Latest news with #LongBeach
Fast Company
3 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
AI in the supply chain helps us work smarter, not harder
You've probably heard about AI impacting parts of the supply chain, like in a warehouse where AI-driven robots work alongside humans, or the last mile, where AI helps efficiently route packages to your front door. But how about the first mile in the supply chain? When that container ship from Shanghai reaches Long Beach harbor, someone needs to move your package from ship to shore to the sorting facility. This crucial handoff happens in the world of 'drayage'—where trucking companies navigate ports and rail yards, connecting international shipping to domestic distribution. Drayage has a reputation of being an old-school, traditional industry that relies on phone calls and spreadsheets instead of the latest shiny technology. My opinion? It's an unfair stereotype that's becoming less and less true. I see the technological transformation firsthand at my company, PortPro. Many companies are adopting AI with enthusiasm as they see how much more efficient it can make their operations and how it can save them money in this low-margin industry. AI has arrived in the supply chain—in the first mile, the last mile, and everything in between—and it's making supply chain operators work smarter instead of harder. A lot of time-consuming work can clog up drayage operations and teams. Before AI, planning, routing, and dispatching had to be done manually. Truth be told, there's no time to waste in this chaotic segment, which actually makes it the perfect industry to embrace AI. Take the example of dispatching. There are so many variables in the process, like which load should move when, and which driver should haul which freight. Manually assessing all of those is a time-consuming process. This is where AI comes in. It can automatically suggest how to match drivers to shipments, cutting down hours of manual work. We see drayage carriers using AI to monitor when containers are arriving at the port, which triggers an automatic notification to truck dispatchers letting them know the load is ready. No need for a human to constantly monitor the schedule (trust me, it's almost as dull as watching paint dry!). Agentic AI, which thinks, learns, and takes action just like a human, is particularly useful in drayage. All of our customers use a transportation management system to house their data related to trucks, drivers, invoices, customers, and much more, so AI uses that context and makes suggestions, answers questions, or makes decisions based on that data. Plus, drayage firms are using AI agents to automate common tasks like automatically updating spreadsheets, something they traditionally do manually that takes them hours and hours. It's all about efficiency and accuracy in this fast-paced industry. Drayage companies also get flooded with customer emails, which could take hours of manual labor to respond to. Now, with AI-enabled tools, these companies can automatically index and filter emails by associating an email with a specific load or quote, customer request, organization, person, or other related information. It can also summarize long email threads, automate quoting, recommend actions to take, automate key data entry, and, over time, learn to improve and better anticipate needs for even more efficiency and automation. Perhaps most importantly, AI frees up brain power among supply chain leaders. Instead of feeling drained at the end of the day after manually sifting through and categorizing emails, they can redirect their efforts to a task that feels empowering, rewarding, and energizing: growing the business. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF AI How can supply chain leaders maximize the benefits of AI they're starting to incorporate? AI's capabilities are immense, but it's about more than just adopting the tool and being done with it. AI works best when it can rely on high-quality, real-time data. The more supply chain execs update their systems with current information, the more the AI can digest that data to improve supply chain operations. If leaders started with one use case—let's say last-mile logistics—they can expand AI across other related supply chain departments, like procurement or warehousing. Employees are an important piece of the puzzle, too. Train them on how to work with AI, using the tech for mundane tasks while freeing themselves to work on the strategic functions that matter most. This is how AI enables us as people to work smarter and not harder. AI: A CHAIN REACTION By July of last year, 78% of respondents in a McKinsey study said their organizations use AI in at least one business function, up from 72% in early 2024 and 55% the year before. Drayage trucking companies are not willing to fall behind and be part of the minority showing hesitation toward AI. In an industry like supply chain where everything is linked, efficiency (or lack thereof) in one part of the supply chain ripples to the next. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. That's one of the reasons it's so fascinating to see AI improve efficiency in the first mile. If we can shave minutes off a process early on in the supply chain, like booking an appointment to get a container or instantly assigning a driver to a load, those minutes can compound and save hours as the product moves through the supply chain. It might even inspire other links in the supply chain to explore how they can adopt AI to solve their unique inefficiencies and bottlenecks. In a supply chain that embraces AI, goods spend less time sitting around. Data and movements are more accurate and less prone to error. The supply chain as a whole becomes smarter, more efficient, and more accurate—and the people behind it are working smarter, not harder.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Molina Healthcare Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?
