Autonomous trucking software provider PlusAI will expand its partnership with commercial vehicle manufacturer Traton Group in a bid to accelerate the development and scaled deployment of on-highway autonomous trucking solutions in the U.S. and Europe, the companies said this week.

As part of the deal, Munich, Germany-based Traton will commit up to $25 million in R&D funding to PlusAI to accelerate factory integration of its SuperDrive software into autonomous trucks of Traton’s brands, which include Scania, MAN, and International.

According to California-based PlusAI, the partnership comes as freight fleets across the U.S. and Europe are facing persistent driver shortages, rising operating costs, and increasing demand for safer, more reliable freight capacity. However, meeting that need with broad adoption of autonomous vehicles will depend on confidence in vehicle performance, rigorous safety validation, and a commercialization model led by established OEMs.

The expanded partnership will build on the collaboration first announced in 2024, when PlusAI’s virtual driver system, SuperDrive, was selected as the on-highway autonomous driving platform for Traton’s brands. Since then, the companies say they have reached technical and operational milestones toward delivering Level 4 autonomous trucking capabilities. Notably, International initiated autonomous fleet trials in Texas with an unspecified logistics and transportation operator.

“Autonomous trucking is a strategic pillar of Traton’s long-term technology roadmap,” said Niklas Klingenberg, Member of the Executive Board, responsible for Research & Development in the Traton Group. “Autonomy represents a meaningful opportunity to deliver higher uptime and greater value for our fleet customers while strengthening the long-term competitiveness of our brands. Our expanded partnership will reflect both this confidence and our shared goal of bringing factory-built on-road autonomous trucks to market at scale.”

The German industrial robotics vendor RobCo has raised $100 million in backing, saying the funds will help to advance its Physical AI roadmap, expand enterprise deployments, and deepen the company’s presence in the U.S. market.

The firm first expanded into the United States in 2025 and now operates in San Francisco and Austin. RobCo says the U.S. has become a major growth market as manufacturers accelerate automation efforts in response to labor constraints, reshoring initiatives, and rising operational complexity.

The “series C” venture capital round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lingotto Innovation, alongside Sequoia Capital, Greenfield Partners, Kindred Capital, Leitmotif, and The Friedkin Group.

Founded in 2020 in Munich, RobCo says it enables increasingly autonomous robot operations inside real production environments including manufacturing and logistics. By combining perception, motion planning, and self-learning methods, RobCo’s platform is designed to reduce friction between today’s processes and end-to-end automation. According to the company, its technology integrates hardware and software as a single full-stack platform. That means its robots can acquire task-specific skills through demonstration and self-learning rather than manual programming, enabling faster deployment, rapid iteration, and easier adaptation to complex or variable processes.

“With $100 million of additional funding, we will become the dominant AI robotics company for manufacturing in the U.S. and Europe” said Roman Hölzl, CEO and Founder of RobCo. “This will allow us to execute on our purpose of automating the ordinary, so humans can do the extraordinary.”

The international IFOY competition for innovative material handling products has named the finalists for its annual awards, saying 17 products and solutions from eight countries have reached the final round, selected from a starting pool of 49 applications.

Winners will eventually be crowned in five categories: Integrated Customer Solutions, Industrial Trucks, Robot Warehouse System, Intralogistics Software, and Special of the Year.

To reach the final stage, all finalists will undergo the IFOY Audit during the “Test Camp Intralogistics” on April 15–16 in Dortmund, where industry visitors can experience and test the innovations live. The winners of the IFOY AWARD 2026 will be announced on June 25 at the Atrium of the IFOY event partner AEB in Stuttgart.

For the five product categories, the finalists include products from: Crown, idealworks, Jungheinrich, KNAPP, Libiao Robotics, Locus Robotics, Mobotic, Nomagic, PureLoX SOLUTIONS, SSI SCHÄFER, STILL, The Mobile Robot Company, and Wiltsche Fördersysteme.

