Automation and robotic engineering applications are being tested in all sorts of unskilled labor positions in manufacturing and customer service areas. Anyone who has been lost in the maze of an automated telephone system knows what I'm talking about. 

During 2015, the Ports of New York and New Jersey handled 6,371,720 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) or 3,664,013 cargo containers, an increase of 10.4 percent compared with 2014. The record volumes allowed the port to maintain its position as the East Coast's busiest port, with nearly 30 percent of the total market share, PANYNJ officials said in a press release. 

Among the evolving areas where both 3PLs and shippers need to be aware is change management. Currently, the global and domestic markets for outsourced logistics services are continuously changing, so it is essential that both users and providers of 3PL services arm themselves with the very best in terms of people, processes and technology. 

A Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives panel approved legislation to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system as part of a six-year bill to authorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. Currently, the FAA oversees the air traffic control of the nation.

Watch your back Amazon. A new patent awarded to Google suggests that the search giant is looking into developing self-driving delivery trucks, just as Amazon readies its autonomous delivery drone fleet.

The Hyperloop is a conceptual train-like design to provide ultra high-speed transportation for passengers and freight. The concept is the brainchild of Elon Musk, and the fuselage would travel inside a pressurized tube on a cushion of air.

Mention "airfreight" and your accountant’s ears perk up immediately. The operations manager wants to know what operational mishap occurred that would require using airfreight… and the owner wants to know who's going to pay for it.

It is expected that 2016 will be the year the freight transportation industry will implement dimensional pricing in favor of the NMFC classification system. Fed Ex and UPS implemented dimensional pricing last year. It's just a matter of time before the freight carriers follow suit. In anticipation of this move we want to offer some suggestions on how to mitigate the affects of this pricing change for your company. 

The Panama Canal expansion project is nearly complete, but will not be open to commercial traffic in April as previously reported, according to the canal authority.

Wal-Mart’s business formula is essentially:

• They keep their internal expenses very low.
• This enables them to set the prices of products as low as possible.
• Customers buy more as a result.

This model has worked for the retail behemoth for years, but is now increasingly becoming more difficult to maintain. Employee demands for higher wages and pressure by Amazon are the main causes of Wal-Mart's market and financial decline. Wal-Mart stock has lost 33% of its' stock value in the last 12 months.