January may seem like seven years ago, but 2020 actually began like any other year in the Dangerous Goods galaxy. We all know what’s happened since then. The COVID-19 pandemic has, of course, impacted every sector of the global economy. From a hazmat transport perspective, three major trends emerged: Regulatory bodies overseeing Dangerous Goods transport…
Why smaller lithium battery marks are actually big news.
In the Dangerous Goods galaxy, regulators often say they work to find the ideal balance between supply chain safety and the needs of industry. Finding that balance is an ongoing process. Regulations aren’t carved in stone—they’re updated continually. Every year, regulatory bodies such as the United Nations Sub-Committee on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and…
Supply Chain Moves: Week of December 7th, 2020
Week of December 7th, 2020 Linking technology news with Dangerous Goods compliance As supply chain challenges continue to mount, companies are looking to technology solutions to help them navigate these uncertain times – whether it’s responding to rapid e-commerce growth or preparing to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine around the world. To help companies keep…
The quick e-commerce guide to compliant Dangerous Goods returns
There has never been a bigger holiday season for e-commerce. And that means this will also be the biggest holiday season ever for e-commerce returns. Here are the startling stats: In Q3 2020, consumers spent nearly $200 billion online with U.S. retailers, up 37.1% from the same quarter in 2019. 1 in 4 e-commerce purchases…
For Thanksgiving 2020: a toast to our safe and essential supply chains
This week, a lot of Americans will sit down to much smaller Thanksgiving dinners than usual. It’s been a challenging year on so many levels. Nevertheless, they will raise their glasses and say a toast to the things they’re grateful for. If Labelmaster were hosting Thanksgiving, here’s how our toast might go: Here’s to the…
How cold, for how long? The role of temperature in hazmat shipping.
The prospect of COVID-19 vaccines being approved in the near future has a lot of people suddenly thinking about cold chain shipping. But keeping vaccine doses extremely cold is only the, er, tip of the iceberg when it comes to temperature-controlled shipping. This time of year, with another brutal northern winter on its way, shippers…
Hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses. What do DG shippers need to know?
Sometime in the next few weeks or months, a COVID-19 vaccine will likely be approved by the FDA (and similar bodies in other nations). That will be very, very good news. The bad news is that those vaccines won’t just magically appear at your nearest pharmacy. In fact, safely transporting hundreds of millions of vaccine…
Supply Chain Moves: Week of November 9th, 2020
Week of November 9th, 2020 Linking technology news with Dangerous Goods compliance With the surge of e-commerce orders expected to continue through the holiday season and into 2021, manufacturers, retailers, carriers and logistics providers are all looking to technology to help keep pace. To help companies keep a pulse on technology trends impacting business…
How to ship large format lithium batteries: 13 things every e-commerce shipper must know.
The e-commerce industry has been one of the few beneficiaries of this year’s COVID-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of 2020, e-commerce sales were up 44.4% over the same quarter in 2019. All signs indicate that this year’s holiday season will see another giant surge in e-commerce deliveries. And some of the fastest-growing, most popular…
The ORM-D hazmat mark is being phased out. Here’s its retirement speech.
Starting January 1, 2021, the ORM-D mark will no longer be accepted for Dangerous Goods shipments. Here’s what the mark had to say on the occasion of its retirement from public service. Hello, hazmat shippers and Dangerous Goods professionals everywhere. I’m here to announce my retirement from public service, as my last day on the…