Safety & Security: Page 252

Alibaba Dives Deeper into Food, Invests in Supermarket Chain Sanjiang Shopping Club

Sanjiang said it aims to use Alibaba's e-commerce platform to make the most of the increasingly competitive bricks-and-mortar retail sector as China's economic growth slows.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. plans to invest RMB2.1 billion (US $305 million) in Zhejiang province-based supermarket chain Sanjiang Shopping Club Co., Ltd., as the Chinese e-commerce giant moves to pursue a 'new retail' model envisioned by founder Jack Ma.

Emerging Technologies

Idaho Company Pitches Vision of State Becoming Drone Freight Hub

Steve Edgar, founder of Empire Unmanned, presented his vision for the future of aerial shipping at a November 18 seminar at Idaho State University before a crowd of state leaders and economic development officials.

Although Steve Edgar emphasized it could be more than a decade before Boeing 747-size unmanned aircraft are hauling cargo, he intends to conduct an analysis of infrastructure at the airport and the surrounding community during 2017.

Software & Technology

Wal-Mart Hopes to Improve Food Safety with Blockchain Trial

With the blockchain, Wal-Mart will be able to obtain crucial data from a single receipt, including suppliers, details on how and where food was grown and who inspected it and remove any recalled products within minutes as opposed to days.

In October, Wal-Mart started tracking two products using blockchain: a packaged produce item in the U.S., and pork in China. While only two items were included, the test involved thousands of packages shipped to multiple stores.

Report: Food Industry Contains the Largest Portion of its Poor

The 21.5 million workers in the food system make up the largest employment sector in the United States, with over one out of every seven workers in the U.S. working along the food chain.

Thirteen percent of all food workers, from farm laborers to farmers’ marketeers to coffee baristas, are on food stamps — more than twice the rate of any other industry.

Listeria at Sabra Hummus Plant Starts Voluntary Recall

The company said it is issuing this recall” out of an abundance of caution” after Listeria was identified at the manufacturing facility but not in tested finished product.

Sabra Dipping Co. is voluntarily recalling certain hummus products made prior to November 8, 2016, due to concerns over Listeria monocytogenes, which was identified at the manufacturing facility but not in tested finished product.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Port of Charleston to Build $40 Million Rail Facility in Dillon

South Carolina Ports Authority

The South Carolina Ports Authority hopes to open the $40 million cargo hub including a container storage area, a chassis yard, operations and maintenance facilities and cranes to transfer cargo between trains and trucks served by railroad operator CSX.

The inland port in Dillon will start out much smaller - 35,000 cargo boxes in its first year - but is expected to handle 220,000 containers within 20 years.

BNSF, KC Southern Combine on New Intermodal Service from Chicago to Mexico

BNSF and KCS will offer a new intermodal service connecting major industrial and consumer markets in Mexico with key U.S. cities.

BNSF and KCS will offer a new intermodal service connecting major industrial and consumer markets in Mexico with key U.S. cities for a new option for shipping freight to Mexico or shipping freight from Mexico.

Two Largest Beer Keg Makers to Form a Trans-Atlantic Alliance

MicroStar Logistics

The UK's Close Brothers Brewery Rentals (CBBR) and U.S.-based MicroStar Logistics are joining forces to form a new venture called beerQX, which will provide a transatlantic cold-chain controlled bulk transport service designed by brewers for brewers.

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Ocean Ports & Carriers

Argentina Focuses on Drug Trafficking at its Main Grain-Exporting Port

Argentina, the world's No. 3 corn and soy exporter, has stepped up security in and around its main exporting hub of Rosario with the cooperation of a dozen commodities trading companies including industry giants like Cargill.

Port operators, as well as the coast guard, say the measures are mainly preventative and that there is little risk of drugs entering the highly-guarded commodity shipping terminals.

Spot Rates Slip But Stay Strong

DAT Freight & Analytics

With available capacity up 5% compared to the previous week, national average load-to-truck ratios weakened: the van ratio was down 3% to 2.7 available van loads per truck; the refrigerated load-to-truck ratio dropped 5% to 6.4.

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LPWA Technology and IoT to Change How the Cold Chain Operates

One of the most impactful new developments is a category of wireless technology called low-power, wide-area (LPWA) technology, along with other new innovations the emergent IoT will offer the cold chains of the future.

Many vendors utilize passive data loggers in order to keep costs down. But because of the extreme increases in battery life and reduced module costs offered by LPWA technologies, these savings can be pushed into other investments, like purchasing more active loggers.

Port of Virginia Approves Massive Expansion of Wharf, Rail and Stock Yards

Port of Virginia

The new deal provides for a roughly $320 million expansion that will nearly double the facility’s capacity. The buildout is expected to take about three years.

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