The London Metal Exchange (LME) decided on new regulations this past Thursday, Nov. 7, aimed at addressing bottlenecks of metals in its warehouses. According to The Wall Street Journal, these bottlenecks are usually caused when warehouses reserve metals for traders and bankers, which are using it to raise working capital. The situation has become particularly…
As the United States and Canada gear up to transport record amounts of crude oil from fracking sites to refineries, and in turn, to consumers around North America, railroad companies and pipeline owners are in stiff competition for the business of handling these hauls. By the year 2014, the U.S. is expected to be producing…
Manufacturing jobs have come a long way in recent years. Technology has made the jobs less dangerous and labor intensive, and have allowed companies to do more production with fewer workers. However, skilled labor workers are an aging demographic, and younger workers simply aren’t interested in taking jobs in manufacturing. In fact, fewer young people…
The third quarter of 2013 ended much like the rest of the year for the trucking industry, with basically flat earnings and a gain of just 2.8 percent overall. The new hours of service regulations did have an impact on earnings, but not all the carriers reported exactly how much. Werner reported the regulations reduced…
On Thursday, October 31, Congressional Representatives Richard Hanna (a Republican from New York), Tom Rice (a Republican from South Carolina) and Mike Michaud (a Democrat from Maine) introduced the TRUE Safety Act, which would halt the new Hours of Service (HOS) regulations imposed on truckers beginning on July 1st of this year. According to the…
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is cracking down on lax medical examiners’ regulations in hopes of getting unsafe truck drivers and bus drivers off the road. Currently, almost any medical professional, including general practitioners, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, and others, can issue a medical certificate to truck drivers. The drivers only have to get…
The construction industry, including the builders of residential housing, commercial construction, and the sector of civil engineering, showed the strongest increase in new purchase orders since December of 2007, according to the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Manager’s Index. The index stood at 59.4 for the month of October, following a peak of 58.9 for September. An index…
Globally, about 40 percent of the food humans grow end up wasted before it reaches the table of a hungry family. Much of the waste occurs in third world countries, where the supply chain infrastructure is insufficient to harvest, prepare, and ship foods quickly enough to prevent deterioration. Until recently, much of this food waste…
In the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse, which killed more than 1,200 garment factory workers and injured hundreds more, clothing retailers in the United States, Europe, and other developed countries are trying to find ways to get feedback directly from workers regarding their working conditions, pay, and general treatment.
A survey just conducted by BCG, the Boston Consulting Group, of 200 U.S. executives revealed that 54 percent of companies are either already in the process of moving their manufacturing operations back to U.S. soil or are seriously considering doing so within the next few years. This is up from the 37 percent of companies which…