Smarter consumers want retailers to listen to them, know them and
empower them - at the same time that these consumers are
becoming more difficult to know.
Today's highly efficient closed loop systems are only the beginning of the coming rfid-driven transformation of transportation and logistics visibility and management.
U.S. rail shippers don't appear to be heeding the warnings of a national economic slowdown. Intermodal volume in May on the major U.S. railroads hit the highest level in history for that month, according to the Association of American Railroads. Intermodal traffic last month was 3.5 percent higher than the same month a year ago. Although carload volume was down 2.8 percent year-over-year in the same period, the big losses were because of slumps in the major commodities of coal and grain.
Buoyed by growth and confident in their futures, American manufacturers are laying out an agenda for restoring their industry to its earlier glory, according to results of ThomasNet.com's newest Industry Market Barometer (IMB). Overwhelmingly, they are pushing to revitalize the American manufacturing sector by creating jobs at home, doing business with U.S. suppliers, and expressing pride in the quality of products that are "Made in America."
U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico using surface transportation in March set a new monthly high mark, up 6.2 percent over March a year ago, and pushing the sum value over $85.8bn, the according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
A simplified "Product of Canada and the USA" labeling system should apply to beef and pork as well as livestock raised, processed, and traded between Canada and the United States, says a study released by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian public policy think tank, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute of Washington, DC.
U.S. manufacturing has been one of the few bright spots of the recovery, restoring 489,000 jobs since the beginning of 2010. However, there are some significant geographic distinctions in that recovery, says a recent report.
