Target has been ditching mega-warehouses for smaller regional hubs: The retail giant Target has enhanced its distribution network by adding regional hubs, which has improved inventory management, expedited online order deliveries, and sped up store replenishment, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move marks a divergence from central mega-warehouses that ship e-commerce orders across the US to smaller warehouses located in closer proximity to customers. Incorporating smaller warehouses “makes your network more complex, but it allows you shorter distances and more flexibility,” logistics expert Inna Kuznetsova said. The strategy has allowed the company to fulfill a greater number of online orders from stores.

Chinese supply chain influence endures in the US despite import shifts, study shows: Despite US firms' efforts to reduce direct imports from China, the country continues to be immersed in American supply chains, Bloomberg reports, citing a paper presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s conference last week. The paper highlights a decline in US imports from China from 2017 to 2022, along with an uptick in imports from Mexico and Vietnam. The shift is linked to US policies aimed at uncoupling the US and China's economies. However, Chinese companies are counteracting this through increased exports and investments in Mexico and Vietnam, maintaining indirect supply-chain connections.

Labor unions continue eyeing better working conditions: Several US airlines including Delta Air Lines, Boeing, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have been impacted by recent strikes which started before the pandemic, CNBC reports. Southwest Airlines continues to negotiate with its pilots’ union for better scheduling — an ongoing request amongst other companies such as UPS, which continues to secure record labor agreements following strike threats. UPS previously ratified a new labor agreement that includes big hikes to wages. Teamsters and UPS also reached a last-minute preliminary agreement last month, preventing a potential strike that could have significantly impacted the US economy. Other airlines such as ​​American Airlines successfully ratified a four-year labor agreement that will see them achieving a 46% boost to compensation. Delta Airlines and United Airlines also upped their pilots’ compensations.

South Korea gets a foot in the door vis-a-vis autonomous shipping: Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries’ shipyards have delivered an LNG-powered capesize bulk carrier fitted with artificial intelligence (AI)-based equipment monitoring and safety systems to South Korean carrier H-Line Shipping, representing a milestone in the journey towards autonomous shipping, Splash reported. The 180k dwt HL Nambu 2 integrates two autonomous systems — HiCBM and HiCAMS — which monitor the ship’s status in real time, predicting breakdowns and automatically alerting crewmembers to unexpected events such as fires, Splash wrote.

The American Bureau of Shipping has approved both technologies for use on ships: HiCBM monitors onboard equipment, such as engines, compressors, and pumps, utilizing AI to predict failures in advance. HiCAMS employs AI to analyze video feeds from onboard CCTV to provide real-time detection and assessment of emergencies, Splash explained.

What else have South Korean shipping lines been up to? Last year saw HD Hyundai subsidiary Avikus roll out technologies enabling 180k square meter LNG carrier Prism Courage to sail autonomously for half of its transit across the Pacific Ocean, according to a company press release. Samsung Heavy Industries is also conducting pilot trials of its rival Samsung Autonomous Ship (SAS) system, positioning the nation as a leader in the field, Splash reported. South Korea benefits from being “the only place with IT, shipbuilding and ship operations skills all in abundance and all in one place,” says Splash columnist Andrew Craig-Bennett.

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