AI’s rising impact on cross-border trade focus of latest report
Based on a brand new report from Eurora, AI and machine learning (ML) may help shippers comply with the various cross-border trade regulations enforced by different countries.
The report, “The case for AI in cross-border trade,” examines challenges faced by logistics providers and the e-commerce sector as a consequence of an increasingly complicated regulatory environment and the way AI and ML may help streamline international shipments.
Chris Lentjes, Eurora’s CEO of U.S. operations, said AI and ML are hot topics.
“Some people take into consideration AI as a robot, some people give it some thought as ChatGPT, and a few are desirous about autonomous vehicles,” Lentjes told FreightWaves. “In essence, they’re technically all correct; we’re all using various types of AI to support day-to-day things that we’re doing.”
Eurora uses AI to robotically manage cross-border documents for requirements akin to value-added tax, duty amounts, declarations and more. The corporate has greater than 250 clients sending hundreds of thousands of parcels on daily basis.
Eurora, which is predicated in Estonia, has its U.S. headquarters within the Miami area. The corporate has over 220 employees across 18 countries.
Lentjes said AI may help international shippers that should contend with droves of customs requirements for every shipment, including the U.S. STOP ACT, Singapore’s latest GST rules, Dubai’s customs duty charges, the U.K. Customs Declaration Service, Canada’s CARM importing regime, the European Union’s Import Control System 2 and Mexico’s Carta Porte Complement.
Shippers and logistics operators even have to produce accurate harmonized system codes that indicate what’s inside a specific shipment.
“That is where AI can really assist in that task,” Lentjes said. “If you happen to take into consideration AI’s functionality, it’s really about continuous improvement and the way the industry can speed up where decisions are made in the availability chain.”
Failure to comply with customs requirements, or mistakes with cross-border documentation may end up in generating higher tax and duties than goods are answerable for. In a worst case scenario, a customs error could end in fines, seizures or delays of a specific shipment.
“Cross-border compliance is an increasingly changing environment,” Lentjes said. “Attempting to sustain with this modification and data and what’s required is vital. I believe that the information and the technology around it’s super necessary, and AI is playing a function in the way you transition that from a manual process right into a more automated process to support the business.”
Lentjes said AI may also help shippers through dynamic routing, which involves determining the perfect route for something based on an existing set of conditions.
“Dynamic routing is just not latest, but what’s latest is having machine learning after which moving into AI looking with inputs akin to weather inputs, or is there a strike somewhere, and bringing in live data that may actually influence the route in a dynamic, live fashion,” Lentjes said.
Mexican authorities recorded 142 tractor-trailer thefts in April
Highways across Mexico proceed to be dangerous for truckers as cargo thefts rose 7.5% 12 months over 12 months (y/y) in April, in accordance with Mexico’s National Association of Vehicle Tracking and Protection Firms (ANERPV).
ANERPV reported that 142 cargo trucks in its network were robbed or stolen during April, with a complete of 519 tractor-trailer thefts from January through April.
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Throughout the first 4 months of 2023, the state of Mexico ranked No. 1 in cargo thefts with 150 cases, followed by the states of Puebla (97), Guanajuato (41), Jalisco (39) and Verucruz (32).
ANERPV said the day of the week on which thefts occurred essentially the most during April was Wednesday with 20% of the full, followed by Thursday at 18%.
Over 31% of the cargo theft robberies were committed throughout the day, between 7 a.m. and noon. Greater than 28% of the cargo theft incidents occurred between noon and seven p.m.
The Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS), which also tracks cargo thefts, said that Kenworth tractor-trailers were essentially the most stolen trucks across Mexico throughout the past 12 months, totaling 1,906 units.
Freightliner tractor-trailers ranked second for many stolen trucks over the past 12 months, accounting for 702 cases.
Texas logistics firm opens Phoenix location
Arrive Logistics has opened a 15,000-square-foot office in Phoenix.
The office will start with 30 employees but has plans to expand to as much as 60 employees by the tip of the 12 months, in accordance with a news release.
Arrive also recently opened an office in Columbus, Ohio. Last 12 months, the corporate opened locations in Tampa, Florida, and San Antonio, in addition to Guadalajara, Mexico, bringing its total to seven offices.
Arrive has greater than 1,700 employees and a network of 70,000 carriers. Its customers include U.S. Foods, Kellogg’s Co., Dairy Farmers of America and Samsung Electronics Co.
South Texas college launching CDL program
Victoria College is launching its own truck driving course to assist meet demand for truck drivers in South Texas.
Since 2006, Victoria College’s truck driving course has been offered through a partnership with Houston Community College. The brand new course will help meet the needs of the Victoria community, in accordance with a news release.
The CDL program is being funded by a pair of grants from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board totaling greater than $630,000.
“With the grant funding from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Victoria College is now at a spot where we’re in a position to purchase our own trucks and hire our own instructors, which can allow us more flexibility in scheduling training when it is required most,” Jennifer Kent, president of Victoria College, said in an announcement.
Victoria College is a community college in Victoria, about 127 miles southeast of Houston and 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico.
The funding might be used to buy 4 tractors to be used in truck driving classes in Victoria and Gonzales, Texas. Grant funds can even be used to coach instructors.
The brand new truck driving course will give the faculty the capability to coach as much as eight students in Victoria and as much as 4 students in Gonzales every six weeks.
Watch: the National Truckload Index stays stable at $2.22 rpm.
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