'3D printing will disrupt trucking, shipping and delivery industries'

© Ben Bibikov

Although its methodology remains untested, new figures from one survey suggest that “3D printing could threaten 41% of air cargo, 37% of ocean container and 25% of trucking business”, as there is just less need for the transporting of finished or semi-finished goods around the world, other than the composite material that 3D printing uses. The long-term implications however, are about far more than the mere transport of stuff, as this long article from Trucks.com shows – for example, who knew that Amazon now has patents filed for mobile 3D printers housed in its delivery vehicles?