The soy market in the United States is expected to reach a market value of around $17bn by the end of 2019, according to Research and Markets, an industry analysis firm.

In the warehouse and distribution sector, a quote from Ben Franklin resonates so true today: "When you are finished changing, you are finished." It is imperative that you stay current with trends and projections in your industry.

As an asset class, railways have a worrying history. Railway mania in Britain in the 1840s left plenty of unwary investors nursing hefty losses; that episode sits in most lists of history's biggest speculative bubbles. But the prices of shares and bonds are dauntingly high, which has stoked interest in all manner of outlandish "alternative" assets in recent years. That, along with legal changes making it easier to repossess collateral that goes clickety-clack, may soon have investors funnelling cash into locomotives, carriages and goods wagons again.

Companies have a major financial incentive to achieve zero waste. In fact, says Eric Lombardi, executive director of Eco-Cycle International, "Waste equals wasted cash."

The demise of physical stores has become a familiar narrative during the holiday season, but nothing could be further from the truth, according to one man better positioned than most to know.