MHI Blog—If you work in the supply chain industry, chances are you are always looking at ways to become faster, smarter and more profitable. This is why the supply chain world sometimes focuses on their short comings before celebrating their successes – after all that’s business! In light of Thanksgiving, we’d like to remind everyone of how great the material handling and supply chain industry is with these five supply chain advances to be thankful for.

USA Today—On the eve of Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season, pilots for a regional Ohio cargo airline that delivers packages for Amazon and DHL went on strike. This could cause delivery delays.

ABX Air, a unit of Air Transport Services Group, said it would try to end the strike by seeking a court order and get the roughly 250 pilots back on the job.

Reuters—A federal judge on Tuesday blocked an Obama administration rule to extend mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers from taking effect, imperiling one of the outgoing president's signature achievements for boosting wages.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, in Sherman, Texas, agreed with 21 states and a coalition of business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that the rule is unlawful and granted their motion for a nationwide injunction.

Material Handling & Logistics—While parcel shipping volume was 31 billion parcels in 2015, which was a 2.9% increase over 2014, the future looks even brighter. The Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index forecasts parcel shipping volume to grow at an annual rate of 5% to 7% through 2018, with cross border shipping leading the way.

ENR—As the incoming Trump administration looks for ways to fund its massive $1-trillion infrastructure plan, it could find answers by looking toward the states—in particular,  Colorado, California and Oregon.

Those states are in the middle of pilot programs to test mileage-based user fees, in which drivers pay a fee for the miles they travel, rather than a set per-gallon fee at the gas pump.

MHI Blog—As a Millennial I’m on the entering side of the work force. We’re young and fresh faced and full of ideas (apparently). But we also have the Baby Boomers who are in the top dog positions of the companies we’re entering, and we’re like brand new, adorably enthusiastic puppies. We have very different lifestyles and outlooks on life simply because we grew up in two different worlds. So when working, sometimes we can clash.

MHI Blog—There are many security products available to help physically secure standard doors, shipping doors and storefronts (read our last post about securing your storefront). Unique situations may require custom solutions: Wide openings, high ceilings, seamless glass, stand alone kiosks to mention a few.

Because most physical security products require a fixing point large wide areas become difficult to secure. Products that require overhead support have limitations and could get expensive.

As much time and energy as it takes to avoid service interruptions, having a consistent flow of work that gets product to consumers on time is essential to your bottom line.

Supply Chain Management Review—Although carrier overcapacity on the still continues, analysts predict that integrated solutions such as air-ground, air-sea, and other combinations will create more value for shippers and increase 3PL margins.

EBN—Lean is good. The age of lean can leave a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to employee training and development, and especially for those in the supply chain field.

Bloomberg—Even before Donald Trump enters the White House and formally abandons a U.S.-led trade deal that represented a cornerstone of his country’s economic policy in Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping will get a chance to prove his willingness to step into the leadership vacuum.

Material Handling & Logistics—The accelerating pace of change in manufacturing technology is expected to have a dramatic impact on the breadth and complexity of the cyber risks manufacturers will need to address over the next decade. To understand what companies can do about this risk Deloitte and MAPI released the Cyber Risk in Advanced Manufacturing study.

MHI Blog—Did you know that MHI puts out an Annual Industry Report? Now you know. Starting in 2014, we’ve partnered with Deloitte Consulting LLP to put out an industry report that reflects current trends in the industry and how that affects us going forward. And now it’s time to update it and put out a fourth installment.

Guess what? You can help! Part of the report involves surveying practitioners.

Multichannel Merchant—Two months after a similar move by FedEx, UPS has announced changes to its dimensional weight pricing schedule – with a twist.

FedEx plans to decrease its DIM divisor from 166 to 139 as of Jan. 2, effectively increasing the shipping costs on millions of ecommerce parcels. UPS is also lowering its divisor to 139 as of Jan. 8, but is exempting, at least for now, domestic air and ground parcels that are less than one cubic foot (1,728 cubic inches).

Business Insider—A number of companies are rolling out new technology solutions that pair blockchain with connected sensors to provide history, visibility, and security into their supply chains.

21st Century Supply Chain—In a world where everything is changing, staying in one place is the fastest way to find yourself falling further behind. The same is true when it comes to your supply chain. Remaining stationary in your processes, relying on inefficient technology, and refusing to keep pace is how successful companies find themselves lagging behind the competition.

Logistics Management—Now that it appears likely that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not move forward with American participation, China’s President Xi Jinping is championing the Beijing-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which excludes the Americas. 

Transport Topics—Union Pacific, the main freight rail carrier through Sacramento, California is among several railroads nationally that appear to be lagging in implementing new computer safety systems designed to reduce train crashes, according to data published this week by the Federal Railroad Administration. But the head of the region’s Capitol Corridor passenger rail line said Nov. 29 passenger trains could be operating with the safety system in place on UP-owned tracks by the middle of next year, far in advance of a federal deadline.