Longshoremen, stevedores and other dock workers at at West Coast ports have been working without a contract since June and while collective bargaining continues with dock owners, the two sides appear to be drifting further apart. Earlier this month, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) issued a statement claiming the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) … Read more
With the US economy finally shaking off the effects of the Great Recession, retailers, manufacturers and industry leaders are hoping today’s Black Friday sales will mark the beginning of the first blockbuster holiday shopping season since the mid-2000s. All signs are positive so far, according to the National Retail Federation. Holiday sales have grown by … Read more
The European forklift manufacturer Kion recently announced plans to move more aggressively to capture a larger share of the North American forklift market. To mark the company’s effort, executives held a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside Kion’s existing North American headquarters in Summerville, South Carolina. While the act have been symbolic, executives are dead serious about the … Read more
Wax coatings are being used less frequently in corrugated packaging, according to a new study released recently. Waxed corrugated packaging accounted for just 3% of all volume last year. Since wax usage as first tracked in 2002, wax coated corrugated packaging has dropped 39%. This dramatic decrease is attributed to a wider availability of recyclable … Read more
Beginning at the end of next month, both UPS and FedEx will change the way they charge for most packaging. Rather than using the traditional weight-plus-distance formula that has been in use since the 1930s, both carriers will use dimensional pricing — or “dim pricing” — to calculate how much it will cost to ship … Read more
This year’s Pack Expo — the international packaging and processing trade show held earlier this month at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center — shattered all-time attendance records and is being hailed by show organizers as the most successful ever. More than 48,000 people attended the trade show, a whopping 6.5% increase over 2012, according to … Read more
Martin Engineering — a bulk material handling company based in Neponset, Illinois, is celebrating its 70th anniversary in business this month. The company was launched in 1944 when founder Edwin F. Peterson introduced the “Vibrolator”, the first industrial vibrator that used compressed air to propel a steel ball around a raceway. Since then, the company … Read more
Smart phones, tablets, laptops and Bluetooth devices and other electronics are becoming a more commonplace sight in the workplace. But how can you determine which devices should be provided by employers and which private devices should be allowed in working environments? It’s a conversation that is being held in workplaces nationwide. There’s even a name … Read more
Here’s a special sneak preview of some of the stories you will find this week on the Bahrn’s blog: Are you ready for “dim pricing”? Do you even know what it is? We’ll tell you, plus explain how it may change the way you handle your shipping and deliveries. Friday is Black Friday and some … Read more
The use of robots in distribution centers is expected to ramp up substantially in the coming decade, but a leading industry analyst said recently that the first wave will probably look more like driverless forklifts than R2D2 or The Terminator. Tom Bonkenburg — a partner with St. Onge Co., a leading consultancy firm that works … Read more
