Monthly Archives: April 2011

Record decline in Japanese production

Output from Japan’s factories suffered a record fall during March in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March, according to Japanese government figures.

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Analysis: Imported inflation spells danger for recovery

Output figures and GDP forecasts in the post-credit crunch era should carry a health warning. Such is the tentative nature of the global recovery that the slightest blip is poured over by economists and governments desperate to justify a fiscal squeeze…

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US ‘lacks clear picture’ of energy supply chain risks

The cost of US energy supply accidents over the past decade are estimated to exceed $50bn, mostly from oil spills and electric power outages, academics have estimated.

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UK government appoints chief procurement officer

The UK government has unveiled “a significant change” in its procurement process with the appointment of a chief procurement officer who will be responsible for centralising state procurement.

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Mixed outlook for UK manufacturing

UK manufacturing production surged during the first quarter of 2011 yet, at the same time, showed signs of a slow down, according to a survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry.

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Coca Cola sees stellar growth despite input price rises

Coca Cola, the world’s largest soft-drinks company, has announced that sales have grown across the globe during the first quarter 2011 despite geo-political unrest and rising commodity prices.

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Closed loop the answer to greening IT supply chains

A Dutch company has teamed up with academics to develop a methodology to help companies estimate how much CO2 emissions are reduced if they roll out used IT hardware rather than new.

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New oil ‘supply shock’ threatens growth

Despite the fact that short-term oil and gas supply and demand remains relatively balanced, oil prices have gone up in anticipation of “supply shocks”, experts have warned.

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Analysis: Branches at war – forestry battle heats up

When it comes to sustainable procurement it could be argued that sometimes it’s hard to see the wood for the trees – and now a dispute between two major sustainability groups could make the task a whole lot more difficult.

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Toyota eyes November return to normality

The world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, expects that “production normalisation” following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami could occur by November this year.

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