There is another partnership to announce, this time between Paxafe, B2B software focusing on risk, and Carrier, a provider of cold chain monitoring and intelligence. This new partnership is poised to tackle the pharmaceutical supply chain, mainly to help reduce waste. The pharmaceutical industry loses about $35 billion of product each year due to compromised product integrity as a result of temperature variations in the supply chain. 

“The collaboration will offer supply chain leaders and logistics managers risk management insights to unlock greater control and resiliency within their distribution networks that will help enable them to better predict, prevent and resolve risks before they occur,” Alice DeBiasio, vice president and general manager of truck trailer Americas and digital solutions at Carrier, said in the news release.

Food and drugs

(Photo: Instagram)

Twinkies have found a new home.  In an unexpected twist J.M. Smucker has bought Hostess brands for a cool $5.6 billion. Hostess most infamously known for twinkies, cupcakes, fruit pies, and dozens of other sweet treats. This offer was a mix of cash and stock and Smucker paid Hostess shareholders $34.25 per share, roughly a 54% premium on the stock price. 

Analysts have questioned this decision as most brands are looking to expand health conscious offerings, instead of comfort food type sweets, especially at a higher price point. Hostess was seeinking an acquisition after getting its financials right post bankruptcy in 2012. 

As a connoisseur of delicious treats i can say that deep fried twinkies are overrated but deep fried hostess cupcakes are worth a stop at whatever fair you are in. 

Cold chain lanes

(SONAR Tickers: ROTVI.LIT, ROTRI.LIT)

This week’s SONAR market of the week is Little Rock, Arkansas, where capacity is tightening as the Reefer Outbound Tender Rejection Index (ROTRI) has increased 779 basis points week over week (w/w). Rejection rates above 10% signal that there are inflationary spot rates. Not only is the ROTRI increasing, but reefer outbound tender volumes have increased 29.74% w/w. Rejections are increasing at a much faster rate than volumes, which is where the crunch in capacity will come from. 

As rejections get closer to 20%, spot rates will continue to increase just as quickly as rejections. The increase in demand for reefer shipments is likely from late-summer harvest season and blistering temps across the central U.S. The massive heat wave has broken, but temps in the upper 80s aren’t helping matters.  

Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!

Shelf life

Kraft Heinz debuts a pouch that makes a microwaved grilled cheese crispy

California Senate passes bill outlawing self-driving trucks without a human driver on board

Seatrade expands South American shipping fleet

We’ve got a truck parking crisis. Who should solve it?

American manufacturing is coming back. So are strikes. 

Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at [email protected].

See you on the internet.

Mary

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