accolade during a webinar last month,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2021-shipper-of-choice-profile-the-home-depot

Home Depot’s ‘One Supply Chain’ is taking shape with massive 2021 growth

This is an excerpt from Thursday’s (5/20) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.

Americans continue to spend at elevated levels in and for the home. And now that people are becoming more comfortable with others in their homes, the renovation projects that were sidelined during the pandemic are coming back in a major way. Home Depot posted another great quarter this week, as it sees continued strength from DIYers and the best quarterly growth rate for its Pro customers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/home-depots-one-supply-chain-is-taking-shape-with-massive-2021-growth

‘Improved’ inventories still lagging sales growth; tailwind for trucking

Retail inventories still challenged

The nation’s largest retailers are painting a more constructive picture on inventories. On a sequential comparison, merchandise levels have continued to recover from the widespread stockouts seen in the early days of the pandemic. But record demand throughout the summer, fall and holiday buying season have inventories still in need of significant replenishment, which is a favorable catalyst for trucking demand.

A look at the retail sector’s recent earnings reports showed that sales outpaced...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/improved-inventories-still-lagging-sales-growth;-tailwind-for-trucking

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