East Coast and Gulf Coast ports resumed operations after dockworkers and port operators reached a wage agreement, ending a three-day strike that shut down shipping. The strike's conclusion came earlier than anticipated, but clearing the backlog of queued container ships is expected to take two to three weeks, according to pricing platform Xeneta.

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors President and CEO Eric Hoplin said the industry is "certainly pleased that the ports are going to be reopening this morning" but added the shutdown was "completely unnecessary" and likely had a $15 billion impact on the US economy. Hoplin also cautioned that the backlog would "take weeks to clear" and said wholesaler-distributors won't return to normal today because a strike remains possible three months from now. "So, now we have to take all the costly measures we've taken in the last few months and continue those to prepare for another possible disruption," Hoplin said.

Grainger started construction on a 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center in Texas that is expected to open in 2026. Located in Hockley, Texas, the facility will be among the largest in the distribution giant's portfolio, enabling the company to double its product offerings from 150,000 to 300,000 items. Grainger expects to employ around 400 people at the location within the first year.

Motion & Control Enterprises has acquired three ParkerStore locations from Motion & Flow Control Products, expanding its presence in the Bakken region. The acquired stores in Williston, N.D., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Sidney, Mont., offer a range of fluid power and filtration products. MCE Chairman and CEO Charles Hale said the deal "positions the combined business to accelerate growth and provide an even more comprehensive suite of highly engineered solutions."

Investing in AI, end-to-end enterprise resource solutions and the internet of things will help decrease internal supply chain issues related to processes, systems and data, writes data governance expert Abhishek Chaudhuri. These investments can "help companies merge traditional metrics like cycle times, inventory turnover, and on-time delivery with newer measures such as carbon footprint, data accessibility, data completeness, and analytics turnaround," writes Chaudhuri.

Chief information officers have a unique perspective on how to manage supply chain disruptions brought on by the strike-related port closures in the US, and using supply chain analytics to make logistics more efficient can help mitigate delays. The labor action will also force a more immediate look at automation, as it is core to many of the workers' complaints, and it's essential for union leaders to be "pragmatic" regarding the future role of automation, says Steven Dickens of The Futurum Group.

Business-to-business buyers are most likely to share content featuring industry-related data analysis, followed by content including interviews with industry experts or peers, according to a study by Redpoint. In addition, B2B buyers wish content from vendors would offer more case studies and analysis of market trends.

Leadership is deeply rooted in relationships, which are shaped by countless daily micro-interactions -- such as tone of voice, timing or body language -- that can significantly influence the quality and effectiveness of those relationships, writes executive coach Sarah Langslow. "The work for you to do is, as far as possible, to eliminate or transform those micro-interactions which are at best frustrating to others and, at worst, cause harm, even when unintended," Langslow advises.

Global interest rates will likely stay high due to factors such as geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions, Bank of America's Bernard Mensah said. "I personally have been worried about just the underlying inflation pressures," Mensah said. "My instinct has been that all of those things add inefficiencies in the system. And as we're moving to a different, perhaps, type of globalization, we might find that the underlying trend inflation rate is a little bit higher than before."

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