To view this email as a web page, click here

                                                           
U.S.
 Chamber of Commerce
 
 

First Things First

 
 

Preparing for Driverless Vehicles

 
 

Preparing for Driverless Vehicles

 
 

An autonomous trucking company has been moving freight for UPS, over the last few months, The Verge reports.

UPS has had autonomous trucking startup TuSimple hauling cargo for it between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, since May as part of a newly publicized partnership between the two companies.

Earlier this year, TuSimple performed a similar test with the U.S. Postal Service to ship mail from Phoenix to Dallas, TX.

As autonomous technology improves, these vehicles will become a regular part of everyday life, moving not only freight but people.

Lawmakers and policymakers need to be ready for this. With the right policy framework in place that encourages innovation, the United States will be able to reap the rewards and be a world leader in this nascent industry.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Chamber’s Technology Engagement Center (C_TEC) released a set of automated vehicles policy principles developed by member companies to ensure the U.S. remains a leader:

  • Ensure a safety-first approach to regulating automated vehicles.
  • Encourage certainty through clearly delineating state, local, and federal regulatory responsibilities.
  • Promote technology and stakeholder-neutrality in testing, deployment, and standards development.
  • Support a consensus-based and industry-led approach to advance safe automated vehicle testing.
  • Modernize motor vehicle regulations and strengthen the existing exemption process.

“We’ve only begun to scratch the surface, but autonomous vehicles have the vast potential to increase road safety, enhance mobility for the elderly and people with disabilities, and improve our nation’s transportation efficiency,” said Tim Day, senior vice president of C_TEC. “To realize this potential, policymakers must take a safety-first and innovation-oriented approach to develop the appropriate policies regulating automated vehicles.”

 
 

Diving In

 
 

How has a Chicago butcher, Paulina Market, stayed in business for 70 years? By focusing on quality, adapting to the times, and listening to their customers:

Upon entering, one is immediately greeted with several things: a wooden pig head that feeds counter tickets from its mouth, a church pew that can sit an overflow crowd, and the smell of dozens of different meats (smoked and raw) wafting through the air. This, truly, is a butcher. Originally a German deli — the distinction is important — on Chicago’s North Side, Paulina has evolved with the times while remaining true to its roots.

“We’re always going to try to get the best [product]. If it’s not the best, we don’t keep it. We send it back,” said Bill Begale, the owner of the marketplace. Begale has been at Paulina since 1984, except for a brief stint with a cheese business, and has owned the marketplace since 2006 when he bought it from the sons of the founder, Sigmund Lekan. In 2009 he purchased the property as well.

“This used to be a strictly German market because this was a German neighborhood,” he explained. “But I saw a German deli not too far from here go out of business because they wanted to stay strictly German. And they’re gone.” Asked about the key to Paulina’s long-term success and sterling reputation, he cited consistency, “and always try[ing] to evolve with the times.”

At first glance, being consistent and being open to change seem to be concepts at odds with each other. But any visit to Paulina Market shows that not to be the case. What makes Paulina so lauded, so popular, so well-known, so respected is the attention to detail, both to its products and its customers.

“We always give [the customer] what they’re asking for,” Begale said. He then proceeded to list a sample of the ways the market has changed with the times: “When I started here in ’84 we had no freezers. Then we had freezers out there” — he pointed towards a corner — “and we had turkeys and gizzards and ducks and chickens. Then we started adding pastas, then soups. We have to offer other stuff,” he said, “while keeping the core of what we do.”

 
 

Have a business-related long read you want to share? Please email me.

 
 

The Big Picture

 
 

It’s corn dog season. Many parts of the country like Iowa are enjoying their state fairs.

 
 

It’s corn dog season. Many parts of the country like Iowa are enjoying their state fairs.

 
 

Looking Ahead

 
 

September 12, 2019: The BusinessH2O: Water Innovation Summit will showcase innovative water technologies and best practices that support economic growth in the driest places in the world.

October 24, 2019: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's national workforce conference, Talent Forward 2019, will convene education and workforce experts to discuss the future of talent and the future of work.

 
 
 

Please forward this newsletter to a friend. And don’t forget to send me your tips and comments. Also, keep up with latest business policy issues by bookmarking Above the Fold and following @seanhackbarth and @uschamber on Twitter.

 
 
 
 
 
 

This e-mail was sent by:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1615 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20062
This email was sent to: [email protected]
Unsubscribe or Manage your Above the Fold Subscriptions

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

"U.S. CHAMBER" and "U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE" are registered trademarks of the Chamber of  Commerce of the United States of America.