The fog is beginning to clear. High-tech and other types of manufacturers are getting a better idea of what they must do in order to conform to new requirements for disclosing the presence in their products of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring states. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered.

AFN, a 3PL based in Chicago, uses business intelligence to improve its internal decision making and to support supply chain decisions of its clients. Eric Malcolm, director of sales strategy, explains the company's approach.

On October 13, 2011, the Federal Maritime Commission launched a rulemaking that proposed to allow rate levels within oceangoing service contracts to be linked to industry freight indices. Some carriers and shippers had pushed for the change in hopes of achieving greater rate stability in the notoriously uncertain liner trades.

Employees at the Chinese factories of Apple supplier Foxconn continue to work beyond the country's legal limit of 49 hours a week, according to a report from the Fair Labor Association (FLA). But the Taiwanese manufacturer is making overall steady progress in improving the working conditions at a select group of factories in China, it said.

The latest spate of auto recalls came last month when auto giants Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Mazda were focused to recall more than 3.4 million vehicles as a result of faulty air bags originating from Takata Corp in Japan. Since the initial announcement, BMW has come forward with a related recall action of more than 200,000 of their cars.