And additionally, four young companies are competing for the title “IFOY Start-up of the Year.” They include: AI2Connect, Koiotech, Pyck, and Romb Technologies.

Transportation provider Werner Enterprises Inc. has acquired First Enterprises Inc., a Tennessee-based, privately-owned dedicated trucking company, for $245 million. Separately, Omaha, Nebraska-based Werner will also pay $37.8 million to acquire a portfolio of 11 real estate properties from First Enterprises, which does business as FirstFleet.

According to Werner, the two moves establish it as the fifth-largest dedicated carrier in the U.S., meaningfully increase revenues from its higher-margin dedicated division, and deliver immediate accretion to earnings per share. FirstFleet will operate as a business unit within Werner’s TTS segment, complementing the existing Dedicated division.

FirstFleet brings $615 million in annual revenues, approximately 2,400 tractors, 11,000 trailers, and 37 properties near 130 customer sites around the country. The firm says its capabilities are designed to service markets such as grocery, bakery goods, and corrugated packaging.

In comparison, Werner in 2025 had approximately 7,365 total dedicated trucks and nearly 40,000 trailers. Today, Werner said that buying FirstFleet accelerates its recent efforts to grow its dedicated division, which offers high margins and long-term contracts. With the addition of FirstFleet, Werner expects to grow its dedicated revenues by 50% and become North America's fifth-largest dedicated carrier, as ranked by power units.

“Powered by the talent of our combined associates, this partnership comes at the ideal moment for our company. By uniting FirstFleet's expertise in complementary new verticals with our resources and nearly 5,000 dDedicated trucks, we will improve our competitive position and accelerate profitable growth,” Werner’s Chairman and CEO, Derek Leathers, said in a release. “We are confident that, with the addition of the FirstFleet team, Werner will be stronger and even better positioned to serve our loyal customers and capitalize on profitable growth opportunities as market conditions continue to improve.”

The logistics real estate investment firm Realterm has acquired a portfolio of 22 industrial outdoor storage (IOS) and high flow through (HFT) properties for $111 million, saying they “significantly” expand its presence in key transportation and distribution corridors.

Annapolis, Maryland-based Realterm bought the properties totaling 324,903 square feet across some 80 acres from Axis Partners, an Atlanta-based real estate investor focused on supply chain infrastructure properties.

The 22-property portfolio comprises modern and recently renovated IOS, fleet maintenance, and HFT facilities spanning nine states including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, with concentrations in Atlanta (seven properties), Houston (three properties) and Laredo (four properties). The properties, including 14 maintenance facilities, seven transload buildings and one truck terminal, feature an optimal average building size of 14,800 square feet on approximately 4 acres, providing highly functional space with multiple maintenance bays, transload and warehousing capabilities, expansive outdoor storage areas, secured access and comprehensive site lighting. The portfolio is currently 95% leased.

“The fundamentals driving demand for IOS and HFT facilities in these markets remain strong as freight lanes shift,” Joe Noon, Senior Vice President of Investments, Realterm, said in a release. “We're seeing sustained growth in fleet maintenance and transload logistics that make highly functional, well-located assets such as these increasingly valuable to operators.”

Logistics provider C.H. Robinson has launched artificial intelligence (AI) agents to combat the problem of missed less than truckload (LTL) pickups, the company said.

The new technology is now tracking down missed pickups and using advanced reasoning to determine how to keep freight moving. Those agents are also collecting and analyzing previously unavailable data that LTL carriers are now using to improve their technology, scheduling, and operations.

C.H. Robinson says it launched the initiative because with one truck carrying freight from up to 20 different shippers, LTL shipping requires complex coordination to pick it all up, take it to a terminal, and recombine it on other trucks with other freight heading the same direction. That complexity means that missed pickups and costly delays can ripple through LTL networks.

