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Hey. Hey, good morning. Welcome to the Business Buzz here on Supply Chain. Now this is Scott Luton, your host. Today here I'll be sharing a variety of business observations and interesting news stories from across the business world. So welcome to the Business Buzz for January 18th, 2023. Let's dive on in. In item number one today, let's take a look at the freight market, in particular, the domestic trucking industry. Dr. Jason Miller, who is the chair of the Department of Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University. Well, he shares a ton of outstanding data and analysis very regularly on LinkedIn. Recently, Miller wrote that we might be looking at some early signs that the trucking sector is quote, normalizing Miller points to a stable manufacturing sector as a factor. Specifically, the farming equipment industry should have a great year in 2023. Industry machinery production has remained very steady and with all that pinup automotive demand that consumers have, Miller expects the automotive industry and all of its automotive parts suppliers to be strong this year.
And he concludes by stating, despite a lot of rhetoric, freight volumes didn't fall much in 2022. All freight market participants need to be closely watching the spot market conditions over the coming weeks to determine whether the market has indeed hit a bottom to prepare for the spring bounce in volumes. Good stuff as always, Dr. Miller and to our audience. Hey, join us on February 8th at 12 noon eastern time on supply chain now for our live stream focused on key observations on the US freight market in partnership with our friends at US Bank. Now with item number two today, wanna look at the global trade markets. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on China's continued trade troubles as Chinese exports dropped a whopping 9.9% in December, 2022. Now, that rate was even faster than the drop of 8.7% in November, just the month before. Analysts estimate that China's economy grew in 2022 at its slowest pace in more than two decades.
Now, as widely reported in recent months, many companies are restructuring their global supply chains attempting to lessen dependence on China. Donnie Rodrick, Harvard University professor and author told the Wall Street Journal quote, what we are witnessing is not a collapse of globalization. It is more of a reshaping of it. Very much agreed professor. All right, so let's share a few economic metrics on item number three here on the business buzz. The World Bank lowered is 2023 global economic growth outlook about a week ago from an initial growth projection of 3% this year down to a projection of 1.7%. Now on the flip side, Barclays recently raised its growth outlook for 2023 for the global economy from the 1.7% growth they predicted in November to now 2.2%. The US consumer price index decreased 0.1% in December, driven largely by lowered energy prices and thankfully slowing food price increases.
The US unemployment rate also dropped in December, falling from 3.7 to 3.5%. Now the leisure and hospitality sector has made big gains in recent months as consumers are showing continued high demand for all sorts of services. However, the sector remains below its pre pandemic levels in terms of employment. So still got some catching up do there. And here's an interesting quote that Kelly Barner from doopy for procurement share with me earlier. It comes from the January 17th edition of the Wall Street Journal quote, on average business and academic economists polled by the journal put the probability of a recession in the next 12 months or so at 61%. Little changed from 63% on October survey. Both figures are historically high outside actual recessions. For item number four, here's an interesting quote on the path ahead. We are all familiar with the semiconductor industry challenges in recent years, right?
Well, Intel ceo, pat Gelsinger was being interviewed by C N N recently where he spoke about the impact of the oil industry and how all reserves have really defined geopolitics for the last 50 years. And then Gelsinger said, quote, where the technology supply chains are and where semiconductors are built is more important for the next five decades. Intel is currently investing some 110 billion in new chip making facilities in the US and in Europe. And finally, today on the business Buzz, we all observed, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this past Monday in the United States. We all owe so much to Dr. King and the King family. Of course, one cherished element to Dr. King's legacy is that I have a dream speech, an iconic address delivered during the March on Washington on August 28th, 1963. Some 250,000 people attended the event in dc. And the logistics for handling such a big crowd is largely an afterthought in history books everywhere.
Well, I'd like to introduce you to Byard Rustin, who I might call an honorary supply chain practitioner who organized the massive logistics for the 1963 March on Washington. Learn more in this following snippet from past episode of this week in business history. Finally, today I wanna share the story of one Byard Rustin, who has been called one of the most influential and effective organizers of the Civil Rights movement. Rustin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania and raised by his maternal grandparents who were active in the Civil rights movement in the early 20th century. In fact, NAACP leaders such as W E B dubois and James Weldon Johnson were said to be frequent guests in Rustin's grandparents' home. And of course, they would greatly influence his worldview. After attending college at Wilbur Force University and Cheney State Teachers College, Byard Rustin would move to Harlem in 1937, where he'd get involved in a WA variety of things from civil rights to communism to music.
