What are the benefits of a circular economy?
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Headlines
Dooner and The Dude start up this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? with a look at the DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index. Dooner says it’s going in the wrong direction, hitting 65, which is still in favor of the carriers.
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to strengthen supply chains, particularly around COVID-19-related supplies, in order to help alleviate some of the shortages being seen in several states.
California ports are back in the news with Marine Exchange reporting a record 107 ships either at anchor or at berth in Los Angeles and Long Beach, but catastrophic infection rates of COVID-19 are threatening to shut down terminals, which could cripple the entire port system.
Making the economy go round and round
Claudia Freed, president and CEO of EALgreen, is a huge proponent of a circular economic format and talks to Dooner and The Dude about her goal of turning excess inventory into charity.
Freed says her goal is to transition economic progress from making, using and disposing to making, using, repurposing and reusing. EALgreen makes an example of this by taking excess product that ends up in its fulfillment centers, redistributing it to college campuses that need the goods or turning the goods into cash and creating scholarships instead.
Sustainability in 2021
DHL Supply Chain, one of the largest shippers in the world, also plans to focus on sustainability this year. Jim Monkmeyer, President, Transportation, DHL Supply Chain North America, joins the show to discuss how being sustainable fits into DHL’s strategy.
Monkmeyer says it’s a top priority for most of the name brands in the market, and DHL has “been under immense pressure” to find options to lessen carbon impacts.
Biden’s first decisions
Business Insider investigative reporter Rachel Premack breaks down some of the impact of President Biden’s first decisions in office for Dooner and The Dude. She cites his pro-union mentality as a key indicator of where he will direct energies toward business, but there should be little impact on truckers as most truckers are not unionized.
Premack also discusses transportation secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg and his feelings toward infrastructure and the trucking world. She believes neither Biden nor Buttigieg are particularly in tune with the true needs of truckers today.
Is Kansas City an e-comm hot spot?
Last up is KC SmartPort President Chris Gutierrez, who tries to convince Dooner that Kansas City, Missouri, is the place for e-commerce. Kansas City is one of the top cities for industrial growth in the country, with 12 companies recently selecting it for distribution centers.
Gutierrez says KC has everything for explosive industrial growth, with its central location prime for rail, road and even container shipping along the Missouri River. He believes the city is the perfect place, with both the housing and commercial real estate markets good for prospective buyers.
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