Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to increase 3.5 percent in May as negotiators prepare to begin talks on a new contract for West Coast dockworkers, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Fujitsu UK & Ireland (UK&I), the IT systems arm of global electronics firm Fujitsu, has acquired Texas RFID software and solutions provider GlobeRanger.

The biggest engineering companies nowadays prefer to talk about "additive manufacturing" rather than "3D printing".

Resilinc Corp., a vendor of applications for supply-chain resiliency, has made available the SupplyIntel CSR (corporate social responsibility) Module.

A new digital presence has recently been created by AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management, and Education), the industry-wide supply chain leadership initiative started in early 2013. The launch of www.awesomeleaders.org is timed to coincide with the second Annual AWESOME Symposium on May 15, 2014, in Chicago.

Dassault Systèmes has released its Global Visibility for Food & Beverage application for manufacturers.

The Japanese government has long banned most weapons exports. That policy helped buttress Japan's pacifism, but it also hindered the growth of the country's defense industry. Because it couldn't sell parts overseas, Japanese defense companies missed out on chances to develop fighter jets, tanks and other weaponry with the U.S. That's changing.