Center for Transportation and Logistics

Ashley Nunes, a research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, examines President Trump’s proposal to privatize air traffic control in an article for The Washington Post. Nunes explains that the proposal may be difficult to pass, noting that many lawmakers are, “hesitant to cede regulatory authority — akin to political power — to others.”

In an article for The Boston Globe, Prof. Charles Fine and Research Affiliate David Gonsalvez examine how to improve the City of Boston’s transportation infrastructure, which could help increase the region’s livability and foster economic growth. Fine and Gonsalvez note that “a city’s mobility architecture can have a huge impact on its economy.”

Research associate Matthias Winkenbach speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Sara Castellanos about how augmented reality could transform how companies manage supply chains. Castellanos explains that Winkenbach “envisions a future where supply chain managers wearing augmented or virtual reality headsets could make quicker decisions, save money and maximize their productivity.”

Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Yossi Sheffi outlines how companies should prepare for possible changes in the U.S. trade and regulatory landscape. Sheffi notes that “companies should be deliberate in making significant changes to supply chains based on chatter rather than real regulatory or legislative action.”

A Wall Street Journal article by James Rice Jr. of MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics examines the problem of “phantom inventory,” an issue for many retailers unaware of how low on-shelf availability is for many products. Rice and his co-authors suggest that “paying special attention to retail operations and employing modern data analytics” can help resolve the issue. 

Wall Street Journal reporter Sara Castellanos speaks with research affiliate Matthias Winkenbach about plans to develop a new lab at MIT that would allow researchers to experiment with computer-generated hologram-like images and interactive touch-screen walls. “AR can be a game changer in data and analytics because it’s so much more immersive,” explains Winkenbach. 

Jarrod Goentzel and Fredrik Eng Larsson of the Center for Transportation and Logistics write for The Wall Street Journal that companies seeking greater supply chain visibility must quantify the benefits of such information. They write that “to make a clear case for investment in visibility systems, companies must focus on the tools that transform data into structural improvements.”

WBUR’s Bruce Gellerman speaks with Prof. Carlo Ratti and research scientist Bryan Reimer about the potential impact of driverless cars on everything from traffic to the economy. Reimer says using autonomous vehicles will change, “how we move. It changes how packages are moved. It changes how we behave. It changes the future of old age. It changes everything.”

Dr. Matthias Wikenbach speaks with Angus Loten of The Wall Street Journal about how big data and the Internet of Things can be used to speed up the last mile of deliveries. Loten writes that “data can be fed into creating better delivery training programs, more efficient routes, and helping companies determine the best type of delivery vehicles.”

In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Loretta Chao writes that MIT is establishing a new supply chain education center in Ningbo, China. Speaking to the logistical challenges the country is facing, Prof. Yossi Sheffi explains that, “logistics costs in China as a percentage of GDP are much higher than in the U.S.”

Research by James Rice, deputy director of MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, finds that few companies are actually ‘reshoring’ manufacturing jobs to the U.S., writes Robert Wright of The Financial Times. The study indicates that the trend has had a negligible effect on employment in the U.S.

Professor Yossi Sheffi of the Center for Transportation and Logistics speaks with Bloomberg TV about the challenges faced by companies trying to provide same-day delivery service. Sheffi outlines the variety of factors that go into developing a delivery system that is cost effective.