According to the company, the results are already in: 95% of checks on missed LTL pickups have been automated, saving over 350 hours of manual work per day. And unnecessary return trips to pick up missed freight have been reduced by 42%.

“A missed pickup isn’t just a minor inconvenience,” Greg West, Vice President for LTL, said in a release. “When a truck arrives and the freight or packaging isn’t ready, or the carrier couldn’t make it because they got stuck in traffic, it forces another truck to come back the next day. That might not even be our shipper’s freight, but it creates a domino effect for other freight that was supposed to get picked up and for all the other trucks down the line.”

The new agents join a fleet of more than 30 other AI agents that C.H. Robinson has already built for LTL. They include units that handle LTL price quotes, orders, freight classification, shipment tracking, and proof of delivery.

“We don’t just throw AI at anything and everything. It’s not a hobby for us. We use AI agents only where they can deliver tangible business results,” C.H. Robinson’s vice president for artificial intelligence, Mark Albrecht, said. “Our Lean AI processes helped us uncover the extent of time wasted in handling missed pickups and where artificial intelligence had the most potential to augment our automation software.”

BNSF Railway has launched a $3.6 billion capital investment plan for 2026, saying that $2.8 billion of that sum will be devoted to physical maintenance on its freight transportation network.

Those maintenance projects will include replacing and upgrading rail, track infrastructure like ballast and rail ties, and maintaining rolling stock. It will consist of approximately 13,000 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work, the replacement of 2.5 million rail ties and more than 400 miles of rail.

According to the Fort Worth, Texas-based railway, investing in existing infrastructure results in fewer unscheduled service outages that can slow down the rail network and reduce capacity.

In addition, the plan calls for $358 million to be designated for expansion and efficiency projects. Within that amount, major facility projects include completing property acquisitions and continuing development activities for the planned Barstow International Gateway project in California and continuing development and starting construction activities for a future intermodal facility in the Phoenix area.

Major line expansion projects include track expansions at BNSF’s Galesburg, IL, and Winslow, AZ, yards to increase switching capacity, supporting network service performance and asset (railcars and locomotives) productivity initiatives.

Intermodal equipment and maintenance provider CMC today rebranded the company under its new name, combining three container hardware companies that merged in 2023 with the intent to address a wider market for maintenance and repair (M&R) and storage services for shipping containers.

Charleston, South Carolina-based CMC is the new name for those three firms; Marine Repair Service – Container Maintenance Company (CMC), ITI Intermodal, Inc. (ITI), and Columbia Container Services (CCS).

While the company’s name and visual identity are new, CMC said the organization will continue providing best-in-class maintenance, storage, and repair services for containerized freight across the South, Northeast and Midwest regions.

“This transformation represents the next step in our journey together,” Vince Marino, chief executive officer of CMC, said in a release. “Our new name and logo symbolize the strength that comes from the unity of three family-founded companies growing into one cohesive team. CMC stands for our shared commitment to safety, reliability, integrity, and the long-term relationships that define our success.”

Companies are outsourcing more business to third-party logistics providers (3PLs), and that rising trend drove larger industrial leases in 2025, with 3PLs capturing the largest share of the top 100 leases, according to a report from commercial real estate firm CBRE.

3PLs accounted for 44 of the top 100 leases in 2025, up 57% from 28 leases in 2024, CBRE said. The significant increase indicates that large companies are relying on 3PLs to manage their complex logistics so they can focus on their core business. At the same time, the rise of e-commerce is further fueling this trend, as online retailers increasingly rely on 3PLs for logistics support.

General retailers and wholesalers were second behind 3PLs with 28 lease signings, down from 38 in 2024. The automobile, tires and parts sector was the only other industry to increase its share of the top 100 with seven leases in 2025 compared with five in 2024.

“Occupiers committed to larger footprints and longer lease terms as they took advantage of opportunities to upgrade their space amid a continued flight to quality trend,” said John Morris,President of Americas Industrial & Logistics at CBRE. “2025’s activity reflects continued strong demand for large distribution facilities as occupiers prioritize scale, efficiency, and long-term supply chain solutions.

