DC Velocity - April 2019

newsmakers

Logistics technology startups are continuing to invest in freight-matching solutions for the drayage sector, with a New Jersey firm reporting double-digit growth and two others saying they’ve landed millions in venture funding in recent months.

West Long Branch, N.J.-based BookYourCargo.com announced in February that it experienced 48-percent revenue growth in 2018 compared with the previous year.

The firm did not provide specific figures. The company, which calls itself a technology-driven freight broker, says it offers a drayage-fo-cused freight brokerage Web platform. The platform helps truckers manage their return journey and idle hours, while providing shippers with real-time cargo visibility from origin to the destination, Book YourCargo said.

The announcement came just days after container trans-
portation platform startup Dray Alliance said it had landed
$3.5 million in funding to extend its vision of building an
“Uber for drayage” product, and about six months after
startup DrayNow Inc. raised $5 million for a platform that
provides real-time freight booking and tracking.
Far larger sums have been flowing to digital freight
brokers in the long-haul trucking sector, where newcom-
ers like Transfix, Uber Freight, and
Convoy are challenging tradition-
al players like C.H. Robinson and
Echo Global Logistics in the race to
build smartphone apps that replace
manual processes. Despite the deep
financing for those firms, driver
and capacity shortages are driving
enough demand that opportunities
still exist for specialized products
that address niche operations like
drayage.

“Even five years ago, we could see that drayage was becoming a significant pain point,” BookYourCargo CEO Nimesh Modi said in a release. “With demurrage and detention fees consistently escalating, drayage is one of the most tedious, expensive, and underserved segments of the supply chain. We recognized the role technology and digitization could play in providing solutions.”

Digital startups target drayage sector Safety will be front and center on June 11, when members of the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) take part in the sixth annual National Forklift Safety Day in Washington, D.C. The event provides an opportunity for the industry to educate customers, policymakers, and government officials about the safe use of forklifts and the importance of proper operator training.

An educational program for ITA members and invited guests will be held on June 10. The main, public event takes place June 11, with a morning program on a variety of forklift safety-related topics. In the afternoon, ITA members will visit Capitol Hill to meet with their congressional representatives.

Both days will feature presentations by
experts from industry and government.
Speakers will include ITA President Brian
Feehan; Scott Johnson, ITA chairman of
the board and vice president of sales and
marketing at Clark Material Handling; and National Forklift
Safety Day 2019 Chairman Don C. Buckman, environmental
health and safety manager and corporate responsibility
leader for Hyster-Yale Group. Part of the program will be
open to forklift end users. For more information, contact
ITA at www.indtrk.org/contact or by calling (202) 296-9880.
On National Forklift Safety Day, forklift manufacturers
and dealers around the country will also hold local events
to enhance awareness of safe practices in
warehouses, DCs, manufacturing plants,
and other environments where forklifts
are in use.
ITA represents manufacturers of lift
trucks, AGVs, and similar equipment in North America. The
organization promotes standards development, advances
engineering and safety practices, disseminates statistical
information, and holds industry forums.
go figure …

$3.03

FedEx Corp.’s adjusted earnings per share for its fiscal third quarter, falling below expectations of $3.08 and coming in 19 percent below the same period last year. Analysts blamed a global macroeconomic slump and moderating U.S. domestic growth.