TAKEAWAYS
In the first nine months of 2024, AI-related deals accounted for 33% of total investments into venture capital-backed companies based in the United States. That’s up from 14% in 2020 and could go even higher in the years ahead. AI deals accounted for 37% of the $38 billion raised by VC-backed companies in Q3 2024, with four of the 10 largest deals involving AI-related companies, according to CrunchBase data analyzed by EY. AI IS WINNING THE VC GAME
PORT OF BALTIMORE GETS STACKED Helping to boost the Port of Baltimore’s comeback efforts after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse earlier this year is the recent launch of double-stacked rail operations at the port. The enhanced rail offerings open new opportunities for intermodal rail service in the Northeast and from the Port of Baltimore to Midwest markets. As an added bonus, the project was completed several months earlier than expected. The port estimates that double-stacking containers will help grow its business by about 160,000 containers annually and will create 13,000 new jobs in construction and operations. Double-stacking will also complement the expansion of the Seagirt Marine Terminal, operated by Ports America Chesapeake, as home to supersized Neo-Panamax cranes that handle ultra- large containerships. Officials tout enhanced transportation cost efficiency and environmental gains as additional benefits of double-stacking. While construction is still ongoing at several Maryland sites, vertical clearance improvements at rail bridges north of Baltimore are complete, providing rail carrier CSX the opportunity to operate double-stack rail service on a temporary route from the Port of Baltimore along the CSX network in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and onto the Midwest. “Adding double-stack capabilities to and from the Port of Baltimore allows us to take our container business to another level and puts us on a more level playing field with our competitors,” said Maryland Port Administration Executive Director Jonathan Daniels when announcing the launch.
OVERHEARD
“ Claims of long-term driver shortages are spurious and not likely to be helpful in explaining the sector’s driver turnover patterns and the possible influences of compensation. Research indicates that driver retention and turnover rates experienced by truckload carriers can be explained in part by the cyclical factors experienced across all carriers in the sector and trucking generally.” — Pay and Working Conditions in the Long- Distance Truck and Bus Industries report, National Academy of Sciences
November 2024 • Inbound Logistics 17
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