MRC Global has announced the sale of its Canadian subsidiary to London, Ontario-based distributor Emco Corporation. The transaction is part of MRC's strategy to refocus on core geographies and products with higher growth and profit potential. The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2025. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Industrial distributors are increasingly embracing ecommerce, but the 2024 Survey of E-Commerce Operations reveals mixed results amid sluggish manufacturing demand. While more than three-quarters of distributors have an ecommerce platform, over 62% reported flat or declining online sales this year. Despite this, optimism remains high for 2025, with over 80% expecting ecommerce revenue growth.

Ordinary Americans are stockpiling goods and pulling forward major purchases in anticipation of potential tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump. A University of Michigan survey has found that a record number of consumers believe now is a good time to buy big-ticket items. Economists warn that this behavior could drive up prices further.

The main obstacles to supply chain sustainability are fragmented data, overreliance on supplier trust and insufficient compliance budgets. Addressing these challenges requires better data management, automation, strategic partnerships, enhanced visibility and leveraging economies of scale to align sustainability with cost efficiency and business growth.

AI has a growing role in mitigating the effects of supply chain disruption, something 63% of professionals anticipate remaining a prominent issue for the next two years, according to the 2024 State of Supply Chain Sustainability Report from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and MIT. AI is becoming essential for managing these disruptions, offering tools for scenario planning and rapid decision-making to maintain supply chain resilience during the holiday season.

The advertising industry is witnessing a shift from traditional creativity to data-driven approaches, as evidenced by the Omnicom-Interpublic merger. The focus has moved toward leveraging data and technology to enhance advertising strategies. The trend reflects broader industry changes where AI and data analytics are increasingly prioritized over the creative elements that once dominated the field. ""Over the long term, advertisers will basically just be able to tell us a business objective and a budget, and we're going to go do the rest for them," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said recently.

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates this week, marking the third consecutive reduction. However, further cuts in 2025 are uncertain as the economy remains strong. Fed officials are debating the neutral interest rate and potential policy changes under President-elect Donald Trump, which could impact inflation and the labor market.

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