Today’s Pickup: Technology deployment specialist Velociti enters construction market

DeMilio brings more than 20 years of experience in technology for vehicles, assets, and cargo and construction equipment to Velociti.

Construction firms have increasingly adopted technology as they seek ways to improve efficiencies and as technology makers have adapted the technologies to suit the unique construction markets.

Velociti has also expanded the availability of VeloCare, its proactive technology monitoring and repair service to a wide range of industries. VeloCare now works with more than 25 different technology providers and its proactive monitoring has been used on 430,000 vehicle, asset and facility systems in transportation, retail, distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, government, education, and food service businesses.

Did you know?

TuSimple, which is working to bring self-driving trucks to reality, has raised an additional $120 million in a Series D funding round. That brings total investment of $298.1 million into the company, according to Crunchbase.

Quotable:

“The attack will primarily impact Saudi’s production of lighter crude grades, Arab Extra Light and Arab Light. These light crude grades generally produce more mid-distillates at the expense of residual output and thus are seeing increased demand on the back of IMO 2020 sulfur fuel regulations. For this reason, lost production of light crude oil could make it more difficult for the global refining industry to meet the IMO 2020 demand shift while also driving a widening of fuel price spreads.”

-Amit Mehrotra, transportation analyst at Deutsche Bank

In other news:

Guam creates path for future truckers

To help address a truck driver shortage in the country, a college in Guam has partnered with six companies for a truck driver boot camp. (The Guam Daily Post)

Will Ford and GM beat Tesla to the electric pickup punch?

As Tesla looks to launch its electric pickup, has Ford and GM already beaten it to the punch? (Market Realist)

FAA to review 737 MAX updates

The head of the FAA is traveling to Seattle to review Boeing’s updates to the 737 MAX plane. (American Journal of Transportation)

Turkish Airlines defies cargo volume decline

Despite a global drop in cargo volumes, Turkish Airlines posted an 11.5% increase in volumes in August. (Albawaba)

Report finds maritime subsidies are a waste of money

A new report says that government subsidies for maritime operations are a waste of taxpayer money and require a complete overhaul in their administration to be effective. (Splash247)

Final Thoughts

A lack of drivers is not a unique problem to North America as other parts of the world also face a decline in the number of new entrants to the profession. Guam is working to fix this. Guam Community College has partnered with six local trucking companies to hold a Truck Driving Transportation Boot Camp. The three-month-long camp will train the participants on the finer points of driving, as well as on work ethic, occupational safety and health, career readiness and basic first aid. The college worked with the companies to screen the participants to ensure they all met the minimum requirements set by the companies.

Hammer down everyone!