Logistically Minded: What happens when you combine trucks, technology and zombies?

Supply chains are constantly changing as new rules, technologies, resources and market trends transform operations. Here's a skim of the week's indexes, technology announcements, expansions and M&As from around the web.

Market Snapshot

The freight industry's hopes were slashed this week after the Cass Freight Index revealed a 3.1% year-over-year drop in September shipments, marking 19 months of consecutive declines.

The weak market is due, in part, to a weak dollar affecting the country's exports and manufacturing, which in turn has decreased overall rail volumes.

The authors of the report found a "glimmer of hope" in last month's higher expenditures (5.8% sequential increase). However, the hope is just a glimmer and the authors hypothesized the larger expenditures were caused by a higher price of fuel rather than an improved market.

In other, but no brighter news, the American Trucking Association's For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell by 5.8% in September, compared to the previous month, and marked the first year-over-year decline in 12 months for the index. August had marked a year-over-year increase of 5.2%.

The weak markets are hurting transportation companies, above all. J.B. Hunt cut down the company's sales guidance by 2 percentage points as of last week and Union Pacific saw a 13% net income decline last quarter.

There were some good news last week, however tempered. U.S. industrial output grew by 0.1% last month and the Port of Virginia followed a record-setting August with a 2% growth in cargo volumes in September.

Technically Speaking

Transportation automation is advancing rapidly — so rapidly that the Department of Transportation announced it would create an advisory board to recommend regulatory action regarding automated vehicles including, but not limited to, self-driving cars and drones.

On that note, Tesla recently announced it would include self-driving hardware on all its cars, with a fully-functional version projected by 2017.

The company is a little late to the game, though, as major players like Ford and BMW have already made large advances in the field. Don't believe it? Wired takes an inside look at the production of Daimler's self-driving van.

Halloween is just 10 days away and the industry is taking note.

What happens when you combine trucks, technology and zombies? Omnitrac's mobile and desktop game where players must avoid the undead while driving a 12-wheeler if they want to save the human race. The game is meant to raise awareness of technology's role in the trucking industry, try it out.

Speaking of digital solutions, DHL Group launched a digital freight marketplace, "CILLOX," which helps match transportation needs with providers without conducting inquiries.

Other new market offerings include Transparency-One's multi-lingual supply chain transparency software which seeks to integrate batch traceability information across the value chain, Food Quality News reports.

Breaking Ground

Airport real estate is in high demand: J.P. Morgan and FedEx recently invested a combined $1.7B to expand their logistics capacity near Miami International Airport and Charles de Gaulle International Airport, respectively.

The 200-acre South Florida Logisitcs Center, now owned by J.P. Morgan, includes five industrial buildings which range from 112,000 square feet to 274,000 square feet. Current tenants include Amazon, Goodyear, Flying Food Group and Seatrigo, the Real Deal reports.

The big ringer was FedEx's decision to double its logistics capacity in France and begin building a new sorting facility by 2019. After construction is complete, FedEx's France distribution hub will be the company's second largest worldwide.

Back in the states, an exclusive from Kansas City Business Journal revealed CVS Health plans to open a new 850,000 square-foot distribution center near Kansas City International Airport, in a major expansion for the region. The development deal had been kept quiet by Missouri as incentives were likely in play.

Speaking of incentives, Georgia's Cobb County will provide Core5 Logistics Center with $1.55 million in savings to open a new warehouse facility for beverage-distributor Project Steady.

But while some cities crave new logistics centers, a city in Pennsylvania is adding an additional step in the warehouse approval process in order to have "a little more say" in the development, The Morning Call reports.

Meanwhile, Danish pharmaceutical logistics company LEMAN is scheduled to open a new branch office in North Carolina, marking the company's eighth U.S. office.

Mergers & Analysis

JDA Software announced Blackstone completed its $575 million equity investment last week, putting an end to a two-month saga that saw the supply chain solutions company almost merge with Honeywell.

Automated truck loading and unloading may soon reach North America now that Chicago-based The Heico Companies bought Dutch firm Ancra Systems, Heavy Duty Trucking reports.

Omnichannel commerce platform provider Kibo bolstered its B2B capabilities by purchasing Mozu, an enterprise e-commerce provider, for an undisclosed amount.

In other transnational news, XPO Logistics will provide logistics solutions for Italy's Aeroporti di Roma, Supply Chain Digital reports.

Seatrade contracted Maersk Container Industry to build 4,000 reefers as demand for maritime cold chain transport grows.

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