Emissions from commercial diesel truck fleets has now been reduced to the point that grilling a few burgers on a charcoal grill actually produces fewer emissions than driving one of these vehicles from Chicago to Baltimore. In fact, in the U.S., diesel truck emissions have been lowered by 95 percent between 1996 and today. According…
North American suppliers of original vehicle equipment for the automotive industry are struggling to keep up with increased production this year, according to a survey conducted by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. The survey indicates that 62 percent of suppliers to North American automotive makers have been forced to extend the working hours of their…
UPS is offering customers shipping less than a container load of goods from Europe to the United States an alternative for faster and more affordable shipping. Its new preferred less than container load (PLCL) service started in 2011, servicing 26 ports in Asia, and now will include an additional four ports in Western Europe. The…
According to newly released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in its 2010 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey, U.S. manufacturing facilities are producing about the same amount of goods while lowering their energy costs and consumption tremendously. According to the report, the U.S. manufacturing sector decreased its energy consumption by 17 percent from 2002 to…
As the world braces for more conflict in the Korean peninsula, auto manufacturers and parts suppliers make plans to pull their production efforts out of the area in the event war breaks out. North Korea has moved two of its mid-range missiles from their military bases, and have announced plans to go ahead with a…
According to a new study by Navigant Research, consumers are embracing electronic vehicle technologies more quickly than companies who purchase fleet vehicles. Manufacturers of plug-in vehicles are trying not to produce too many, hoping to address the concerns over cost and technologies and spur a greater interest in their vehicles.
The Hackett Group, a global strategic business advisory and operations improvement firm, recently released a new study, entitled Borderless Business Environment – Driving New Pressure, Changing Priority for Procurement Leaders. In this study, the group reports that CEOs are challenged to do more with fewer resources continuing through 2013.
The Spanish fashion retailer Zara and its parent company Inditex are facing investigation by Brazil’s Ministry of Labor and 52 charges following a raid at one of their manufacturing facilities in Brazil. Local authorities received a tip from a workers’ rights group, La Alameda, and subsequently found 15 workers in the facility, one of which…
The latest Gartner Worldwide IT Forecast has just been released for the second quarter of 2013, and news is overall positive for the IT sector of the economy. Global IT spending is now expected to rise to $3.8 trillion this year, a 4.1 percent increase from the 3.6 trillion spent on IT in 2012. According…
On Thursday, March 28, the U.S. passed a law which requires NASA, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Commerce to get approval from federal law enforcement agencies before buying high-tech products from China. The law was a small part of a larger package of the U.S. spending bill. Restrictions are in response to…