UPS Pledges $1 Million to Harvey Recovery Effort

Photo via UPS 

UPS has announced a $1 million pledge through The UPS Foundation, in support of recovery efforts in Texas and Louisiana following the devastation from Hurricane Harvey.

The $1 million will come from a combination of cash grants, in-kind transportation movements, and technical expertise to provide urgent relief as well as support for long-term needs ranging from rebuilding to personal and financial recovery assistance.

The UPS Foundation is working with FEMA, the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and other humanitarian groups to assess longer-term needs and will commit an additional $500,000 in cash and in-kind assistance for recovery needs that will be specified during the post crisis recovery phase in the coming months.

“In this time of enormous need, it is critical to establish and support extensive networks of public-private partnerships to get aid to those who need it, as quickly as possible,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer. “At the same time, setting aside funding and other resources for long-term recovery efforts is also important, and we are laying that groundwork as well.”

The UPS Foundation is a charitable organization focused on community involvement in local, national and global communities. Last year the UPS Foundation responded to 20 major world disasters and invested more than $13 million in funding, in-kind, and technical support for community safety initiatives that included participation in urgent disaster response preparedness, response, and recovery.

Related: Harvey Causing Historic Flooding in South Texas

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Kar Joins Fleet Complete as Chief Strategy Officer

Sandeep Kar Photo: Fleet Complete

Fleet Complete has announced that Sandeep Kar, an industry expert and influencer, has joined the company as the chief strategy officer to spur the company's advancement internationally.

In the role, Kar will lead Fleet Complete's corporate strategy as the organization focuses on dynamic and sustainable growth, driven by a combination of IoT technologies, value-driven econometrics, mobile resource management applications, and expansion into developed and emerging markets. Kar will guide the company, broadening its reach to lead the global commercial vehicle space and develop new technology standards in the industry, according to Fleet Complete.

"I am very pleased to welcome Sandeep Kar to our core," said Tony Lourakis, CEO of Fleet Complete. "He is a proven thought leader with a tremendous breadth of industry experience, global perspective and demonstrated success in driving global strategy. He will help take Fleet Complete's international prominence goals to the next level."

Kar has experience in propelling growth in a commercial vehicle ecosystem and is well known in the industry's c-suite circles as a thought leader, according to the company. He previously served as the global vice president at Frost & Sullivan, heading research for the organization's automotive and transportation practice. While there he helped redefine strategic paradigms around products, platforms, processes, and personnel.

He is a frequent keynote and panel speaker at conferences and has been quoted in the industry journals and publications.

“Together, we will drive powerful innovations and ecosystem collaborations to deliver industry-leading IoT solutions to our customers and client partners,” said Kar. “This new phase of Fleet Complete's expansion will manifest through advanced technologies and growth in current and new markets."

Related: New Group Lobbies for Blockchain Adoption by Trucking

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Love’s Travel Stops opens stores in North Carolina, Texas

Love's Travel Stops adds more than 200 truck parking spaces to busy interstates and highways with the opening of two new stores in Newton, NC, and Beaumont, TX. The Newton store is located at 1760 Southfork Drive (U.S. Highway 321, Exit 37). The Beaumont travel stop is located at Interstate 10 and Smith Road (Exit 843).

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ONE20 launches commercial tire program

ONE20 announced plans at the recent Great American Trucking Show in Dallas to launch ONE20 Tire, a program that will be available in Q4 2017.

According to the company, ONE20 Tire will leverage more than 200 wholesale warehouses in addition to 75,000 service centers across the country. With the direct warehouse-to-consumer program, drivers and carriers will be able to save on their tire purchases. From purchase to delivery, installation will take four days or less, the company added.

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Webinar: Roadside inspections in the digital age

A range of new technologies, from electronic logging devices (ELDs) to driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs), are changing how roadside inspections are being conducted now and into the future.

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Hurricane Harvey may sideline 7% of the trucking industry

Hurricane Harvey will “strongly affect” over 7% of U.S. trucking during the next two weeks, with some portion of that fraction out of operation entirely, according to analysis by freight research firm FTR Transportation Intelligence.

During the first week, almost 10% of all U.S. trucking will be affected, the firm said; a number that jumps near 100% for the Gulf Coast region west of the Mississippi.

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Dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Harvey

The entire 12,000 member Texas National Guard deployed to deal with the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Harvey; a storm some suggest could destroy up to $20 billion in insured property largely due to heavy flooding, which would make it one of the costliest storms in U.S. history. (Photos: Texas Military Department)