Wholesale inventories increased 0.4% in December from the previous month and declined 2.7% from a year earlier, according to revised Commerce Department data. Wholesale motor vehicle inventories were a significant driver of December's monthly gain, jumping 2.9% after a 2% drop a month earlier. Without autos, US wholesale inventories ticked upward just 0.1%. Other sectors fueling the increase included professional and computer equipment, machinery, paper and medicine, while furniture, apparel and petroleum fell.

Logistics executives are cautiously optimistic following research reporting recent upturns in imports, transportation prices and intermodal rail volume along with an increasing economy and retail sales. Covenant Logistics' Paul Bunn says "hopefully we're about to bounce off the bottom" with "a U-shaped recovery."

Food distributor Performance Food Group started construction on its 353,000-square-foot facility in Berkeley, Mo., which will include a meet processing and packaging plant and a vehicle maintenance area. The new facility, expected to be completed by March 2025, replaces an existing St. Louis facility and increases Performance's distribution warehousing footprint.

Many distributors have recognized that automation offers significant benefits in terms of efficiency and faster order processing in an increasingly competitive and demanding environment. However, careful planning and employee engagement are crucial to reap the maximum reward from the process, alongside an understanding of what you want it to deliver, say experts who recommend a "crawl-walk-run" approach, starting with basic needs and gradually adding more complex solutions.

About 80% of all data stored is unstructured data and its size has made it hard to protect with backup and other traditional methods, writes Krishna Subramanian of Komprise. Organizations can create a cost-effective governance and security program by assessing data, setting guidelines for all stakeholders, tagging sensitive data with AI and creating policies for data movement among vendors, Subramanian writes.

Online sales pages can be powerful tools to engage customers and drive purchases, and there are a variety of different approaches that can be successful, writes Daman Jeet Singh, co-founder of FunnelKit. Five strategies for creating a better sales page include using an engaging headline, telling consumers how your products will solve their problems and using photos or videos to demonstrate your offerings.

Data shows the US economy is strong but Americans are feeling downbeat about its prospects. Consumer spending is resilient, inflation is falling and unemployment is low, but Americans remain concerned about their long-term financial security due to social and political risks. War abroad and elections at home have discouraged many, and additional economic improvement could fail to boost sentiment.

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