The rise of just-in-time manufacturing has created a revolution across the supply chains of many industries, including electronics components. But there is a negative.
Brick-and-mortar retailers are sweating online competition this holiday season, perhaps more than ever. But it's all upside to UPS. The shipping giant is cashing in both on internet shopping and old-school retailers trying to mimic Amazon.com - shipping inventory around the country in an incessant supply-chain shuffling.
Used truck dealers continue to characterize business as "good" or even better than expected, although maybe not quite as strong as they had hoped, according to the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research.
Despite a slow economy, North American CEOs have their sights set on growth, expecting their companies to increase revenues by an average of 14.6 percent over the next three years, according to the 20th Annual Survey of Third-Party Logistics Provider CEOs.
The Hershey Company says two more of its plants have achieved zero-waste-to-landfill (ZWL) status. With the addition of the Y&S Plant in Lancaster, Pa., and the Robinson Plant in Robinson, Ill., The Hershey Company now has six U.S. plants that no longer dispose routine waste into landfills. Moreover, it has exceeded its goal to convert five plants to ZWL by 2015 well ahead of schedule.
It seems that all major U.S. retailers - whether they are traditional, brick-and-mortar operations or Web-based - are stepping up their same-day delivery services and fulfillment systems before this holiday season. The move not only helps them extend the holiday shopping season by a few days, but also caters to busy holiday shoppers who don't have time to grab groceries for holiday parties or family meals.
The "Beyond BRIC markets" -- the rising automotive markets emerging behind the quartet of Brazil, India, Russia, and China -- offer the last great growth opportunity in a world in which established markets are largely characterized by stagnation or low growth and the key stakes have already been distributed in the BRIC markets.
The Chanler Group, an environmental law firm, reached a settlement on behalf of its client with a Chinese manufacturer of products alleged to contain a reproductive toxin, commonly known as DEHP. This is reportedly the first time that California's Proposition 65, or any American consumer protection statute, has been used as a basis for international prosecution. The Chanler Group and its clients expect this to be the beginning of a new trend, where overseas manufacturers are held accountable for the products they provide for American consumers.
As a Target "beauty concierge," young Chelsea Mathison prowls the cosmetic aisles at the retailer's Nicollet Mall store, sweetly asking shoppers if they need beauty tips and recommendations. The pixieish clerk seems an unlikely front-line warrior in the Minneapolis-based retailer's effort to embrace showrooming -- where consumers fiddle with products in stores, only to surf their smartphones to see if they can buy the items cheaper somewhere else.
September is typically the second-weakest order month of the year for Class 8, so modest activity was expected. Class 8 net orders were 19,018 units. Meanwhile, the medium duty market was able to mostly offset a sharp pullback in bus orders to net 16,745 units in orders. This updated status of the North America commercial vehicle market was included in the State of the Industry report, recently released by ACT Research Co. (ACT). The report covers Classes 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.