Unemployment benefit claims dipped to 217,000 last week, a drop of 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure, according to Labor Department data. The four-week average for initial claims increased to 212,250. Continuing jobless claims rose to 1.83 million, the highest in nearly seven months.

Mexico recently became the US' largest trading partner and it's now poised to surpass China as the largest importer of goods into the US, according to research reports. Imports from China have dropped 24% for the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, while imports from Mexico have doubled between 2010 and 2023 and have been driven by an increase in multinational firms operating out of the country and sourcing goods there, writes Jeffry Bartash.

Associated Wholesale Grocers is partnering with Upside to help member retailers profit from the tech company's personalized promotions platform, and the collaboration also expands Upside's nationwide network of 100,000 retailers. "Our collaboration with Upside helps to fulfill our mission to our member-retailers by equipping them with a diverse spectrum of vital resources, offerings and solutions to excel competitively in their markets," said Stacy Bowen, Associated Wholesale Grocers vice president of sales, support and solutions.

US lawmakers are urging the Treasury to help save trucking company Yellow from bankruptcy, with Republican and Democratic senators requesting an extension of the $700 billion pandemic loan granted to Yellow. Privately-owned auto transport company Jack Cooper is working on a long-shot bid to rescue Yellow from liquidation, but a two-year loan extension is critical to that effort.

A digital supply chain uses advanced technologies to enhance performance and efficiency, crucial for the time-sensitive cold-food supply chain to relay data, reduce risk and make informed decisions, says Casey Jenkins of Eight Twenty-Eight Consulting. Companies digitizing their supply chains should map current operations to identify gaps, create a technology-integrated roadmap and manage change effectively, Jenkins says, adding "that the only way a true digital transformation can occur is if all parties of the supply chain are approaching business-to-business interactions as a partnership."

Third-quarter warehouse construction starts dropped 37% from Q2 and 64% from a year ago, bringing the under-construction total for Q4 to 479 million square feet, according to CBRE. The vacancy rate reached 4.2%, the highest since early 2021 but below the 10-year average, yet warehouse lease rates have increased by 9.1% from the previous year, and leases of small warehouses of less than 25,000 square feet increased from a year ago, according to CBRE.

A freight recession expected to last until mid-2024 and the challenges of ocean freight require manufacturers to actively design supply chain flows to be more resilient and manage the high variability in logistics, writes Lora Cecere, founder of Supply Chain Insights. Companies should also collaborate with logistics partners, adapt to lead time changes, reduce canal dependencies and continually reassess and redesign their strategies to navigate the turbulent times ahead, Cecere writes.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence are blurring the distinctions between cross-selling and personalization, writes Armando Roggio, who discusses the areas of overlap and contrast between the two strategies. "While both cross-selling and ecommerce personalization aim to improve the shopping experience and boost revenue, the techniques operate on different principles and have different metrics," Roggio writes.

US advertisers have the opportunity to test generative AI ad tools within Google's Performance Max platform, with features that include text and image generation and image editing. Google also is assigning SynthID watermarks to AI-generated creative assets within Performance Max and Google Ads, and will require all AI-generated assets to adhere to its ads policies before they're delivered across its publisher network.

Fear is the primary motivator for one-third of corporate leaders, resulting in psychologically unsafe and less efficient workplaces that lose $36 billion each year in productivity, according to research by Love Leadership and First & First consulting. The unconscious fear-based emotions driving such leaders include blame, suspicion, aggression and avoidance and 90% of them confessed to a decrease in productivity from their employees.

Despite strong economic growth in the US in the first three quarters, some economists question whether consumers will continue to have faith to keep spending as inflation takes its toll and the job market begins to show some weakness. "The economy has been much more resilient than we expected, but we expect a fairly significant slowdown in the quarters ahead," says Nancy Vanden Houten, a lead economist at Oxford Economics.

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NAW's Bart Tessel and Applico's Alex Moazed share thoughts on distribution innovation and technology today as critical differentiators, and where they're headed. Listen Now!

The NAW Innovators Summit, powered by Applico, is a nexus of forward-thinking strategies and discussions in the Wholesale-Distributor industry. By attending this event, November 14-16 in Austin, TX, you’ll have unparalleled networking opportunities, hear thought-leaders discuss the evolution of the sector, and learn how to better position your enterprise at the forefront of innovation.