Google Inc. will start testing a delivery service for fresh food and groceries in two U.S. cities later this year, stepping up competition with online retailer Amazon.com Inc. and start-up Instacart Inc.

Transportation capacity problems have been a volatile issue over the past 20 years or so. A thorough analysis provided by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, in its "State of Logistics" report, indicates that by 2017, shippers in the U.S. will face shortages in trucking resources again, predominantly a trucker shortage, in the near future due to an array of developments that may cause shippers to find loads left on the ground, shipping costs rapidly escalating, and shrinking profit margins that stun stakeholders.

As a manufacturer, if you make up less than 10 percent of your distributors' product mix, you are not getting the attention of management or, more importantly, sales representatives.

Longer commute times are just one sign that congestion is creeping into our lives, and clogging the supply chain.

Industrial distributors are facing changing market conditions that are challenging their long-standing business models, according to a study conducted by research firm TNS on behalf of UPS.