The Consumer Goods Forum, an industry association of retailers, manufacturers and service providers, welcomes the announcement by the U.S. government at the Rio Plus 20 Conference to "forge a private-public partnership to support a concerted international effort to reduce deforestation by promoting sustainable supply chains."

As the world of matching supply with demand has become a global challenge there is a need to approach the use of transportation mode, route and pricing in a much more dynamic and controlled way.

U.S. freight railroads will get $23bn worth of upgrades this year, and taxpayers won't pick up the tab. That's because the railroads build, maintain and improve their own infrastructure and even pay property taxes on their tracks. Also, freight trains are about three times as fuel-efficient as long-haul trucks, which means they help cut smog and reduce the U.S.'s carbon emissions and oil dependence. And forget those accident-prone trains your kids watch on Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. In reality, shifting freight from roads to rails sharply reduces crashes and congestion.

With a freight transportation slump and operational costs rising, China's heavy-duty market continued the downward spiral that began last year, according to the recently released China Commercial Vehicle Outlook jointly published quarterly by ACT and SIC, China's State Information Center.

Driven in part by the global financial crisis, foreign intelligence services, corporations and computer hackers have stepped up efforts to steal technology and trade secrets from American companies, the FBI's top spy hunter told Congress.

EADS, the parent company of jet maker Airbus, has upped the ante in its long-running blood feud with Boeing, setting the stage for a messy battle between the two aerospace giants. According to a person with knowledge of the matter, the European conglomerate is set to announce the construction of a new manufacturing facility for its Airbus aircraft in the heart of Dixie - Mobile, Alabama.

The confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences has the potential to create a long-term disruption across the food-industry value chain that transforms where and how consumers shop for groceries as well as what products they choose.

Among the ways technology is evolving to bring greater productivity to the DC is in providing ergonomic features to forklifts and other equipment, says Bill Pfleger, president of Yale Distribution.