Current Affairs

December 29, 2021

Fully-Autonomous Truck

First-Ever Fully-Autonomous Semi-Truck With No-Human On Board Traverses Arizona Highway

by Tyler DurdenWednesday, Dec 29, 2021 – 03:05 PM

Hardly a day goes by without some truck drivers thinking their days are numbered as AI, machine learning, and robotics could soon take their jobs. 

In an industry that moves over 70% of U.S. freight by weight and labor and fuel costs are becoming more expensive, transportation companies are itching to swap human drivers for robot ones.  

The latest example that automated semi-trucks could be available for commercial use in the next few years was the recent test by San Diego-based TuSimple. 

According to a TuSimple press release, the company tested a class 8 vehicle (otherwise known as a trailer tractor) on a public road without human intervention. The nighttime test was conducted on Dec. 22 on an 80 mile stretch of highway between Tucson, Arizona, and Phoenix. 

TuSimple “successfully completed the world’s first fully autonomous semi-truck run on open public roads without a human in the vehicle and without human intervention,” the press release said. 

The one-hour and 20-minute drive is the first time a class 8 autonomous truck has operated on open public roads without a human in the vehicle and without human intervention and is part of an ongoing test program that will continue into 2022. 

The test was performed in close collaboration with the Arizona Department of Transportation and law enforcement. The autonomous driving test was 100% operated by TuSimple’s ADS without a human on-board, without remote human control of the vehicle, and without traffic intervention. – TuSimple 

TuSimple’s Autonomous Driving System can navigate streets, read traffic signals, maneuver on and off highways, and even change lanes while interacting with other vehicles. 

Over the years, we’ve shown readers there is no shortage of reports (read: here & here) suggesting that robots can potentially displace jobs. The signs we see today, focusing on transportation, are that automated trucks could be maneuvering roads and highways by the end of the decade, perhaps as early as 2027. With that being said, all those newly minted drivers who are taking advantage of snarled supply chains might want to come up with a backup plan once automation begins to displace drivers. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/first-ever-autonomous-semi-truck-no-human-board-traverses-arizona-highway

December 22, 2021

Hurricane IDA Impacted Q3 Chemical Markets

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Lingering Impacts from Hurricane Ida Weighed on U.S. Chemical Production in October
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Jennifer Scott

WASHINGTON (December 1, 2021) – The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) eased by 0.3% in October following a 1.6% decline in September and a 0.4% decline in August, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Chemical output declined in all regions except the Northeast. With lingering hurricane and other supply chain disruptions, the largest decline was in the Gulf Coast region. The U.S. CPRI is measured as a three-month moving average (3MMA).

Chemical production was mixed in October (3MMA), with an improving trend in the production of synthetic rubber, manufactured fibers, other specialty chemicals, fertilizers, adhesives, coatings, and consumer products. These gains were offset by weakness in organic chemicals, plastic resins, basic inorganic chemicals, industrial gases, and crop protection chemicals.
US Chemical Regional Production Index

As nearly all manufactured goods are produced using chemistry in some form, manufacturing activity is an important indicator for chemical demand. Manufacturing output edged higher for a sixth consecutive month in October, by 0.1% (3MMA). The 3MMA trend in manufacturing production was mixed, with gains in the output of food and beverages, aerospace, construction supplies, fabricated metal products, machinery, computers, semiconductors, refining, iron and steel products, plastic products, rubber products, tires, paper, printing, apparel, and furniture.

Compared with October 2020, U.S. chemical production was ahead by 2.2%, a weaker comparison than last month, due to lingering impacts from Hurricane Ida. Chemical production continued to be higher than a year ago in all regions, however.
US Chemical Regional Production Index, Percentage Change – December 1, 2021

The chemistry industry is one of the largest industries in the United States, a $486 billion enterprise. The manufacturing sector is the largest consumer of chemical products, and 96% of manufactured goods are touched by chemistry. The U.S. CPRI was developed to track chemical production activity in seven regions of the United States. The U.S. CPRI is based on information from the Federal Reserve, and as such, includes monthly revisions as published by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. CPRI includes the most recent Federal Reserve benchmark revision released on May 28, 2021. To smooth month-to-month fluctuations, the U.S. CPRI is measured using a three-month moving average. Thus, the reading in October reflects production activity during August, September, and October.

Learn more at: https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/news-trends/press-release/2021/lingering-impacts-from-hurricane-ida-weighed-on-us-chemical-production-in-october

https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/news-trends/press-release/2021/lingering-impacts-from-hurricane-ida-weighed-on-us-chemical-production-in-october

December 22, 2021

Hurricane IDA Impacted Q3 Chemical Markets

Follow us

Lingering Impacts from Hurricane Ida Weighed on U.S. Chemical Production in October
CONTACT US
Jennifer Scott

WASHINGTON (December 1, 2021) – The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) eased by 0.3% in October following a 1.6% decline in September and a 0.4% decline in August, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Chemical output declined in all regions except the Northeast. With lingering hurricane and other supply chain disruptions, the largest decline was in the Gulf Coast region. The U.S. CPRI is measured as a three-month moving average (3MMA).