In the 1940s, Rustin would travel to California to help protect the property of some 120,000 Japanese Americans that had been placed in internment camps during World War ii. 1942, some 13 years before Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Byard Rustin will be a pioneer in the movement to desegregate bus travel. He boarded a bus in Louisville and sat in the second row as it headed toward its destination of Nashville, Tennessee. Rustin would be asked by a variety of drivers to move to the back. He refused some 13 miles shy of Nashville. The bus was stopped and Rustin would be beaten, arrested, and taken to jail, eventually released with no charges. In 1948, Byard Rustin would travel to India for seven weeks. In an effort to closely study Mahama Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence, Rustin would share these learnings with Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King would invite him to serve as a formal advisor, even though he knew Rustin would receive criticism from other civil rights leaders due to his homosexuality at the time. That didn't matter to Dr. King who would later write that quote. We are thoroughly committed to the method of nonviolence in our struggle, and we are convinced that Bayard's, expertness and commitment in this area will be of Inestimable value. In 1956, Byard Rustin would become a key advisor and supporter to Dr. King during the Montgomery Bus boycott during one of Rustin's visits to Montgomery. And as he was participating in one of Dr. King's meetings, he would later write, quote, as I watched people walk away, I had a feeling that no force on Earth can stop this movement. It has all the elements to touch the hearts of men. In quote, in 1962, a Philip Randolph would recruit Rustin to help him with an initiative that would center on a large march on Washington.
DC March was meant to mark the 100 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Rustin would be deeply involved in the wide variety of operations and logistics that would make this historic event incredibly successful in a critical communication piece called Organizing Manual number two, Rustin and his team would assemble core information and disseminate that, which included, quote, who is sponsoring the march while we march our demands, how our demands will be presented in Congress. Who will march? What are our immediate tasks? How do I get to Washington? The schedule in Washington? How do we leave Washington signs and banners, food, health and sanitation facilities, children and overnight accommodation? Captains, marshals, Marshalls, what a remarkable list. How detailed was that? But all told that level of detail and planning expertise was incredibly important, and it would lead to the 1963 march on Washington for jobs and freedom.
Well, that would be, as we all know, wildly successful and really incredibly important to the overall Civil Rights movement. In fact, it was so successful that one of Byard Rustin's nicknames would eventually be Mr. March on Washington. Over 200,000 people would assemble in our nation's capital demanding change. Of course, the event would facilitate one of history's most iconic speeches of all time. That would be the I have a Dream speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin would be among the delegation of civil rights leaders that would meet with President Kennedy at the White House after the march, although Rustin would sadly be forced in the shadows due to his homosexuality. Rustin's longtime partner, Walter Nagle would say years later that Rustin quote, as a Quaker, he believed in being of service and didn't need to be in the spotlight. A lifetime of service is what Byard Rustin would be committed to.
Rustin would pass away on August 24th, 1987, just four days shy of the 24th anniversary of the march on Washington. Rustin once wrote that quote, the principle factors which influenced my life are one non-violent tactics. Two, constitutional means three democratic procedures. Four, respect for human personality. Five, a belief that all people are one. In the quote, 26 years after Rustin's passing President Bar, Obama would award him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, which would state quote, Byard Rustin was an unyielding activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all. An advisor to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He promoted non-violent resistance, participated in one of the first Freedom Rides, organized the 1963 march on Washington for jobs and freedom, and fought tirelessly for marginalized communities at home and abroad as an openly gay African American. Mr. Rustin stood at the intersection of several of the fights for equal rights. Byard. Rustin's, remarkable accomplishments certainly prove that whether you are in the spotlight or not, your efforts and accomplishments can truly make history. What a very special story, special person, and during a very special time in our nation's history. So that does it for this week's edition of The Business Buzz. This is Scott Luton, and on behalf of our entire team here at Supply Chain now, we wish you a wonderful week ahead. Hey, do good, give forward and be the change that's needed. And on that note, we'll see you next time. Right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.
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