As negotiations between the owners of West Coast ports and the longshoreman’s union enter into their second calendar year, port operations are experiencing from delays from San Diego to Seattle. And now that mega-cargo container ships are beginning to appear for the first time along some US docks, wait times are lengthening and tensions are … Read more
Despite the steepest decline in fuel prices in nearly six years, FedEx announced last week that it would be increasing the diesel and jet fuel surcharges for its customers effective Feb. 2. Most shippers who use FedEx’s air and ground services will be facing fuel charges that are between 3.5% and 5% higher next month, … Read more
“Materials Handled!” That’s the new slogan Akron, Ohio, based organization and storage products maker Akro-Mils has chosen as its new motto. The new slogan was unveiled in the company’s new 2015 products catalog that was released earlier this month. “This new slogan, which demonstrates that the toughest jobs are made easy with Akro-Mils’ industry-leading selection … Read more
For the first time in two decades, the US Department of Transportation plans to accept applications from Mexican long-haul trucking companies for authority to operate in the US. The announcement comes in the wake of a three year pilot program in which small amount of Mexican truck fleets were allowed to cross over the border … Read more
Castleford Engineering — a British excavating company based in Liverton — has added two new Volvo crawler excavators to its fleet of vehicles, as well as a pair of mini Volvo excavators, the company announced recently in a news release. But these crawler excavators are unique because they are the first 30-ton excavators to be … Read more
It used to take the British industrial grain dryer manufacturer Alvan Blanch five workers, four forklifts and three hours to move just one of its pieces of equipment onto low loaders for transport. But thanks the recent purchase of a Combilift Straddle Carrier, the procedure can now be completed in just 10 minutes by a … Read more
Here’s a special sneak preview of some of the stories you will find this week on the Bahrns blog: Beginning this summer, you may start to see more Mexican semi-trailer trucks on interstates … and some people are hopping mad about it. We’ll tell you why … Labor problems at West Coast ports continue and … Read more
A packaging trade show held in Chicago earlier this winter provided an insight into the kind of packaging trends we can expect to see in the coming year. According to a report compiled by organizers of the PACK EXPO International and Pharma EXPO 2014 — which was held at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention facility in … Read more
A Michigan materials packaging company has come up with an innovative, “green” system for securing palletized loads that doesn’t require plastic wrap or the use of bands. Creative Techniques, which is headquartered in Michigan’s Orion Township, used structural foam plastic to create the enviroLid, a heavy duty lid that sits atop pallets of totes or … Read more
“Enough’s enough!” That’s what the owners of a produce marketplace in Sydney, Australia, said after a series of forklift accidents resulted multiple injuries and at least one fatality. Multiple forklift accidents at Sydney Markets — the largest fresh food market in the southern hemisphere — in 2012 and 2013 prompted the market’s owners to require … Read more