CBRE’s report reveals that, while the number of leases in 2025 exceeding 1 million sq. ft. declined to 46 from 49 in 2024, the average size of the top 100 leases increased to 988,000 sq. ft. from 968,000 sq. ft. The average lease term also rose to approximately 98 months, up from 92 months the year previously. The increase in lease terms is due to the stabilization of supply and rent growth. As a result, landlords are now more focused on maintaining occupancy and securing tenants for longer periods. Some landlords are offering incentives to lock in occupancy and reduce turnover risk.

French global logistics provider CMA CGM has taken delivery of its 400th owned vessel, the CMA CGM MONTE CRISTO, marking the first in a series of six methanol-fueled container ships and advancing the company’s decarbonization strategy.

With a carrying capacity of 15,000 twenty foot-equivalent units (TEUs), the 366-meter long ship will enter commercial service on 29 January 2026 in Ningbo, on the BEX2 – Phoenician Express service, connecting North Asia with the Levant and the Adriatic Sea.

By adding the CMA CGM MONTE CRISTO, the company reaches a milestone of 400 owned vessels, within a total fleet of more than 650 vessels worldwide. The boat becomes the 11th methanol container ship in the CMA CGM fleet, out of a total of 24 such vessels on order. Together, they are part of the company’s stated plan to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2050.

In addition to its own fleet of vessels, CMA CGM is now marking 10 years as part of OCEAN Alliance, which it calls the world’s largest maritime network for the future of global trade. Recently extended until at least 2032, OCEAN Alliance operates 41 service routes by supporting a network of ships operated by its partner firms, the CMA CGM Group, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen and OOCL. Together, they deploy 394 container ships—including 130 CMA CGM vessels—hauling a total capacity of 5.3 million TEUs.

Class 1 rail operator Norfolk Southern is advancing its fleet modernization plan by adding 40 new locomotives, saying they will provide fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, enhanced reliability, and crew comfort.

The engines from Wabtec mark the railroad’s first new locomotive purchase since 2022, and are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2026.

According to Norfolk Southern, the model ES44AC locomotives add reliability by using the newest generation of control systems, which enable real-time remote diagnostics and live operational views, like an IT department accessing a computer screen. This innovation will help reduce delays by spotting potential issues before they become larger problems.

With about 1,600 high-horsepower locomotives currently active, this investment ensures Norfolk Southern remains highly competitive and continues delivering on customer goals efficiently, the company said.

While the total number of supply chain crime incidents remained relatively stable in 2025, estimated losses surged 60% to nearly $725 million as organized criminal groups increasingly focused on high value shipments, according to CargoNet.

CargoNet’s annual analysis showed that the average value per theft rose to $273,990, up 36% from $202,364 in 2024.

By the raw numbers, CargoNet recorded 3,594 supply chain crime events across the United States and Canada in 2025, essentially unchanged from the 3,607 events reported in 2024. However, incidents involving confirmed cargo theft rose sharply, increasing 18% year-over-year from 2,243 to 2,646.

Sorted by targeted commodities, food and beverage products experienced the largest increase, with 708 thefts, a 47% jump from 2024. And metal theft rose 77%, driven by ongoing demand for copper products.

Meanwhile, theft of consumer-grade electronics such as televisions and personal computers declined. In contrast, criminals increasingly targeted enterprise computer components and cryptocurrency mining hardware. Another hot target was vehicle-related products—including tires, auto parts, and motor oils—with a notable focus on engines and components bound for domestic vehicle assembly plants.

Looking into the new year, CargoNet expects continued targeting of high-value technology products in 2026, particularly RAM modules, storage drives, and enterprise computing equipment. Theft by deception groups are anticipated to increase their focus on misdirecting shipments tendered to legitimate carriers, sidestepping compliance controls that have traditionally centered on the tendering process itself.

