Peak Season is Still a High Point for Us
Peak season is never a holiday for shippers and logistics professionals—even in the middle of a global pandemic.
It’s still the most wonderful time of the year for ICAT Logistics DTW. We love the stepped-up pace of helping our customers through a crazy time of year through creative problem-solving to ensure on-time delivery and efficiency.
Our decades of experience, worldwide connections and commitment to customer service are suited to a season made more difficult than ever by strained supply chains and a stubborn, global pandemic.
Peak season challenges this year include:
- A sharp decline in passenger flights is adding to tight capacity and rising freight rates.
- FedEx leaders are referring to the 2020 season as “a record-breaking peak” and a “shipathon.” One prediction: a “peak on top of a peak.”
- Warehouse inventories have swelled as retailers restock for an improving economy. Trucking capacity is tightening. Months into the pandemic, the trucking, freight and logistics industry economy is out-performing the overall U.S. economy.
- RVs are a hot commodity with so many activities moving outside during the pandemic. The industry which had been trending downward before the coronavirus as surged of late as travelers eschew airplanes and medical personnel commandeer RVs for clinical use.
ICAT Detroit is having its busiest year ever, despite the challenges of the pandemic. We’ve done our part by shipping PPE around the world. We’re also finding that customers appreciate our proactive communications to help them sort out advance bookings, warehouse availability, and international shipping.
Peak Season is Still a High Point for Us
Peak season is never a holiday for shippers and logistics professionals—even in the middle of a global pandemic.
It’s still the most wonderful time of the year for ICAT Logistics DTW. We love the stepped-up pace of helping our customers through a crazy time of year through creative problem-solving to ensure on-time delivery and efficiency.
Our decades of experience, worldwide connections and commitment to customer service are suited to a season made more difficult than ever by strained supply chains and a stubborn, global pandemic.
Peak season challenges this year include:
- A sharp decline in passenger flights is adding to tight capacity and rising freight rates.
- FedEx leaders are referring to the 2020 season as “a record-breaking peak” and a “shipathon.” One prediction: a “peak on top of a peak.”
- Warehouse inventories have swelled as retailers restock for an improving economy. Trucking capacity is tightening. Months into the pandemic, the trucking, freight and logistics industry economy is out-performing the overall U.S. economy.
- RVs are a hot commodity with so many activities moving outside during the pandemic. The industry which had been trending downward before the coronavirus as surged of late as travelers eschew airplanes and medical personnel commandeer RVs for clinical use.
ICAT Detroit is having its busiest year ever, despite the challenges of the pandemic. We’ve done our part by shipping PPE around the world. We’re also finding that customers appreciate our proactive communications to help them sort out advance bookings, warehouse availability, and international shipping.
Moving at Warp Speed to Deliver a Vaccine
A next step in the campaign to vanquish a virus: Logistics. The U.S. military, government and industry partners are developing a “battle rhythm” to define roles, synch movements, spot gaps and anticipate challenges.
SOURCES:
- Freight Waves
- U.S. Department of Defense
- See how ICAT handles government shipments with military precision
No Breaks in the World’s ‘Cold Chain’
Mass distribution of vaccines demands a temperature-controlled supply chain, including storage at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit. It all requires a heavy dose of air transit.
SOURCE: Commercial Appeal
How We Help a World in Need: Whether you need to ship a single box of PPE supplies or a charter, ICAT Logistics Detroit is prepared to meet the challenge.
Noteworthy News
Making Waves on the Mississippi: The first-of-its-kind container-carrying vessel is expected to be operational in 2023. The COV – container-on-vessel – will carry more cargo than traditional barges in a north-south trade lane from the Midwest to the lower Mississippi River, officials said.
SOURCE: FreightWaves
Leaving China? Look Before You Make a Great Leap Backward: Manufacturers planning to restore operations from China – including steps to re-patriate operations in America – are finding it isn’t easy. They face a host of Chinese regulations, fees, and risks.
SOURCE: Supply Chain Management Review
How Covid-19 is Changing the Warehouse: It’s more than masks and temperature monitoring. Making rigorous protocols into habits is key, says one warehouse executive who brags: “We have the cleanest forklifts and the cleanest tractors you can imagine.”
SOURCE: Supply Chain Dive
Plugging into the Global EVolution
From the Motor City to Tennessee to Europe and Japan, the world auto industry is revving up to produce electric and autonomous vehicles. Here’s a quick spin:
- Amazon said it expects deliveries by 2022 of Rivian-made electric vans, featuring a so-called “dancefloor” inside the cabin for easy package retrieval. The vehicles will be produced in a converted Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Ill. Amazon has invested more than $440 million in Michigan-founded Rivian.
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
- Daimler will collaborate with Waymo (a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google) to load self-driving technology into Freightliner big rigs. Plans call for robotic semis to be available in the U.S.
SOURCE: Forbes
- General Motors is speeding ahead with plans for EV production in Detroit and Tennessee while a former GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, is racing to deliver an electric truck by September. GM said its $112,595, all-electric Hummer will be built at the former Poletown plant in Detroit. The company said it will spend $2 billion to convert its facility in Spring Hill, Tenn., to build future electric vehicles, including the Cadillac Lyriq SUV. Separately, Northeast Ohio-based Lordstown Motors, said its electric Endurance truck will be aimed at fleet customers with a sticker price of $52,000.
SOURCES: Car and Driver | The Tennessean
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will put an electrified Ram pickup in the marketplace, but isn’t saying when or where it will be built. “Stay tuned for a little while and we’ll tell you exactly when that will be,” CEO Mike Manley told analysts. Ford said it will build a plant to produce an electric F-150 and promised to reveal in November plans for an all-electric version of its Transit cargo van.
SOURCES: Detroit Free Press | TechCrunch
We get you rolling
ICAT Logistics Detroit provides outstanding care, just-in-time expertise and customized solutions to help you shift gears into the next generation of the global automotive manufacturing industry.
