Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to grow 9.1 percent in October over the same month last year, despite concerns about the government shutdown, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The numbers reflect merchandise ordered months before the shutdown as retailers planned for the holiday season.

"With the holidays nearly here, retailers are making sure their shelves are well-stocked," said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. "Cargo is continuing to move through the ports but the government shutdown has left some agencies short-handed, so NRF will monitor the situation closely as the holidays approach."

Americans, who're increasingly optimistic about improving economic conditions, are expected to spend at a more rapid clip during the upcoming holiday shopping season than they did last year.

But that could change if the partial government shutdown that has forced about 800,000 federal workers off the job continues and causes shoppers to lose confidence in the economy.

Recently, the supply chain functions of companies have become increasingly linked to customer experience. I'm not sure if most people think of Amazon as a supply chain and distribution company, or simply a company that has just about everything anyone could want, from physical to digital. 

It's a good example of how supply chain directly affects customer experience. Add this experience to the revolution in digital delivery of content across the web and mobile networks, and we all expect instant inventory and next-day shipping. The personal shopping experience is now setting the same bar in the business-to-business (B2B) space.

Almost half of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees have been furloughed after the federal government failed to agree a budget deal by the midnight deadline.

FDA will see 45% of its 14,779 staff furloughed while 68% of 12,825 employees will be affected at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Manufacturing has come full circle. At one time, decades ago, the entire production lifecycle in most industries was held in-house, or at a nearby facility. As the era of specialized supply chains evolved, processes were outsourced and distances to factories grew wider. 

There slowly developed an "us versus them" scenario over time. Often, each transaction had a winner and loser. The loser, usually being the smaller supplier, was squeezed on cost and time.

During the next five years, more than 28 percent of U.S. population growth is projected to come from southwest and mountain states — Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Nevada.

Manufacturers and retailers are aiming to take advantage of this growing market. These companies are expanding their warehouse and distribution presence in the Southwest United States. Their efforts are being helped by a number of logistical upgrades to help product get into the U.S. more quickly, either from across the Mexican border or from overseas locations.

Many executives running high-throughput distribution centers face a growing logistics challenge - the need to prepare small-quantity, mixed Stockkeeping Unit (SKU) orders to ship and arrive on schedule with short delivery times. 

Fueled by shifting demographics, niche retailing, new channel formats like mobile devices, faster product introductions and shorter product life-cycles, small-quantity, multiple-SKU orders are becoming increasingly difficult to handle with conventional manual and automated storage and pick systems. Sometimes comprising thousands or tens-of-thousands of different SKUs and in an assortment of packaging styles, a DC's inventory needs to be stored, picked and shipped with a very high level of efficiency to optimize labor usage and minimize operational costs.

The average carbon-dioxide emissions for global ocean container transport have declined year on year, and by more than 7 percent between 2011 and 2012, according to BSR’s Clean Cargo Working Group’s2013 "Collaborative Progress" report. The data from this report are from more than 2,300 ships, representing more than 60 percent of global ocean container capacity.

The report states that average carbon-dioxide emissions for global ocean container transport have declined year on year, and by more than 7 percent between 2011 and 2012.

As we celebrate National Manufacturing Day on October 4, there is reason to recognize our region as a bright spot in the re-establishment of the nation's "industrial commons" -- the domestic network of suppliers, workforce and R&D institutions that serve as the foundation to regain our manufacturing brawn and preserve our innovation heritage.

Cynics might ask whether or not we have reason to celebrate. They might point to the undervaluing of American manufacturing that has eroded our domestic supply chain, inhibited our speed-to-market capabilities and slowed our workforce development efforts.

The 3PL industry is growing at a faster rate in 2013 than gross domestic product (GDP), according to analysts from Tompkins International. However, their analysis calls for more aggressive growth than the 6 percent cited by other sources.

"Global GDP is expected to expand by 2.2% and less than 2% in the U.S.," said Valerie Bonebrake, senior vice president, Tompkins International. "Tompkins believes 3PL growth will be three to four times GDP, or 7 to 10 percent for 2013."

To one degree or another, every global manufacturer confronts certain challenges and risks from the financial and operations sides. They are thinking of their global financial risk, asking, "How can we better forecast, or better manage, or even sustain the value and cost of raw materials and inputs?" That includes the components made in foreign countries and even those assembled there as well, says Chris Morris, Cambridge Mercantile Group.

Over the past decade, the Grand Challenge has become the golden-haired child of innovation.

A Grand Challenge is a highly visible strategic program that invites the world’s best minds to apply their technical or scientific talent to a problem of world-wide significance facing mankind. It furthers the visibility, and the legacy of the organizations involved and makes a lasting impact on humanity.