Another factor that could increase cargo theft is the White House’s rising focus on nondomiciled CDL enforcement, CargoNet said. That’s because many complex cargo theft schemes rely on acquiring existing motor carriers with strong load histories. Increased enforcement may now reduce available capacity and expand the pool of carriers for sale, potentially creating new opportunities for criminal enterprises to establish fraudulent operations.

“Criminal enterprises are becoming more selective and sophisticated, targeting extremely high value shipments rather than relying on opportunistic theft,” Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk CargoNet, said in a release. “This strategic shift explains how losses can rise 60 percent even as overall incident volume holds steady.”

Railroad giant Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) said today it had ordered 30 Tier 4 locomotives from Progress Rail to be built in Indiana in 2026, continuing the renewal of its locomotive fleet as part of an ongoing, multi-year $800 million investment.

The order follows a previous order that will see the pending delivery of 70 Tier 4 units built in Texas by Wabtec, and also the purchase of 100 more Wabtec Tier 4 locomotives built in Texas in 2025.

More specifically, in January, CPKC expects to receive the first two of 70 Wabtec Evolution Series ET44AC Tier 4 locomotives being built this year for CPKC at the company's manufacturing facility in Dallas, Texas. And in the second half of 2026, CPKC expects to take delivery of 30 new EMD SD70ACe-T4 Tier 4 freight locomotives to be manufactured at Progress Rail's facility in Muncie, Indiana. These locomotives are part of an order for 65 new Tier 4 locomotives to be built by Progress Rail.

"Our purchase of additional new Tier 4 locomotives, proudly made in the USA, continues CPKC's commitment to renew our locomotive fleet through a more than US$800 million investment in American manufacturing capacity," said Mark Redd, CPKC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "We are investing in our road locomotive fleet for growth and to maintain our industry-leading service for our customers and the North American economy, powered by a fleet with improved reliability and fuel efficiency."

Transport and logistics provider DSV has broken ground on its new, $14.5 million Arizona regional headquarters, saying the 950,000-square foot facility will serve as a hub for air, sea, and road transport, as well as contract logistics, including inventory management solutions.

According to DSV, the facility's location in Mesa, Arizona, provides close access to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, major transportation routes, and proximity to key semiconductor manufacturers, enhancing DSV's ability to serve semiconductor, consumer products, technology, and other industries in the region with specialized logistics solutions.

The consolidation of DSV's operations into this single location offers clients concentrated expertise and improved efficiency through a wide range of transport and logistics services under one roof. When completed in early 2027, it will serve as the company's key logistics hub for the southwestern United States.

Workflow platform provider Vector today said it has acquired YardView, a vendor of yard management and dock visibility, saying the move will expand its capabilities across gate, yard, dock, and document workflows for logistics networks.

By unifying its digital workflows with YardView's real-time asset tracking, Vector said it will close the "visibility gap" between the transfer of custody. The acquisition addresses growing demand for unified, real-time yard execution as logistics operators face labor constraints, rising detention costs, and increasing pressure to digitize handoffs across the supply chain, the San Francisco-based company said.

"By combining Vector's e-BOL powered workflows with YardView's dock and visibility solutions, we're creating a comprehensive offering that addresses the full spectrum of yard operations," said Will Chu, Vector co-founder and CEO. "This acquisition allows us to serve our customers more completely, from small operations to complex enterprise environments."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the firms said that YardView President Nathan Harris, who has led the company for more than 10 years, will retain equity ownership and continue to advise the business. And YardView Chief Operating Officer Heather Giordano will lead the YardView business unit inside Vector.

The Chicago freight broker Echo Global Logistics Inc. has agreed to acquire ITS Logistics, a third-party logistics provider (3PL) based in Reno, Nevada, saying the combined companies will become a transportation and logistics platform with revenue of $5.4 billion.

