IAMC News Briefs—Week of December 11, 2023
By John Salustri
SUPPLY CHAIN DIVE—Four new capabilities are coming to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) supply chain next year. The new capabilities are designed to support supplier orders and communications and material and inventory forecasts. The four enhancements are AWS Supply Chain Supply Planning; “Chain N-Tier” Visibility (which streamlines communications and collaboration between customers and suppliers); Supply Chain Sustainability; and Amazon Q—which means the use of generative AI to flag supply shortages and other issues.
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/amazon-expands-aws-supply-chain-four-features-2024/701333/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-12-05%20Supply%20Chain%20Dive%20%5Bissue:57018%5D&utm_term=Supply%20Chain%20Dive
SUPPLY CHAIN DIVE—The Treasury Department has issued proposed guidance that would limit the use of critical minerals and EV parts from China. Along with North Korea, Russia and Iran, China has been tagged a “foreign entity of concern.” The issue revolves around compliance with the domestic manufacturing requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), under which automakers must qualify for $7500 in consumer tax credits for electric vehicles.
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/ira-guidance-foreign-entity-of-concern-automakers-evs-batteries-china/701366/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-12-04%20Supply%20Chain%20Dive%20%5Bissue:56975%5D&utm_term=Supply%20Chain%20Dive
RESHORING INITIATIVE—Issues such as the new China guidance from the Treasury are a solid argument for reshoring. The Reshoring Initiative states in its 1H2023 Report that “COVID shutdowns, the war in Ukraine, the Israeli/Hamas conflict and increasing tension over Taiwan show that it is past time for companies to evaluate reshoring and nearshoring as ‘insurance’ against catastrophic disruptions.” In fact, the Initiative states that the cumulative number of jobs brought back to the US since 2010 is projected to be near two million by the end of the year— “40% of what we lost to offshoring.”
https://reshorenow.org/content/pdf/1H2023_RI_Report.pdf
IAMC CORNERSTONE—The freight industry is approaching a crossroad. So says CRESA in its newly released Freight Transportation Industry Report. The path to this juncture has been a shaky global economy and the resultant consumer caution. “Rising inflation and fuel rates have pushed freight rates up moderately heading into the end of the year,” states the report. Folded into that, of course, is the normalization of the industry and the return to pre-pandemic levels of employment and consumer activity. The report goes on: “Companies that embrace change,” such as electric vehicles, AI and robotics, “and prepare for future disruptions while maintaining customer relationships . . . will be poised to take advantage of the opportunities.” https://cornerstone.iamc.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=8365ff25-5636-2e97-a604-c581895ab247&forceDialog=0
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY EXECUTIVE—The Bluebonnet Business Center, a 684,344-square-foot industrial campus in Northeast Austin, is coming out of the ground. Hines sees its project, which includes four buildings, completing in Q4 of next year. The size of the assets ranges from just under 90,000 square feet to just over 414,000.
https://www.commercialsearch.com/news/hines-breaks-ground-on-684-ksf-austin-industrial-center/