National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.185; Month Ago: $3.405; Year Ago: $3.329. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $4.144; Month Ago: $4.393; Year Ago: $5.000.

Last week, the International Longshoremen’s Association provided a legally-required 60-day strike notice ahead of the expiration of the East Coast dockworkers’ contract at the end of September. More than 40,000 port workers are pressing for strike action against the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on October 1 if their demands are not met. A strike by East Coast dockworkers would have a colossal impact not only on the profits of the major maritime shipping companies, but, most significantly, on the entire global capitalist economy. The contract covers 36 ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States, including the port of New York and New Jersey, the second biggest in the country. The Atlantic and Gulf ports handle over 100 million tons of cargo every year from Europe, South America and Asia.

According to Liz Miller, SVP of marketing and programs for the CMO Council, customers have gotten so used to brands personalizing every step of their buyer journey that they now expect to receive that same level of personalization in the post-purchase, product ownership phase of their experience. "They're going to start expecting that same level of personalization and engagement you wooed them with to buy,” she says. “They're going to want that even more so because they're a customer.”