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持机器人自动化来解决物流设施的生产力紧缩(英).pdf
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itif.org
Why Policymakers Should Support
Robotic Automation to Solve the
Productivity Crunch in Logistics Facilities
MORGAN STEVENS | JUNE 2023
As consumers continue to buy more goods online, logistics facilities will face greater demand to
deliver goods across the country in a timely manner. Policymakers should promote robotic
adoption and innovation to improve labor productivity, worker safety, delivery times, and supply
chain resiliency.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
As e-commerce in United States has grown, logistics facilities in the United States have
hired more workers to meet consumer demand.
However, labor productivity within logistic facilities has declined because workers now
process a greater variety of goods and ship these products directly to consumers.
Advances in robots have created opportunities to automate many of the processes within
these facilities.
Automation can improve worker safety, create high-value jobs, lower error rates, increase
shipping speeds, improve supply chain resiliency, lower prices, and boost productivity.
Policymakers should support robotic adoption and innovation to increase automation and
productivity in logistics facilities.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION | JUNE26 2023 PAGE 2
CONTENTS
Key Takeaways ................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3
Retail E-commerce in the United States ............................................................................... 5
Logistics Facilities in the E-commerce Industry ..................................................................... 8
Types of Logistics Facilities ............................................................................................. 8
Inbound Cross-Dock Facilities ....................................................................................... 8
E-fulfillment Centers .................................................................................................... 8
Sortation Centers ......................................................................................................... 8
Delivery Stations.......................................................................................................... 9
Local Freight Stations .................................................................................................. 9
Fast Delivery Hubs ....................................................................................................... 9
Logistics Facility Functions .............................................................................................. 9
Receiving Goods .......................................................................................................... 9
Storing and Order Picking ........................................................................................... 10
Shipping Goods ......................................................................................................... 12
The Benefits of Robotics Automation Within Logistics Facilities ............................................ 12
Improving Worker Safety ................................................................................................ 12
Increasing Labor Productivity ......................................................................................... 13
Using Space More Efficiently ......................................................................................... 13
Trends in the Warehouse Robotics Market ........................................................................... 13
The Case for Government Policy ......................................................................................... 15
Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 16
Enact Proactive Tax Policies That Reward Investment in Automation and Robotics .............. 16
Prioritize Robotics Automation in Government Warehouses ................................................ 17
Target Innovation Funding to Robotics ............................................................................ 17
Increase Funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology ........................... 17
Modernize Standards for Industrial Mobile Robots in Warehouse Settings ........................... 18
Support Small Logistics and Warehousing Businesses ....................................................... 19
Offer a Robot Award ...................................................................................................... 19
Raise the Minimum Wage .............................................................................................. 19
Support Workers Displaced by Automation ....................................................................... 19
Establish a National Robotics Strategy Advisory Committee ............................................... 20
Endnotes ......................................................................................................................... 21
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION | JUNE26 2023 PAGE 3
INTRODUCTION
The warehousing and storage industry needs to improve its productivity through automation, or it
will risk delaying growth in the broader wholesale and retail trade sectors to the detriment of
producers, consumers, and its own workers.
The warehousing and storage industry itself accounts for just 0.4 percent of the U.S. economy.
1
But with e-commerce expanding, it has an outsized impact on the fortunes of many other
industries across the economy, serving as the logistical nerve center for millions of packages per
day shuttling between firms and to and from consumers.
2
Since 2015, it has strained to meet
growing demand for its services.
3
At the same time, the industry’s output has surged 39 percent.
Meanwhile, its labor productivity has decreased by 35 percent.
4
To make up the difference,
workers’ hours have ballooned 170 percent, increasing safety risks and decreasing job quality.
The obvious solution to the productivity crunch in warehousing and storage is to increase robotic
automation: Firms need to adopt technologies to help workers accomplish more per hour.
Increasing the use of robots would improve worker safety and job quality, lower shipping errors,
speed order time, increase supply chain resiliency, boost productivity, and lower prices.
Yet, despite the advances in robotics, adoption has been slow, largely because of their cost and
the difficulty of retrofitting existing warehouses with new and modern technologies. It is clearly
in the national interest for the United States to lead in robotic adoption of logistics facilities. As
such, Congress and the Biden administration should take the following steps:
1. Enact tax policies that encourage investment in automation and robotics. Rational companies
invest in new equipment if its after-tax net present value is greater than the cost of the
investment. As such, tax policy plays a big role in investment decisions. At minimum,
Congress should restore legislation allowing companies to expense first-year capital
equipment investments.
5
Doing so would enable more robotic investments to meet the
hurdle rate for capital investments. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act contained a
provision permitting companies to fully expense qualified equipment the year it was
placed into service. Unfortunately, that provision is phasing out this year. Congress
should permanently extend it.
6
And of course, Congress should resist neo-Luddite calls to
tax robots, as such taxes would lower ROI and discourage firms from investing in robotic
tools that could improve productivity.
7
Rather, Congress should restore the investment tax
credit for new machinery and equipment that was eliminated in 1986.
2. Prioritize robotic automation in government warehouses. Agencies such as the United States
Postal Service (USPS), Department of Defense (DOD), and Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) utilize warehouses in pursuit of their missions. Agency officials should
prioritize warehouse automation to demonstrate the benefits of adoption and enable
further development of robotic systems. And Congress should provide funding for both
agencies to implement state-of-the art programs to automate their facilities.
3. Increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for robotics research. The new
NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) was charged by
Congress to focus on 10 critical technologies, including robotics. As they implement this
legislation, NSF should prioritize robotics research. To that end, Congress should increase
funding for the NSF by at least $500 million for robotics research.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION | JUNE26 2023 PAGE 4
4. Target funding to robotics research. Congress should increase funding for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (MEP). The agency should then use this funding to support projects that
advance research in automation and autonomous robots.
8
In addition, Congress should
broaden the MEP mandate to include assisting small logistics and warehousing
companies.
5. Modernize safety standards for machinery in industrial settings. The National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) should work with researchers, private
companies, and government agencies responsible for setting workplace standards to
modernize standards for machinery in warehouses and other industrial settings. Current
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards limit facility managers
and robotics companies from developing new robotic systems and integrating them into
industrial settings. NIOSH should develop new performance-based standards that enable
companies to safely experiment with robotic systems.
6. Support small logistics and warehousing companies. The Small Business Administration
(SBA) should expand its Manufacturing Office to include support for logistics and
warehousing companies. Allowing small logistics and warehousing companies to take
advantage of the same resources as manufacturing companies would promote innovation
and resiliency in each industry and the broader supply chain.
7. Create a national robotics awards program. The Department of Commerce (DOC) should
add a complement to the Malcolm Baldridge Quality Award, a presidential award to
recognize companies for performance excellence, by creating a robotics automation award
to recognize outstanding achievements in the use of robotics to boost productivity.
9
Improved recognition could encourage additional research and development in robotics
and boost adoption, including by the warehouse industry.
8. Raise the minimum wage. Congress should raise the federal minimum wage to at least $12
an hour and index it to inflation to encourage the warehousing and storage industry to
invest in automation.
10
As the e-commerce industry continues to grow, raising the
minimum wage will incentivize firms to invest in automation to improve labor
productivity.
9. Support workers displaced by automation. Automation in warehouses will replace some
tasks and may cause warehouse workers to lose their jobs, although much of this could be
through attrition. Policymakers should improve job training and unemployment
compensation programs. By partnering with local organizations to offer job training to
displaced workers and permitting program attendees to receive unemployment
compensation during training, policymakers can mitigate the effects of economic
displacement.
11
10. Launch an advisory committee for robotics innovation and adoption. Congress should pass
legislation directing DOC to create an advisory committee to develop a strategy supporting
robotics innovation and adoption. In devising a strategy, the committee should create
recommendations that advance robotics research, promote adoption by both the public
and private sectors, support the workforce, and more.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION | JUNE26 2023 PAGE 5
RETAIL E-COMMERCE IN THE UNITED STATES
The retail industry has experienced significant changes in recent years as e-commerce platforms
enabled consumers to purchase a wide variety of goods online. There have been four primary
changes.
First, consumers increasingly purchase goods online instead of visiting a brick-and-mortar
location. Between 2002 and 2022, e-commerce retail sales grew from 1.4 percent of total sales
in the United States to 14.7 percent.
12
Similarly, according to Pitney Bowes, a U.S.-based
shipping and mailing company, 11.8 billion parcels were shipped in the United States in 2015
while 21.2 billion parcels were shipped in 2022.
13
This increase in demand has resulted in
facilities processing more orders than ever before.
Second, retailers give consumers opportunities to purchase a wider variety of products.
14
By
shopping online, customers can purchase more products than would be available in a brick-and-
mortar store. As a result, logistics facility workers must handle many distinct goods, which
creates more complexity to account for all orders flowing through a facility.
Third, consumers who shop online have become accustomed to receiving their purchases within
a few days or less because many online retailers commit to shipping and delivering orders in a
timely manner. For example, Amazon offers free one-day or same-day delivery in the United
States for more than 20 million select goods.
15
To meet customers’ expectations for quick
deliveries, companies have had to adapt to consumers’ expectations and process orders faster
than in the past.
Fourth, many retailers operate an omnichannel distribution model, enabling consumers to
purchase goods online, in-store, or in a hybrid of the two.
16
Under such a model, logistics facility
workers may ship orders to stores, special pick-up points, or a customers’ home. This variety of
destinations makes it more difficult for workers to pack and transport online orders, as they
cannot necessarily be grouped together during the picking and shipping process.
As a result of these dynamics, logistics facilities needed to sort higher quantities of smaller
goods at quicker rates.
17
As a result, labor productivity—the ratio of output to hours worked—in
the logistics facilities used to store and distribute goods has declined.
18
As shown in figure 1, the
annual percentage increase in hours worked has exceeded the annual percentage increase in
output since 2015 and, as a result, labor productivity in logistics facilities has declined.
19
This development is likely due to the pace at which the e-commerce industry has grown, the
challenges warehouse employees face when picking orders, and the COVID-19 pandemic. To
address more demand from e-commerce, logistics facilities have hired more workers.
20
In 2021,
the general warehousing and storage industry in the United States employed 1,578,300 workers,
up from 651,300 in 2014.
21
Moreover, as seen in figure 2, the yearly percentage changes in
employment from 2014 to 2021 generally outpaced yearly percent changes in employment
before that time period, indicating that the rate of hiring has increased within the sector.
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