Warehouses are tapping into the gig economy for workers: Logistics companies are offering more flexibility to workers in scheduling and shift choices as they compete to attract labor, the Wall Street Journal reports. Operators are beginning to use software “not unlike Uber or Lyft or Grubhub” to fill slots, especially ahead of holiday season, according to Ohio-based warehouse staffing agency Ignite Industrial Professionals CEO Brian Devine.The percentage of logistics employees who have engaged in flexible, gig-type work, allowing them to select their preferred four- to six-hour shifts, increased from 15.1% in 2021 to 21% this year, WSJ said, citing data from EmployBridge.

The US is looking to modernize the navigation systems in the Great Lakes, which will involve upgrading the Soo Locks below Lake Superior, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports. The Biden Administration has pumped some USD 700 mn from its USD 1 tn infrastructure law into building a new lock, which should be completed by 2030. Some 10k ships pass through the locks annually to transport iron ore, grain, limestone, and other staples across the Great Lakes and Canada, the outlet writes.

What exactly are locks? Locks are a navigational system that allows large ships to bypass difficult waters, in this case the rapids below Lake Superior. The Soo Locks were originally opened in the 1850s to accommodate a boom in copper mining, and have since been upgraded every few decades. Ships passing through this network carry some 90% of the US’s iron ore, and if navigation there were disrupted for an extended period, it could potentially cost mns of jobs and reduce the nation’s GDP by some USD 1.1 tn, WSJ writes, citing a study by the US Department of Homeland Security. The locks are vital because distributing iron ore and other supplies by land would be cost-prohibitive, the outlet explains.

Financing could pose a challenge: The hefty USD 700 mn price tag still might not be enough to finish the project, which is expected to be completed by 2030, sources told WSJ. “This is the type of very large, important infrastructure that needs someone dogging it all the time,” said one senator and supporter of the project.

ALSO WORTH KNOWING-

  • Shipbuilders Nippon Yusen and Kyushu Yusen delivered the world’s first LNG-fuelled panamax bulk carrier earlier in October, with operations kicking off after bunkering on 12 October. (Statement)
  • Head of German Hapag Lloyd Rolf Habben Jansen shared a bleak outlook for the shipping sector over the next three years, citing a slow growth in shipping demand relative to shipping capacity. (Reuters)
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