Industry Trends

Looking Forward to 2021 Despite Election Uncertainty Risks BY JASON SCHENKER, PRESTIGE ECONOMICS As we begin to plan for the year ahead, we need to look back at 2020, understand current uncertainties and be prepared for how they could cast a shadow on the year ahead. Fortunately, we also need to consider upside opportunities for the economy and material handling ...

BY NICOLE NELSON During COVID-19, so many companies and people have gone the extra mile to help out where help is needed. Whether it is providing PPE, a financial donation, a fundraiser, or a random act of kindness, these people are looking out for the greater good of both the industry and the people involved in it. Financially, physically and ...

BY MARY LOU JAY The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the supply chains of many sectors, and many companies are still feeling the aftershocks. As they try to get back to normal operations, businesses are pondering what they need to do to build supply chains that are, if not quite invincible, at least more resilient. These six strategies could increase their chance ...

BY SANDY SMITH As the spring 2020 season was upon us, magazines were touting some interesting new apparel trends: white dresses, neon colors, bootcut jeans and warm-weather leather. Then COVID-19 shut down retailers, sending us all to our sweatpants and T-shirts and leaving those white, leather, bootcut items unsold. A study by Boston Consulting Group, released by the Sustainable Apparel ...

BY KATIE KUEHNER-HEBERT Having an ergonomically designed warehouse and training workers how to safely perform physical tasks can improve their wellbeing and productivity—as well as potentially minimize workers’ compensation costs. Indeed, about a third to as much as half of all workers’ comp claims are associated with manual material handling tasks, according to CNA Insurance Co. Moreover, manual material handling ...

Welcome to this special issue of MHI Solutions, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of MHI.

What statistics say about the supply chain, its infrastructure—75 years ago, the present day and the future.

From 1850 when Sir William Fairbairn patented the industrial crane to 2020 when COVID-19 tested every joint in the supply chain, these are some of the milestones in the material handling industry.

On a timeline representing MHI’s rich 75-year history, the MHI Solutions Community doesn’t appear until almost the very end. But the group has made significant contributions to the industry in its short history, bringing together a variety of stakeholders and fostering an environment of collaboration.

Since 1952, the College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE), an independent organization founded by MHI, has provided the structure to help develop connections between industry and academic leaders that have allowed for a deep appreciation across the divide and a sharp understanding of the ways university-industry partnerships can lead to valuable insight and benefits to the material handling field.