Technology Briefs - June 22 - June 28
The Latest Headlines:
- UPS Steps Up Use of Wireless Technology in Europe
- Ships Use Electricity to Reduce Idling at Port of Los Angeles
- AirIQ Agrees to Purchase Aircept.com
- TransMex Develops Equipment Matching Program
- World Bank Plays Down Diesel Rules for Developing Countries
- Ships Use Electricity to Reduce Idling at Port of Los Angeles
UPS Steps Up Use of Wireless Technology in Europe
UPS Inc. said last week it was starting to deploy wireless technologies, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, to facilities and drivers in Europe.The company said package sorters would be the first to utilize Bluetooth scanners, which are worn on the middle finger and send package tracking data to Wi-Fi terminals.
By the end of 2005, UPS said it expected to have the technology installed in 73 European sites, allowing for up-to-the-minute tracking information.
UPS is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Ships Use Electricity to Reduce Idling at Port of Los Angeles
As part of a $50 million air pollution lawsuit settlement, the Port of Los Angeles opened the world's first green container terminal on June 21, Reuters reported.The terminal allows ships to use the port's electric power system instead of idling their diesel engines for days at dockside while cargo is unloaded.
Los Angeles officials agreed to try the system to settle a 2001 lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Clean Air Coalition on behalf of residents of San Pedro, Reuters said.
The system was officially unveiled on Monday at a berth leased by China Shipping Line, which agreed to retrofit 11 of its ships for the new terminal. Transport Topics
AirIQ Agrees to Purchase Aircept.com
Toronto-based AirIQ Inc. said June 21 it agreed to purchase Aircept.com LLC in a deal combining two companies that provide vehicle-tracking services to fleets and consumers.The deal, which includes both cash and stock, could be worth as much as $23.8 million Canadian, AirIQ said in a statement.
Aircept has over 80,000 active subscribers, pushing AirIQ's total base to more than 115,000, the company said. Transport Topics
TransMex Develops Equipment Matching Program
OrderPro Logistics Inc., which offers software to manage freight shipping, said Tuesday that subsidiary TransMex Logistics had developed a customized matching program to combat an equipment shortage in Mexico that has forced some exporters to wait up to a week for available equipment.The company said in a statement the program gives customers an incentive to choose TransMex when routing freight to Mexico because TransMex retains control of the equipment and determines which north-bound client gets access to the equipment.
TransMex said one of the first participants in the program was Pacer Global Logistics, its largest intermodal client. Transport Topics
World Bank Plays Down Diesel Rules for Developing Countries
The World Bank is expected to recommend developing countries hold off on mandating cleaner diesel fuel standards that are being adopted in the United States and Europe, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesady.Although the World Bank does not have any official authority over a nation's environmental rules, it lends money for projects and its advice holds great influence, the Journal said.
The bank is expected to say in a report scheduled to be released shortly that it would be too expensive for many developing countries to mandate diesel fuel that is as low in sulfur as the blend U.S. and European regulators are demanding.
However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the report threatens to undermine the efforts of developing countries to reduce pollution, the Journal reported. Transport Topics
