Since the time the “electronic revolution” hit the telecommunication industry, the competition in the field has exponentially increased leading to furious investment and innovation, helping to give rise to the digital economy. The digital economy supported the development of many electronic appliances such as smart phones, watches, TVs, refrigerators, security systems, and of course, environmentally friendly electric vehicles.

The global intelligent lighting controls market is estimated to reach $36 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% from 2017 to 2023, according to the market intelligence report Global Intelligent Lighting Controls Market by BIS Research.

Emerging technologies have accelerated the usage of intelligent lighting controls in various end use applications. The market is further being driven by the increasing smart homes market along with customization benefits and the continuously decreasing average selling price (ASP) of LED bulbs.

The US airline industry features three types of carriers in terms of operating model: traditional carriers, low-cost carriers (LCCs), and ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs). ULCCs – largely represented by Spirit Airlines (Spirit), Frontier Airlines, and Allegiant Travel Company (Allegiant) – experienced impressive revenue growth over the 2010-2015 period.

In concrete production, water and cement react to bind together fine aggregates (primarily sand) and coarse aggregates such as crushed stone or natural gravel. A relatively small amount of water is needed to initiate this chemical reaction (hydration) to transform the ingredients into concrete. 

However, additional water is often required to make the mix workable enough to be poured and finished, and the addition of too much extra water can decrease the strength of finished concrete. Reduced durability in concrete can lead to a premature need for repairs or replacement in the residential and nonresidential building sectors, as well as in such public projects as highways, streets, bridges, and dams.

Technological innovation is transforming all aspects of the motorcycle production process, even the product testing phase. The development of new, state-of-the-art testing technologies allows companies to design and produce cutting-edge motorcycles that offer increased safety and superior performance.

Over the past few years, trends in three key indicators have taken hold of some of the larger markets for engineering services. These are:

• dynamic changes in natural gas and crude oil prices
• a surge in spending on nonresidential building construction
• an uptick in the retirement of coal-fired power plant capacity

The direction these indicators take going forward may significantly influence demand for engineering services in their associated market segments.

In the US, the majority of trucks are powered by soybeans. Sort of. Under its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a target of 2.0 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel in the US diesel supply for 2017 – a 16% increase over 2015 levels. Soybean-derived biodiesel represents the predominant type of this renewable fuel.

But another type of biomass-based diesel – renewable diesel – is experiencing vigorous growth in demand due to a confluence of EPA mandates, rising distillate fuel consumption, and performance advantages.

Watching paint dry? That’s boring. But knowing that as the paint dries, it’s water – not toxic chemicals – evaporating into the air? Now that’s exciting.

Water-Based vs. Solvent-Based Coatings

Water-based coatings, which employ water as their liquefying agent rather than chemical solvents, have made huge inroads worldwide over the past few decades. Consumers, professional painters, OEMs, as well as government regulators, have increasingly recognized the advantages of eco-friendly water-based paints, including low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, easy cleanup, and low odor.

2015 marked a turning point for the US funeral and cemetery industry. For the first time, more Americans were cremated than buried underground.

The past decade has been an exhilarating ride for producers of frac sand, or silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing. North American shale oil and gas production has surged since 2010, bringing tremendous opportunities to the previously quiet silica sand industry. In 2014, the market for frac sand in North America was 20 times larger than it was a decade earlier, according to a recent study published by The Freedonia Group.

But for every boom, there is a bust. In late 2014, consumption began to decline as oil and gas prices plummeted across the world. Now, instead of embarking on ambitious expansions, frac sand suppliers have idled production and mining operations. The stock price of Fairmount Santrol, the US’s largest frac sand producer, dropped from $16.98 at the time of its IPO in 2014 to a low of $1.23 in January 2016.