The Daily Dash is a quick look at what’s happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, we highlight Amazon’s borrowing of FedEx’s approach to deal with union discussions, two developments with an eye toward driverless deliveries, and more.
The High Five
1. There is no love lost between Jeff Bezos and Fred Smith, given the unpleasant breakup of their companies’ shipping marriage in 2019. Yet in decisively thwarting efforts to organize 5,800 workers at Amazon.com Inc.’s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse, Bezos took a page from the FedEx Corp. founder’s anti-union playbook.
2. Autonomous middle- and last-mile electric delivery vehicle maker Udelv is partnering with software maker Mobileye on a new system to enable round-the-clock use of Udelv’s driverless Transporter automated delivery vehicle.
3. Alec MacGillis is the first author to defragment the many moving parts that make Amazon such a complex creature and that conflict consumers who have some knowledge of the company’s modus operandi but spend their money on its site anyway.
4. Self-driving truck technology developer Plus will work with Europe’s IVECO to install autonomous software in trucks in China, Europe and elsewhere.
5. The coronavirus pandemic delivered a heavy hit last year to commercial trade at the United States-Mexico border crossing in El Paso, Texas — but there is reason for optimism in 2021.
Noi Mahoney’s Borderlands roundup
Five more to check out
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Sustainability expert: ‘We don’t really have a good plan’
Weather report: Snowy week ahead for Rockies truckers
AskWaves: What does negative net zero carbon mean?
Guest column: Overcoming today’s challenges in fleet telematics