Crude oil prices steadied near multi-year highs on Wednesday, even as concerns over geopolitical tensions began to ease, as supply cut efforts by global oil producers continued to support the commodity. Oil prices had climbed amid Iranian protests, marking the biggest challenge to the country's clerical leadership since 2009. However, the protests were showing no signs of impacting Iran's oil production. Crude prices continued to be supported by production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia. The producers agreed in December to extend current oil output cuts until the end of 2018. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Trucking Associations joined an event at the White House highlighting new public-private initiatives designed to grow the trucking industry’s workforce and bolster the U.S. supply chain. Nine professional truck drivers and nearly two dozen CEOs from ATA-member companies were in attendance. ATA President and CEO Chris Spear issued the following statement prior to the event: “Investing in our workforce never stops. It’s a constant. Our industry needs an additional 80,000 commercial truck drivers if we’re to meet consumer demand. We welcome the support of all elected officials as we recruit and train more talent into this critical industry. Recognizing our dedication to training and safety, the Departments of Labor and Transportation have worked quickly and efficiently in approving ATA as a registered apprenticeship sponsor. This long-sought designation provides our member companies valuable new tools and resources to help recruit and train the next generation of trucking talent."

Many printing industry leaders — both past and present — attended the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to earn a bachelor’s degree in printing. Dating back to 1922 and long considered the premier program for the graphic arts industry, it drew trade and high school graduates who often hailed from family-owned printing businesses. In 1981, RIT’s printing program peaked with 775 students, learning business management and hands-on (primarily sheetfed and web offset) production operations skills. So, it’s no surprise that some of the roughly 4,000 active alumni are disheartened to learn that RIT’s print and graphic media technology curriculum, which has experienced several years of declining enrollment, is being integrated into the university’s packaging science program.