Aspen Technology Inc., a vendor of optimization software for the process industries, has made generally available version 8.8 of aspenONE Engineering and aspenONE Manufacturing and Supply Chain.

Just as southern California is the nation's top magnet for containerized cargo, so is the Gulf Coast the most attractive hub for movements of petrochemicals. Led by Houston and New Orleans, petrochemical activity is thriving due in no small part to growth in refining activity and an abundance of cheap natural gas.

Penske plans to further introduce alternative fuels into its wider customer base in tandem with a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Fracking through the "shale gas revolution" created an economic boost during a time the economy needed all the help it could get, according to a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Fracking boosted the economy by $48bn per year between 2007-13, according to the study's authors: Catherine Hausman and Ryan Kellogg of the University of Michigan.

The United States is on track to saturate the global energy market with liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports by as early as this year, putting itself on course to become one of the world's largest LNG suppliers.

What would it take for manufacturing businesses to operate like the best online retailers? How can such companies turn orders around in a day, deliver them with greater customization, and replenish stocks seamlessly? These aren't idle questions for the top teams of manufacturers, because customers, across both B2C and B2B markets, are more fickle now; service demands are steadily notching upward; and economic volatility shows no sign of abating. Supply operations often struggle to keep pace, as many aren't sufficiently agile to capture fleeting upside opportunities or to mitigate fast-moving risks.