Cargo ships avoiding Houthi attacks in the Red Sea face a different kind of delay-causing threat as they go around the southern tip of Africa: storms and 30-foot swells. The South African Weather Service on Tuesday forecast a second cold front making landfall in Western Cape province with more rain expected. An earlier system included waves peaking at 10 meters (32.8 feet) in the southwest, along with gale to strong gale force north-westerly to westerly winds and heavy rainfall. “Vessels are expected to seek shelter/alter their course to avoid the impacted areas,” Maersk, the world’s No. 2 container carrier, said in an advisory. “Please expect delays over the next few days.” Meanwhile, harsh weather in the US this week is disrupting a key gateway for energy commodities and their byproducts.
Companies looking to sell guilt-free garments have long struggled to track a global supply chain that spins out 54 billion pounds of cotton per year. Traceability is important, because among the world’s 10 largest cotton-producing countries, seven are facing accusations of using child or forced labor. Agribusiness giant Cargill and retailer Target have responded to consumer demand for transparency in clothing and textiles by teaming up with a tech company that can follow the fabric around the world. FibreTrace uses a digitally trackable pigment that follows a bale of cotton from initial processing to finished product. Cargill, one of the world’s largest buyers of raw cotton, will use the technology on 50,000 tons of cotton from the U.S. and Brazil this year that will end up in products on Target shelves early next year. For Target, it’s both about meeting consumer demand and living up to its own corporate pledges. Target’s cotton policy states the retailer “does not knowingly buy or sell products that are made, in whole or in part, using forced or underage labor.” The company specifically doesn’t accept products with cotton from Turkmenistan or China’s Xinjiang province, where forced labor is reportedly widespread in cotton fields.
When I think of WWF partnerships, my mind immediately goes to my favorite tag team of all time: Demolition. But the WWF is now the WWE, and this is a different kind of partnership. Discount grocer Lidl and WWF, one of the world’s largest independent conservation organizations, have launched an international and strategic partnership active in 31 countries to ensure a more sustainable future. Lidl’s partnership with WWF builds on previous commitments to achieve a more sustainable future. For example, the grocer released its first report on corporate social responsibility efforts last year. In it, Lidl outlined such efforts as reducing scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse-gas emissions by 63% by the end of 2022 as it works toward a 70% reduction by 2030. Lidl also shared that it had identified 11 critical raw materials and committed to setting responsible sourcing targets for each group of items. Its partnership with WWF will focus on the following key areas:
The Port of Los Angeles is getting closer to reaching its goal of zero emission operations, deploying five electric top handlers each capable of grabbing 100,000 lb. shipping containers and stacking them up to six high. Visibly similar to forklifts, top handlers grab containers from the top instead of lifting from the bottom. The use an overhead boom to load heavy shipping containers onto truck trailers and train cars, unloading them, and stacking them on terminals between pickups and deliveries. And, after piloting a pair of prototypes back in 2020, Yusen Terminals has picked up the first five production units and put them to work at the Port of Los Angeles. Each of the Taylor Machine Works-built top loaders pack an enormous, 1 MW battery designed to operate for up to 18 hours between charges. Taylor says that’s enough for each 650V all-electric drivetrain to two-full shifts to cover back-to-back shifts moving hundreds of tons of materials, then be ready to go again after a five-hour session with a 180 kW DC fast charger.
Australia is facing an egg supply crunch thanks to bird flu outbreaks — and it’s led McDonald’s to trim breakfast hours by 90 minutes, the company announced. Australia has been battling outbreaks of the Avian influenza virus in the past few months, which has resulted in about 1 million egg-laying affected hens that have been euthanized to limit the spread of the disease, according to Murray Watt, the country’s minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Citing “industry challenges,” McDonald’s announced that it was temporarily serving breakfast until 10.30 a.m. instead of midday across Australia. Supermarkets have also reportedly restricted Australians, imposing a two-carton limit per consumer. Australian retail giants Coles and Woolworths reportedly imposed restrictions on how many cartons of eggs could be purchased in one transaction across most states.
That’s all for this week. Enjoy the weekend and the song of the week, Firework by Katy Perry.
The post This Week in Logistics News (July 6 – 12) appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.