Chemical production was mixed in October (3MMA), with an improving trend in the production of synthetic rubber, manufactured fibers, other specialty chemicals, fertilizers, adhesives, coatings, and consumer products. These gains were offset by weakness in organic chemicals, plastic resins, basic inorganic chemicals, industrial gases, and crop protection chemicals.
US Chemical Regional Production Index

As nearly all manufactured goods are produced using chemistry in some form, manufacturing activity is an important indicator for chemical demand. Manufacturing output edged higher for a sixth consecutive month in October, by 0.1% (3MMA). The 3MMA trend in manufacturing production was mixed, with gains in the output of food and beverages, aerospace, construction supplies, fabricated metal products, machinery, computers, semiconductors, refining, iron and steel products, plastic products, rubber products, tires, paper, printing, apparel, and furniture.

Compared with October 2020, U.S. chemical production was ahead by 2.2%, a weaker comparison than last month, due to lingering impacts from Hurricane Ida. Chemical production continued to be higher than a year ago in all regions, however.
US Chemical Regional Production Index, Percentage Change – December 1, 2021

The chemistry industry is one of the largest industries in the United States, a $486 billion enterprise. The manufacturing sector is the largest consumer of chemical products, and 96% of manufactured goods are touched by chemistry. The U.S. CPRI was developed to track chemical production activity in seven regions of the United States. The U.S. CPRI is based on information from the Federal Reserve, and as such, includes monthly revisions as published by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. CPRI includes the most recent Federal Reserve benchmark revision released on May 28, 2021. To smooth month-to-month fluctuations, the U.S. CPRI is measured using a three-month moving average. Thus, the reading in October reflects production activity during August, September, and October.

Learn more at: https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/news-trends/press-release/2021/lingering-impacts-from-hurricane-ida-weighed-on-us-chemical-production-in-october

https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/news-trends/press-release/2021/lingering-impacts-from-hurricane-ida-weighed-on-us-chemical-production-in-october

December 19, 2021

Africa’s Largest Economies

Africa’s Biggest Economies

by Tyler DurdenSunday, Dec 19, 2021 – 08:45 AM

With a total GDP of $432.3 billion, Nigeria has become the biggest economy on the African continent over the last 30 years. While the five highest spots on this ranking have been more or less constant over the last three decades, Statista’s Florian Zandt notes that the rest of the top 8 are subject to bigger fluctuations as our chart shows.

Infographic: Africa's Biggest Economies | Statista

You will find more infographics at Statista

Libya, for example, managed to come in sixth in 1990 and 2005, but dropped out of the top 8 and only made the 17th rank in 2020. One of the most probable reasons for this dropoff is the Second Libyan Civil War. The multi-sided conflict started in 2014 in the aftermath of the election results of 2012 putting the General National Congress into power. Kenya, on the other hand, passed a new constitution in 2010 which limited the power held by the country’s president and enabled business and technology centers like Nairobi to grow. The city is now home to the African offices of Google, Coca-Cola, IBM and Cisco, among others.

Nigeria’s first place is largely attributable to its rapidly expanding financial sector, which grew from one percent of the total GDP in 2001 to ten percent in 2018, and its role as one of the world leaders in petroleum exports. The growing tech hub of Lagos, the second-largest metropolitan area in Africa and among the largest in the world, is also likely to further bolster Nigeria’s growth in the coming years, even though the divide between the part of the population living in slums without access to basic sanitation and its upper class making the city one of the most expensive in the world is likely to grow as well. This is also reflected in its comparably low GDP per capita of $2,100. When considering this indicator, Nigeria doesn’t even make the top 10 in Africa.

Of the 54 countries in Africa, only four countries made the top 50 of all nations with the highest GDP according to data from World Bank. The top spots on this list are reserved for the US, China, Japan and Germany, whose residents generate a combined GPD of $45 trillion, a whopping 50 percent of the global GDP.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/africas-biggest-economies

December 19, 2021

Africa’s Largest Economies

Africa’s Biggest Economies

by Tyler DurdenSunday, Dec 19, 2021 – 08:45 AM

With a total GDP of $432.3 billion, Nigeria has become the biggest economy on the African continent over the last 30 years. While the five highest spots on this ranking have been more or less constant over the last three decades, Statista’s Florian Zandt notes that the rest of the top 8 are subject to bigger fluctuations as our chart shows.

Infographic: Africa's Biggest Economies | Statista

You will find more infographics at Statista

Libya, for example, managed to come in sixth in 1990 and 2005, but dropped out of the top 8 and only made the 17th rank in 2020. One of the most probable reasons for this dropoff is the Second Libyan Civil War. The multi-sided conflict started in 2014 in the aftermath of the election results of 2012 putting the General National Congress into power. Kenya, on the other hand, passed a new constitution in 2010 which limited the power held by the country’s president and enabled business and technology centers like Nairobi to grow. The city is now home to the African offices of Google, Coca-Cola, IBM and Cisco, among others.

Nigeria’s first place is largely attributable to its rapidly expanding financial sector, which grew from one percent of the total GDP in 2001 to ten percent in 2018, and its role as one of the world leaders in petroleum exports. The growing tech hub of Lagos, the second-largest metropolitan area in Africa and among the largest in the world, is also likely to further bolster Nigeria’s growth in the coming years, even though the divide between the part of the population living in slums without access to basic sanitation and its upper class making the city one of the most expensive in the world is likely to grow as well. This is also reflected in its comparably low GDP per capita of $2,100. When considering this indicator, Nigeria doesn’t even make the top 10 in Africa.

Of the 54 countries in Africa, only four countries made the top 50 of all nations with the highest GDP according to data from World Bank. The top spots on this list are reserved for the US, China, Japan and Germany, whose residents generate a combined GPD of $45 trillion, a whopping 50 percent of the global GDP.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/africas-biggest-economies