inbound
Pipe dream?
We’ve written over the years about a variety of logistics innovations, but here’s one
we hadn’t heard before. Franco Cotana, an engineering physicist at Italy’s University
of Perugia, has been mulling ways to use pneumatic pipes to move freight.
Pneumatic tubes, once used extensively in office buildings and still used by
many banks, rely on compressed air to move plastic and rubber capsules filled
with deposit slips and such between tellers and customers at drive-up windows.
As reported in the Jan. 8 issue of The Economist, Cotana believes a modern version of those pneumatic tubes might be used to move freight.
Back in 2003, Cotana patented a device called
“Pipenet.” Instead of using air, the system would
move goods through two-foot-wide metal tubes
using magnetic fields created by specialized motors.
The magnetic fields would levitate capsules containing goods and propel them forward. The device
also makes use of air pumps to create a partial vacuum to reduce resistance. Shipments would be
routed by radio transponders in each capsule.
Cotana expects the capsules could carry up to 110 pounds of goods at speeds
of up to 930 miles per hour.
Ideas for using magnetic levitation have been with us for some time. As The
Economist points out, the high-speed rail line between Shanghai and its airport
makes use of the principle. But it is pricey.
Cotana’s insight: Reduce the size of what you’re moving, and the cost of the
technology drops considerably. In addition, the tubes could be built along existing rail and road rights of way. He estimates construction costs could be kept
under $5 million per mile. At that price, Cotana’s team estimates, a network it
conceived for Perugia would pay for itself within seven years. And Pipenet has
already drawn interest from researchers at China’s Tongji University.
Will there come a day when workers on the shipping dock pop an e-commerce
order into a tube shortly after the customer clicks “buy” for delivery within a few
hours? Not anytime soon. But that sure would give new meaning to cycle time.
Learn from the
legal eagles
New CSCMP catalog offers a world of resources
Under pressure to do more with less, solve thorny problems, or produce big
process improvements toute de suite? The Council of Supply Chain Management
Professionals’ 2011 product catalog may have the answers.
CSCMP’s new catalog contains reasonably priced handbooks and research
reports on all aspects of logistics and supply chain management written by some
of the profession’s most respected experts. Included are academic and practitioner case studies featuring leading companies; the “CSCMP Explores…” series
of in-depth examinations of current supply chain topics; and detailed country
analyses in the “CSCMP Global Perspectives” publications.
It’s not all supply chain-specific, though. CSCMP’s Negotiation Series handbooks provide guidelines for effective negotiations in both business and personal situations.
CSCMP’s 2011 product catalog is available online at http://cscmp.org/digi-
tal/product-catalog11/ index.asp. To request a hard copy, call (630) 574-0985.
If you’re responsible for logistics contracts, freight charge
disputes, loss and damage
claims, and the like, you’ll want
to block out your schedule for
the Transportation & Logistics
Council’s (TLC) 37th annual
conference. The event, scheduled for April 4–6 in St. Louis,
is a must-attend.
The TLC’s annual conference
is unique in its approach to
education, emphasizing practical advice on technical matters
from nationally known transportation lawyers, federal regulators, and carrier executives.
Attendees will come away with
a clear understanding of how
federal and international laws
and regulations, claims practices, and recent legal decisions
will affect their day-to-day
operations.
Examples of sessions at this
year’s conference include the
popular “Law of the Land, Law
of the Jungle,” where “lawyers
explain the law and businessmen tell it like it is”; a discussion by carriers and Department of Transportation policy-makers of the new Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration motor carrier safety ratings; and how law enforcement
deals with cargo theft.
TLC, a not-for-profit corporation serving the shipping
community through education
and legislative representation,
will also offer three optional,
full-day seminars on Sunday,
April 3. For more details and
registration information, visit
www.tlcouncil.org/conferences
or call TLC at (631) 549-8988.