Valued at a market cap of $16 billion, Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH) is a provider of managed healthcare services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and through the state insurance marketplaces. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, the company operates in four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally labeled as 'large-cap' stocks, and Molina Healthcare fits this criterion perfectly. The company focuses on underserved communities and operates health plans across multiple U.S. states. It emphasizes cost-effective and quality healthcare access to patients. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Says 'We Are Heading Towards a World Where AI Will Just Have Unbelievable Context on Your Life' Archer Aviation Is Betting Big on Its Fledgling Defense Business. Does That Make ACHR Stock a Buy Here? Unusual Call Options Activity in Marvell Technology Highlights the Value of MRVL Stock Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. Molina Healthcare stock has dropped 19.1% from its 52-week high of $365.23. Shares of MOH have decreased 6.9% over the past three months, slightly underperforming the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 6.5% increase. In the long term, shares of Molina Healthcare have dipped 3.5% over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind the SPX's 9% return over the same time frame. Additionally, MOH stock has gained 1.5% on a YTD basis, whereas the SPX has risen 1.7%. The stock has been trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since late May. Molina Healthcare stock fell 5.5% following Q1 2025 results on Apr. 23. The company reported revenue of $11.2 billion, marking an increase of 12.2% from the year-ago quarter, beating the Street forecasts. Meanwhile, its adjusted EPS came in at $6.08, up 6.1% year-over-year, surpassing the analysts' estimate. However, the decline in stock was driven by rising medical costs, with the medical care ratio increasing to 89.2% due to higher-than-expected utilization in long-term care and behavioral health. In contrast, Centene Corporation (CNC) has lagged behind MOH stock. Shares of CNC have declined nearly 9% on a YTD basis and 16.9% over the past 52 weeks. Even though MOH has underperformed relative to SPX, analysts are moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of 'Moderate Buy' from the 16 analysts covering it, and it is currently trading below the mean price target of $358.64. On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Vogue
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Shoshana von Blanckensee on Her Glowing, Gay Gem of a Debut Novel, Girls Girls Girls
The sexy, slightly sinister promise of the pink, neon-lit GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS signs that so often hang in strip clubs is fulfilled—and then some—in writer and oncology nurse Shoshana von Blanckensee's debut novel of the same name (out now from Penguin Random House). The book follows a young, queer Jewish woman named Hannah as she and her clandestine high-school lover Sam drive their van from Long Beach, New York to San Francisco in search of a gay and lesbian scene that can match their high, high hopes for their post-high-school futures in the mid-1990s. Photo: Chloe Sherman What Hannah and Sam ultimately discover in the Tenderloin isn't exactly Disneyland; short on cash, both girls start stripping at a local institution called the Chez Paree (or, as its workers derisively call it, the 'Cheese Parade') and Hannah soon finds herself doing complex, nebulous escort work for an older butch patron she meets at the club. While her love story with Sam proves difficult to sustain amid the glitter and grime of San Francisco's queer world, the story that Hannah writes for herself as she grows up, finds work that fits her, and learns to value her relationships with family back home—including her loving, supportive Bubbe—is very much worth reading. Vogue spoke to von Blanckensee about Bay Area nostalgia, drawing inspiration from a lifetime's worth of body work, the evolution of the word 'dyke,' her hope for young queer readers everywhere, and more. Vogue: What drew you to set this book in the richly lesbian world of early-'90s San Francisco? Shoshana von Blanckensee: Well, that's the only lesbian world I know. It's what I lived. The book became fictionalized over time, but it started from lived experience. It was really important to me to create the San Francisco I knew, so all the businesses and places that people congregated actually existed and were all there at the time. The opening night of the lesbian bar the Lexington is set accurately at the time that it opened. I really wanted it to be precisely that world. What do you miss most about that era of San Francisco? I actually just miss being in a bubble of queer art that was exploding. It was pre-cell phones, really, so we were all just in the streets. We weren't in our homes, scrolling. You'd just go somewhere, and people would be there, and there was an art event almost every night of some kind. I miss just wandering around the Mission, going to the Bearded Lady or the Lexington and knowing you were going to see people, and feeling that creative vibe of everybody making art like there was no tomorrow, even though the idea was that none of it was going to get out to the broader world. But that didn't matter.
