Shipment volume and total freight payments continued to climb in March, ending the first quarter of the year on a high note. Bad weather continued to plague many parts of the country, but transportation seemed to be less affected than in January and February.

Insufficient communication and too much emphasis on controlling factory capital expenditures means that manufacturers pay massive energy-inefficiency costs over the lifetime of their plants, according to research firm IHS.

Many past decisions to offshore manufacturing were based on price alone. Today, manufacturers are looking at more than just price when considering sourcing decisions and production locations.

Analyst Insight: Industrial manufacturing includes a broad range of sub-verticals. Given the current global uncertainties, these companies are focusing on manufacturing and supply chain excellence while trying to grow their top lines. This will not stop the leaders from looking at many exciting new technologies that are emerging. The "manufacturing renaissance" going on is as likely to be around new technologies adopted as around where the manufacturing takes place. - Robert Eastman, Senior Analyst, Technology Evaluation Centers

SupplyChainBrain and JobsInLogistics have joined forces in 2014 for the specialized purpose of:

More than a third of manufacturing firms in the small and mid-sized business (SMB) sector expect the economy to strengthen in the coming six months, while nearly half expect it to remain the same, according to the results of the second annual Sage Manufacturing Survey announced by Sage North America. Respondents also anticipate an increase in orders, production and exports.

According to the December 2013 national report of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), the manufacturing industry is continuing to experience healthy growth.

Corporate extortion is likely to keep booming in 2014, and we don't mean extortion of corporations, as is practiced by Somali pirates or entrepreneurial Russians. We mean extortion by corporations.