Dooner and The Dude talk to a health expert about how vaccine logistics will work to prevent counterfeits
Headlines
Nikola is progressing on its electric truck plant in Coolidge, Arizona, despite its troubles with General Motors and its massive stock losses.
Spot rates are through the roof for trucks hauling produce, with rates topping $10,000 in some lanes for reefers.
Stord, a startup in Atlanta, is building its own form of distribution service that’s being called an Amazon “for everyone else.”
Preventing COVID-19 vaccines from fraud
Taylor Wilkerson, principal in health systems engineering at MITRE, joins WTT?!? to talk to Dooner and The Dude about vaccine distribution.
Wilkerson says that even though the process of vaccine production has been expedited, “the vaccine will be perfectly safe.”
He says two types of counterfeits typically are seen in medicine: placebo products that won’t hurt you and those that are actually malicious.
Wilkerson says careful logistics plans to take the vaccine straight from factory to clinician will be essential in preventing opportunities for tampering.
Port congestion continues on both coasts
Port X Logistics founder Brian Kempisty joins WTT?!? to discuss how continued port congestion affects over-the-road logistics on the back end.
He says due to backups in unloading ships, drivers are missing pickup times and having to make more dry runs, but the real shortage is in the human capital to support solving the problems.
“It’s this whole ripple effect and it’s not just about how many drivers you need. We’ve had to add on logistics support staff,” says Kempisty.
Locomation shoots for trucking autonomy
Locomation has plans for a two-truck automation model to move forward in autonomous vehicle technology.
Co-founder and CEO Çetin Meriçli highlights how his company plans to use a paired convoy of one fully self-driving truck and one manned truck to move freight in a safe and efficient manner.
Ending the year on a high note
TheFreightCoach Chris Jolly joins the show to talk about finishing the year strong to guarantee a good 2021.
“If I have anything I want to change in 2021, I’ve already started it in December,” says Jolly, who thinks that with anything in life, making small incremental changes will better serve you than waiting for a catalyst to start.
You can find more WHAT THE TRUCK?!? recaps and recaps for all our shows here.
