Fast and innovative: that's the image conveyed by the air cargo industry. So why is it lagging so badly when it comes to automating documentation and standardizing key procedures?

It looks as though we're in for a year of continued economic recovery and job growth, however gradual. That should be good news for ocean carriers - assuming they don't undermine their own success by flooding the market with capacity, then engaging in rampant discounting to fill it.

I'd like to propose a symbol for those huge new vessel-sharing alliances that will dominate the global container trades this year and beyond: a great big question mark.

Buyers and sellers appear generally optimistic about the prospects for trade and the economy this year. Let's hope they're not whistling in the dark.

The U.S. has seen a substantial portion of its manufacturing base eroded by cheap overseas production. American workers blame free trade. So why should we speed up the process?

Was there ever a time when trade wasn't a polarizing subject? Judging from the endless debate, it's either the key to economic prosperity, or a catastrophe for the common worker. There seems to be no middle ground.

Some random themes and thoughts to emerge from Oracle Corp.'s Value Chain Summit in San Jose, Calif. last week:

Call it the Holiday Retailing Death Match: Team Black Friday versus Team Cyber Monday. Brick-and-mortar versus e-commerce sales. Physical stores pitted against the power of the internet.

During the just-wrapped Christmas shopping season, e-tailers were more aggressive than ever before in offering discounts and other kinds of come-ons to customers ordering over the internet. But they paid a high price for that strategy.

In the end, all outsourcing relationships are founded on trust. You can write a contract that drills down to the smallest details, but at some point you have to rely on the integrity of your partner. And when that trust is violated, the consequences can be severe.