US job openings dropped to 8.79 million in November, the lowest in nearly three years, and new hires dropped to the lowest level since April 2020, according to the Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The quits rate also reached a more than three-year low. Falling vacancies were seen in a range of industries, including transportation and warehousing, government, business services and leisure and hospitality.

The armed dispute in the Red Sea is escalating, with the US sinking boats operated by Yemen's Houthi rebels, which has prompted Iran to send a destroyer to the region in reprisal and to support the rebels. The Red Sea is vital to supply chains, with an estimated 15% of the world's shipping passing through it, and the dispute is affecting carriers such as Maersk, which has put all transit through the area on hold.

Graybar announced plans to use DataXstream's OMS+ platform to scale and update front-office and back-office order management and improve data visibility to enhance its sales experience and seamlessly transition to SAP S/4. OMS+ works in real-time using SAP data to enable multichannel sales via data aggregation and process automation.

Driver earnings continued climbing during the fourth quarter of 2023 regardless of the soft freight market with the 40-to-50-cents-per-mile pay bracket decreasing 5.2% year-over-year and the 50-to-60-cents-per-mile bracket increasing 6.1%, according to The National Transportation Institute. New drivers to the industry with one year of experience were garnering more per mile in the fourth quarter of 2023 than the most experienced drivers in 2020, but referral and sign-on bonuses decreased as the need for new drivers wanes.

To reduce risk, procurement professionals must increase the visibility surrounding information that comes and goes through the various departments to determine the severity of the risks, writes Greg Holt, product marketing director at Interos. "An early warning of an emerging risk or a potentially disruptive event can go a long way to avoiding or reducing the pain before the risk materializes and has an impact on your business," Holt writes.

A Hubspot survey found that AI saves some sales professionals over two hours by handling more tedious or automated work, like scheduling or note-taking. Although 31% of sales professionals use generative AI like ChatGPT to create customer messaging, those messages still need to be checked and personalized by the salesperson.

Mergers and acquisitions reached the lowest levels in decades amid a 2023 downturn, declining roughly 20% from the previous year to around $3 trillion. Disparities in pricing were a significant challenge, influenced by the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes that made debt financing more expensive and impacted the enterprise value of acquisition targets. Anticipated rate cuts in 2024 are expected to contribute to a rebound in M&A activity amid improved corporate earnings and a more stable economic outlook.

The US economy is "definitely" on track for a soft landing as a result of decisive action by the Federal Reserve, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. "It has brought the desired impact without pushing the economy into recession," Georgieva said.

Experience three days of excellent networking opportunities, cutting-edge content, and educational programming for leaders in the wholesale-distribution industry at NAW's Executive Summit Jan. 30 - Feb. 1. Hear from world-class speakers and explore issues critical to the industry. Be prepared for what's next and learn new strategies to get there first. View agenda and registration information here.

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