Founded in 1999, ITS Logistics is known for its drop trailer and trailer pool program, DropFleet, as well as its capabilities in dedicated capacity, intermodal and drayage solutions, freight security, omnichannel fulfillment, and sustainability-focused transportation strategies, the firms said.

Echo said its technology platform leverages automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to support pricing, capacity sourcing, shipment execution, and exception management.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but ITS Logistics will continue operating with its existing leadership team.

"Joining forces with Echo marks an exciting new chapter for ITS Logistics," ITS CEO Scott Pruneau said in a release. "Echo's truckload brokerage scale, managed transportation platform, strong cross-border capabilities, and broad multimodal offering — combined with its technology platform and AI-driven innovation — will enable us to elevate our service offerings and provide enhanced value to our customers. Together, we will be well equipped to help customers navigate the increasing complexity of today's supply chain, offering smarter, more connected execution and powerful solutions that drive results."

The hype around humanoid robots is outpacing the technology’s readiness for large-scale deployment, according to Gartner research released today.

The business and technology insights company said that over the next two years, less than 100 companies will progress humanoid robot proofs of concept beyond experimentation, with fewer than 20 companies going live in production for supply chain and manufacturing use cases. Most production deployments of humanoid robots during this time will remain limited to tightly controlled environments, rather than in dynamic and high-throughput supply chain operations, the research firm said.

Humanoid robots, which mimic the human body, are attracting attention from chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) seeking solutions to workforce challenges and rising labor costs. Such robots feature AI-enabled systems, advanced sensors, and machine learning algorithms intended to dynamically adapt to multiple tasks.

Although the technology holds promise, Gartner said humanoids aren’t ready for the rigors of manufacturing and supply chain work in the near term.

“The promise of humanoid robots is compelling, but the reality is that the technology remains immature and far from meeting expectations for versatility and cost-effectiveness,” Abdil Tunca, senior principal analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a statement about the research. “CSCOs must carefully evaluate readiness and avoid overcommitting resources to solutions that cannot yet deliver on their potential.”

Gartner said humanoids face key barriers to adoption in supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing, including:

• Technological limitations: Current models lack the dexterity, intelligence, and adaptability required for complex, unstructured environments such as mixed-SKU [stock-keeping unit] picking, trailer unloading, or exception handling in high-velocity warehouses.
• Integration complexity: Compatibility with existing systems and workflows remains a challenge.
• High costs: Substantial upfront investment and ongoing maintenance expenses must be weighed against uncertain returns. With the current technology and costs, humanoids cost multiple times more than task specific polyfunctional robots while delivering lower throughput and uptime.
• Energy constraints: Limited battery life restricts operational time for high-mobility tasks.

The industry is likely to see more immediate gains from polyfunctional robots, which are optimized for flexibility and are not constrained by a human-like design, according to the report. The researchers cited an example: A polyfunctional robot with wheels and a telescopic arm can move boxes, pick cases, scan inventory, and perform inspections, usually with higher uptime and using less energy than a humanoid that is attempting the same tasks. Polyfunctional robots can integrate features that enhance efficiency and durability, making them better suited for dynamic supply chain environments.

“Companies with a high-risk appetite and focus on innovation are the best candidates for pursuing humanoid robots at present, given the unproven capabilities of these solutions, and related lack of clarity for return on investment,” said Caleb Thomson, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “For the majority of companies that will need to prioritize robots that maximize throughput-per-dollar invested, we expect polyfunctional robots to be the superior solution.”

To navigate investment decisions, Gartner advises CSCOs to:

• Pursue pilot programs to validate feasibility before committing to full-scale deployment.
• Collaborate with emerging providers to influence product development and align solutions with operational needs.
• Implement continuous monitoring to track performance and guide iterative improvements.
• Foster a culture of innovation that supports experimentation and calculated risk-taking.
• Prioritize outcome-driven automation that targets specific bottlenecks, rather than generalized “headcount reduction” strategies, which is also less risky from an investment standpoint.

