Today’s Pickup: Your office mailroom isn’t celebrating Prime Day

Envoy, which makes package and visitor management tools, noted that the increase in packages taxes office staff, who have to keep track of the parcels. 

Worse yet, more than 54 percent of employees didn’t retrieve their packages on the day of the arrival in 2018. One-third waited at least two days. 

This year’s delivery surge likely will be larger. Amazon’s Prime Day began on July 15 and lasted a full 48 hours.

Did you know?

Owner-operator truck drivers earn on average 5 percent more per hour, or $1,900 more per year than those employed by a company, according to an analysis from Convoy of U.S. Census Data. 

Quotable:

“It’s a huge dice roll.”

— Michael Easparam, chief lighting designer at Solid Rock Live, on the prospect of a driver running out of hours before reaching a show venue. Read more about the logistics of concerts in the latest installment of Freight All Kinds.

In Other News:

U.S. bill would require automatic braking systems 

Legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 16 aims to reduce serious highway crashes involving trucks by requiring automatic braking and forward-collision warning systems. (Kansas City Star)

Some reforms elusive six years after train explosion killed 47 in Quebec

Despite changes made after a runaway train explosion killed 47 people in a Quebec town, dangerous cargo still regularly travels through Canadian urban centers by rail. (New York Times)

IAC makes $250 million bet on car-sharing company Turo

IAC has invested $250 million in Turo, which provides peer-to-peer car-sharing. (CNBC)

Robots assist employees at new fulfillment center

Quiet Logistics has opened a new fulfillment center near Los Angeles where 500 employees will work alongside autonomous mobile robots. (PR Newswire)

Turkish Cargo flies vulture to Serbia 

Turkish Cargo flew an unwell endangered griffon vulture back to Serbia. The bird was discovered nearly 1,000 miles into its annual eastern migration from Serbia. (Air Cargo News)

Final Thoughts:

The report on how Prime Day deliveries affect workplaces should remind us that our e-commerce orders don’t happen in a bubble. While it may be convenient to have 48 rolls of toilet paper sent to your office, the person at the front desk may disagree.

Hammer down everyone!