Channel 9 Forums - Coffeehouse - Longshoremen strike could spur new investments in automation?

Coffeehouse - Longshoremen strike could spur new investments in automation?

Bass — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:02:04 GMT

What do you guys think? Considering that longshoremen make in excess of $120k a year and have great benefits, so it's not a "cheap human labor" vs "expensive automation" issue like Foxxconn et al.

A lot of the jobs they do are not the most difficult to automate, in fact in some countries they've started automate ports quite extensively. Do you think this is feasible in the USA? It's worth noting that the longshoremen unions are aware of the threat of automation and fight against it as one of the core missions, so it is not just a technical issue.

Coffeehouse - Longshoremen strike could spur new investments in automation?

Proton2 — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 00:30:49 GMT

I worked for a company that automated filling the gas tank of a car.

http://www.ise.bc.ca/smartpump.html

The standard container greatly reduced the cost of shipping and helped bring in the modern global economy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_container

A lot of things can be automated. Wait till truck drivers are no longer required.

Coffeehouse - Longshoremen strike could spur new investments in automation?

Bass — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 19:26:45 GMT

I think automating all the complexities of driving is a lot harder that automating a crane in a controlled environment, so I think automated trucks is a much longer ways off. My understanding is that some ports already partially or fully automate moving containers from ships to dock and from dock to truck.

Coffeehouse - Longshoremen strike could spur new investments in automation?

Blue Ink — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:40:34 GMT

@Bass: You summed it up nicely in your first post: it's a highly paid job, highly unionized and with immense leverage.

Which makes me think it's not going to happen.

I suspect we are more likely to see automated airplanes first.