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
This Is Ground Zero in Trump's Trade War
Normally, the towering green crane in the Everport Terminal at the Port of Los Angeles would be busy unloading hulking container ships. Longshoremen below would flit around in 'bomb carts' used to ferry containers from the ship. Big rigs would carry off imported furniture, car parts and clothing to other parts of the country. But on a recent Thursday morning, the 300-foot crane sat idle, a casualty of the tariffs that President Trump has imposed to curb foreign trade. Almost a fifth of the 99 boats that Gene Seroka, the port's chief executive, had expected to arrive in May were canceled. 'It's a very quiet day,' Mr. Seroka said. 'This is the impact that the tariffs have had.' The Port of Los Angeles, along with a nearby facility in Long Beach, makes up a shipping complex that stretches across nearly 75 miles of Southern California shoreline. The ports are a bellwether for trade and the U.S. economy. Together, they move an astonishing 40 percent of the goods that come into the United States via containers. They also account for 30 percent of what the country exports. As Mr. Trump's chaotic and aggressive tariff strategy has seesawed this year, activity here has, too. That has threatened the livelihood of the roughly 100,000 workers at the port complex and complicated life for the hundreds of thousands of companies that bring goods through the port each year. The trends at the port hint at the pain that will ripple through the broader economy in the coming months, as fewer and higher-priced goods travel from ports and warehouses to American stores and consumers. The ports experienced a surge of activity this year when shippers rushed to bring in goods ahead of tariffs that reached their highest levels in a century. That rush has faded, and trade has become more sluggish. With higher tariffs set to snap back within weeks, both importers and port workers remain cautious, unsure of what their futures will hold. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
What a shorter race at the Olympics means for New Zealand rowers
Rowing at the Tokyo Olympics Photo: Steve McArthur PHOTOSPORT New Zealand has a strong history in 1500 metres at the Olympics, but it's not in rowing. For the first and possibly only time, the Los Angeles 2028 rowing regatta will be raced over 1500 metres rather than the usual 2000 metres. Organisers of the games decided that the Olympic rowing regatta would be held at the Long Beach Marine Stadium, the venue for the 1932 Olympics. The other possibility was a site 110km away, but costs and impact on the environment made it a less desirable option. The problem with the Long Beach Stadium is that since 1932 a bridge has been built at one end while marinas have also been added, reducing the usable length to 1500m. At the time of the decision the World Rowing Federation said, "It will require some adaptation, for the athletes in the first place, but it shows our ability to adapt without changing the core nature of our sport." They felt that being closer to the city allowed the sport and fans to feel closer to the Olympics. So what does it means for New Zealand rowers? New Zealand has been one of the most successful nations at the last four Olympics and in Tokyo finished as the top ranked nation with three gold and two silver medals. Rowing New Zealand's GM of Performance Judith Hamilton said the plan was reluctantly agreed to at the time, but the decision did give everyone enough time to plan. "We do a number of in-house races at that distance so it's not an issue to us," Hamilton told RNZ. Will a change of race plan or athlete training be required? "The tactics and the strategy on how you attack a race will change so it's how we get our athletes used to that. "There will certainly be more emphasis on being powerful. Really efficient and higher rating athletes will probably have an advantage." The Marine Stadium Long Beach venue for the LA28 rowing regatta. Photo: SUPPLIED / LA28 However, there isn't anything that Rowing New Zealand will have to change immediately. "I'm not expecting we'll see that really until year three of the Olympic cycle (2027) when it comes to qualification." Even the final Olympic qualifying regatta which will be held in 2028 will be raced over 2000m. "So it's a little bit of an enigma but it has been well publicised so everyone knows what they're up for." Rowing is New Zealand's most successful sport at the Olympics with a total of 33 medals including 15 gold. The only medal won by New Zealand at the 1932 games in LA was in rowing, while New Zealand won a gold and bronze medal in the 1984 games in the city.
