David J. Closs, McConnell Professor of Business Administration at Michigan State University, says that cross-functional experience and training are essential to developing superior supply chain talent and explains why competition for that talent is increasing.

Kewill, a specialist in software for managing global trade and logistics, has released version 6.2.2 of Kewill Logistics, the company's transportation, warehouse and freight-management suite.

ChainLink Research CEO Ann Grackin will discuss how innovative companies are using excellence in B2B integration as a competitive advantage, particularly in service-based industries, in a webinar scheduled for 12 p.m. EST, Dec. 11, 2012.

October saw an increase in container carriers' global on-time performance to 84 percent, which is a record high, according to the monthly Global Liner Report from SeaIntel Maritime Analysis. This was driven by improvements in 25 out of the 32 trades covered.

The 15 member lines of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA), who until now have limited their rate and service discussions to eastbound container movements from Asia to the U.S., are seeking to expand the group's scope to include the westbound trade.

LeanLogistics, a vendor of transportation-management system (TMS) software, has created the On-Demand TMS SuiteApp.

The DHL Global Connectedness Index, a comprehensive analysis of the state of globalization around the world, concludes that the world is less globally connected today than it was in 2007. The report, drawing on over one million data points from 2005 to 2011, documents how global connectedness, measured by international flows of trade, capital, information and people, grew robustly from the report's baseline year of 2005 to 2007, and then dropped sharply at the onset of the financial crisis. Despite modest gains since 2009, global connectedness has yet to recapture its pre-crisis peak.

Shipbuilding production levels have remained at record high levels, exceeding 50 million compensated gross tons (cgt) for two consecutive years (2010 -2011), with 2012 forecasted to remain close to 2011 levels, according to Drewry Maritime Research. However, the orderbook that forms the contracted forward workload has diminished rapidly and tails off to very low levels for 2014 and beyond.

Views of parcel and LTL freight shipping have been elevated in the minds of supply chain executives, according to a survey released by Kewill.