The French logistics software provider Hardis Supply Chain today said it is expanding its operations into North America, supporting accelerating U.S. demand for cloud-based and automated logistics solutions.

Hardis Supply Chain supports users such as retailers, manufacturers, and third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and calls itself one of Europe’s leading providers of warehouse management system (WMS), order management system (OMS), and cloud & automation software.

Beyond its core WMS capabilities, Hardis Supply Chain says it is progressively expanding its platform to enable greater orchestration, real-time visibility, and collaboration across the extended supply chain network. Its catalog of technologies includes: WMS, OMS, In-Store Logistics, SC Network (including control tower, 3PL customer portal, appointment scheduling, and claims management), Transportation Management, Labor Management, and WCS Master and Automation Module (a built-in WES layer that orchestrates robotics, AMRs, conveyors, and mechanized systems).

“Expanding to North America is a natural next step in our global growth,” Nicolas Odet, CEO of Hardis Supply Chain, said in a release. “We are bringing our cloud-native technology and logistics expertise to support both multinational customers and North American companies as they modernize and scale their supply chain operations.”

Transportation and supply chain solution provider A. Duie Pyle today said it has broken ground on an integrated logistics campus designed to support warehouse operations, less than truckload (LTL) cross-dock services, and transloading moves in the Norfolk region, specifically serving the Port of Virginia.

The company purchased the 43-acre site in Suffolk, Virginia, from Rockefeller Group and Matan Companies, which operate a planned logistics facility called Port 460. Pyle now plans to build a 52-door LTL cross-dock and 200,000 square feet of warehouse (expandable to 420,000 square feet) under one roof, with an estimated completion date of Q2 2027.

According to Pyle, that approach will enable its customers to benefit from a more integrated solution that combines storage, transportation, and immediate access to Pyle’s final-mile network. Service offerings will include warehousing and distribution, transloading, LTL, contract dedicated services, drayage, and truckload management brokerage services.

“Our expansion in the Suffolk–Norfolk market reflects a strategic response to the rapidly evolving demands of today’s supply chain,” said Frank Granieri, Chief Commercial Officer at A. Duie Pyle. “In recent years, shippers have navigated unprecedented disruptions, elevating the need for speed, resilience and adaptability across their networks. By establishing this integrated warehouse and LTL service center near the Port of Virginia, we’re not just enhancing our capacity; we’re addressing the pressing need for more efficient, adaptive solutions that streamline operations in a high-demand market.”

Supply chain tech provider Mytra has raised $120 million in funding for its industrial robotics and software-defined automation platforms, adding to previous strategic backing from Lineage and RyderVentures, the corporate venture capital arm of Ryder System, Inc.

The “series C” round was led by Avenir Growth. New investors Kivu Ventures, Liquid 2, D. E. Shaw, and Offline Ventures also joined the round, alongside existing investors Eclipse, Greenoaks, Abstract Ventures, and Promus Ventures.

According to California-based Mytra, its technology is needed because material handling and movement represent nearly 50% of manufacturing labor, yet look fundamentally the same as they did a century ago. And that has resulted in more than 400,000 open industrial roles today, heading toward 2 million by 2030, with turnover rates of 50-200%.

In addition, roughly 60% of warehouse footprint is dead space — aisles and clearance that add cost but no value. And approximately 80% of industrial facilities have zero automation because of cost, complexity, and limited flexibility once installed. But Mytra says it abstracts material flow into software-defined primitives — move, store, pick, route — that standardize operations and make every cubic foot of space addressable.

"Most warehouses and industrial facilities can't access the benefits of automation because legacy systems are too costly and inflexible," said Jamie Reynolds, Co-Founder at Avenir Growth. "We believe Mytra represents a fundamental reimagining: a universal system for material flow that breaks free from legacy constraints.”