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 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.

Recent UPS service failures on Amazon’s supply chain services have caused rumbles of dissatisfaction in the industry, suggesting a “vendor divorce” from United Parcel Service (UPS). The most severe service failure was the Christmas season of 2013. To the defense of UPS, December of 2013 saw several severe weather situations, resulting in near-impossible operating conditions. Sorting centers were understaffed because employees could not get to work, and delivery trucks were stranded in many regions.

Especially if you’re in the food supply chain, you should be aware: the Extra-Virgin Olive Oil you may be buying or transporting may be a fraud! From 60 Minutes and The New York Times to various other sources, there have been various articles and segments on this topic.

More than any other holiday season, the Christmas and New Year period is the season for freight theft. The volume of easily sold consumer products in transit and parked make for enticing targets for criminal elements. The elongated holiday and trimmed staff present a security challenge for carriers and warehouses that are ill-prepared for this downtime.

New rules governing the transportation and distribution of food began to take effect in June this year. There is profound concern among industry experts that many food haulers still are not ready to implement these new rules. During a panel discussion at the 2015 Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, lack of carrier preparedness was a major concern. Contamination incidents and outbreaks of food borne illness have a significant impact on public health.

Today's supply chains are under enormous pressure to manage their supply chain faster and more efficiently. Technology officers are looking to applications to meet efficiency demands from both customers and management. The rate at which technology is expanding its capabilities seems to make what was an impossible idea just a few short years ago now a plausible solution.

Unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones, are becoming extremely popular. The unmanned drone industry is expected to create more than 100,000 U.S. jobs by 2025. The economic impact could approach 100 billion within the next decade according to a study prepared for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. Future aeronautical engineers will need to be trained in everything from computer software development to engineering, manufacturing and piloting skills. Commercial drones do have their limitations. Currently an average drone can reach speeds of 50 miles per hour and carry up to 5-7 pounds, limiting drones delivery to small parcels.