The Silk Road was an early transport and supply chain network. Image: “Seidenstrasse GMT” 2005 by Captain Blood, GNU free license, wikimedia commons.
From the Silk Road to the Suez Canal, transporting goods has shaped civilization, stimulated cultural exchange, and truly united the world. Presently, the global supply chain is in the news. Cargo tankers are stalled in ports, dock unloading is stalled by COVID restrictions, trucks are waiting for drivers, warehouses are stuffed with unshipped goods, local stores are limiting purchases and warning shoppers to buy early. All this costs both time and money: McKinsey reports shipping costs are six times higher than in 2019. (Hall 2021)
“Where is shipping heading?” Photo: Fleet 5. by U.S> Navy/PH3 Alta I. Cutler. ID: 020418-N-1587 C-030. Source: United States Navy. Image: wikimedia commons.
While government has stepped in, opening certain ports 24/7; and private enterprise has stepped up, chartering their own ships and diverting them to less congested ports; what will happen after the holiday buying season? Some say it is an opportunity for autonomous transport. Maritime shipping is exploring options. Experiments on inland waterways by the Collaborative Autonomous Shipping Experiment (CASE) in cooperation with Belgium, China, Italy, and the Netherlands, noted that control algorithms should be coordinated. Vessels are usually owned and operated by different parties, and use proprietary systems for control and navigation. Results produced simulation models that may help develop shared systems.
“Will autonomous trucks change the supply chain reaction?” Photo by epsos.de, https://www.flickr.com/photos/36495803@NO5/5591761716. Image: wikimedia commons. CC2.0
When ships are unloaded, trains and trucks take over: autonomous trucking is advancing rapidly. Embark Trucks, and Locomation, join TuSimple, Plus, and Aurora in the race for innovation and investment in autonomous trucking. Advances in trucking will change the supply chain: 68% of all freight comes to you on a truck.
“Supply Chain Network” graphic by David Pogrebeshsky, 2015. Image: wikimedia commons cc4.0
Analysts predict the supply chain will recover by 2022, but will it ever be the same? We hear a lot about self-driving cars, but there is also significant innovation in shipping and trucking. Autonomous transport may cause a supply chain reaction.
Aurora. https://aurora.tech
Efrati, Amir. “Two More Self-Driving-Truck Developers Consider Public Offerings.” 9 June 2021. The Information. https://www.theinformation.com/articles/two-more-self-driving-truck-developers-consider-public-offerings
Embark Trucks. https://embarktrucks.com
Farooque, Faizan. “4 Self-Driving Truck Stocks You Need to Keep an Eye on.” 9 September 2021. NASDAQ.com. https://investorplacecom/2021/09/4-self-driving-truck-stocks-you-need-to-keep-an-eye-on/
Hall, Claire. “Supply Chain Disruptions Create Shortages of Goods Just in Time for the Holidays.” University of Connecticut interview with Professor Tao Lu, Operations and Information Management Systems. 12 October 2021. https://today.uconn.edu/2021/10/supply-chain-disruptions-create-shortages-of-goods-just-in-tme-for-the-holidays/
Haseltalab, Ali, et al., “The Collaborative Autonomous Shipping Experiment (CASE): Motivations, Theory, Infrastructure, and Experimental Challenges. International Ship Control Systems Symposium (ISCSS) 2020, Delft, The Netherlands. For Project: Navigation and Path Planning of Marine Vehicles. DOI:10.24868/issn.2631-8741.2020.014
Inland Waterways International. https://inlandwaterwaysinternational.org
Locomation. https://locomation.ai
Metzger, Joe, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain Operations, Walmart US, “How Walmart is Navigating the Supply Chain to Deliver this Holiday Season.” 8 October 2021. https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2021/10/08/how-walmart-is-navigating-the-supply-chain-to-deliver-this-holiday-season
Plus. https://www.plus.ai
TuSimple. https://www.tusimple.com
Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unp
