The Friday Report Blog: December 9th, 2022

Toyota Donates Electric Forklift to Food Bank

Toyota Material Handling and Toyota Motor North America recently joined forces to donate a custom-built electric forklift to Mom’s Pantry. The electric forklift will be used to assist with the food bank’s day-to-day operations. Mom’s Pantry provides food and household items to low-income adults and families in Phoenix, Arizona.

Mom’s Pantry has used the same forklift since beginning their operations in 2013. The new walkie stacker forklift will help the food bank run its weekly food distribution services to over 350 individuals and families from its 7,000 square foot warehouse. Walkie stacker forklifts are equipped with optional adjustable legs that can carry a wide variety of pallet sizes as well as maneuver through various aisle widths.

In 2021, Mom’s Pantry distributed over 430,000 pounds of food to feed a total of 40,000 people. In addition to food, Mom’s Pantry also provides hygiene products, cleaning products, diapers, and pet food.

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Port of Long Beach Opens Nation’s First Electric Vehicle Charging Station

The Port of Long Beach is now home to two electric vehicle charging stations, located in the Port’s Harbor District. In collaboration with charge-management solution company EV Connect, the second largest port in the United States has opened the nation’s first publicly accessible electric vehicle charging station for heavy-duty trucks. The project is part of the state of California’s goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions trucking at the port by 2035. The Port of Long Beach is also partnering with 4 Gen Logistics and Electrify America to install 60 additional public charging stations at the port by the end of 2023.

To advance the clean cargo movement, the Port will receive a $30.1 million grant from the Department of Transportation to deploy the nation’s largest fleet of manually operated zero-emissions cargo handling equipment. The Port currently operates the largest fleet of electric-powered cargo-handling equipment in the nation. Since 2005, the Port has reduced its emissions of diesel particulate by 88%, nitrogen oxides by 49%, and sulfur oxides by 96%.

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Ship Backlog at Southern California Ports Ends

According to the Marine Exchange of Southern California (MESC), the 25-month long ship backlog at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach has come to an end. MESC has stated that the backlog has ended due to the availability of labor, reduced shipping demand at the ports, and ocean carriers arriving at the ports after their estimated time of arrival.

MESC also attributes ongoing labor disputes at the ports as a reason for the end of the ocean carrier bottleneck. Due to the dispute, shippers are sending cargo to the East and Gulf Coasts. Both ports reported lower cargo volumes in October of this year compared to last year. 

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