These are challenging times for emerging markets. China's economy is expanding at the slowest pace in more than a decade, and annual growth in once-booming nations like Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa has slowed to about 1.5 to 2.5 percent. Look around the developing world, and currencies are weakening, worries about asset bubbles and rising debt are mounting, and foreign direct investment has fallen sharply. This volatility leaves many companies wondering if they are overexposed to the risks of emerging markets.

The U.S. needs a better strategy to coordinate and prioritize its policies related to the Arctic region, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study that was released by Reps. Rick Larsen, Tim Bishop, John Garamendi and Senator Lisa Murkowski.

Improving signs for the overall airfreight market are growing as the combined airfreight logistics confidence index increased for the first time in four months.

Industrial real estate investment trust Prologis Inc. disclosed that it will develop three inventory logistics facilities in Japan. These facilities will span 3.2 million square feet of space and offer its clientele central distribution to Tokyo and the neighboring metropolitan area.

To drive robust supply chain performance, many companies put one individual in charge, either a chief operations officer (COO) or a chief supply chain officer (CSCO). With the right leadership agenda these positions can make a major impact on performance. In some organizations, however, the appointment of a COO or CSCO may unintentionally lead other senior executives to view the supply chain as "somebody else’s problem."

Ensuring driver safety is the biggest priority of fleet managers, according to a survey conducted at the 2014 NAFA Institute and Expo by GE Capital Fleet Services. With more than a third (35 percent) of fleet managers identifying it as their main concern, driver safety outpaced cost-savings goals and workforce productivity (27 percent and 22 percent, respectively) as the top concern for the second year in a row.

Organizations that closely integrate their purchasing and logistics functions deliver better business results, according to a new study from the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. But the study, involving more than 180 supply chain professionals, also shows that many firms fail to capitalize on this opportunity and have supply chains where purchasing and logistics operate in "silos" with little cohesion.

Global logistics company DHL broke ground for its newest warehouse facility, DHL Supply Chain's Advanced Regional Centre, at Singapore's Tampines LogisPark.

Airfreight markets in March were up 5.9 percent compared to a year ago and capacity grew 3.4 percent, according to the International Air Transport Association. While this marks a significant improvement in volumes compared to March 2013, much of the growth took place in the final quarter of 2013 (over and above the usual year-end volume growth). Since the beginning of the year, air cargo volumes have been basically flat. This plateau in volumes is consistent with the recent pause in improvements to business confidence and world trade.