Crude oil prices rose as the impending impact of Hurricane Michael has put a stop to some U.S. oil output in the gulf coast region.

Crude futures rose 0.6 percent as concerns over the storm’s impact has cause production shutdowns in the oil rich region.  According to reports, production could drop as much as 19 percent.  The International Energy Association has already called on producers in other parts of the world to increase production as concerns about supply mount.

Related: Hurricane Causes Automakers to Temporarily Suspend Facility Operations

Crude has already seen a 20 percent increase this year, as international tension and pipeline bottlenecks in the United States have cut down on supply.

Construction spending rose slightly in the month of August, as government spending offset a slight decline in home building and non-residential construction.

According to a report by the Department of Commerce, spending increased .1 percent, putting the seasonally adjusted annual rate at 1.32 trillion, down .4 percent from a record high in May.  Residential projects fell .7 percent, while nonresidential construction fell .2 percent.  However, public construction increased to its highest level since 2009 with a 2 percent increase.

Spending for federal, state and local projects all increased as part of that 2 percent.  The economy overall saw a growth rate of 4.2 percent annually.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced it will revise safety rules that prevent fully autonomous cars from driving on roads without steering wheels, pedals, mirrors and other equipment.

According to reports, the NHTSA will seek to make changes to safety standards that some in the organization do no consider relevant for vehicles without human drivers.  Under the current rules, automakers must meet a set of 75 safety standards, most of which assume the vehicles in question are being driven by humans.

Related: GM Issues Recall on 2015 Trucks, SUVs

The attempt at changing the standards comes after General Motors filed a petition seeking an exemption to the current rules in January.  If approved, the company would be able to deploy vehicles without steering wheels as part of its planned 2019 ride sharing fleet.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated its national emphasis program after a spike in excavation and trench collapse.

Under the updated program, OSHA will have inspectors record their findings in a national reporting system.  Local OSHA offices will also develop outreach programs and educational strategies for companies.  The emphasis program began Oct. 1, which kicked off a planned three month education and prevention outreach period.  Enforcement procedures also began on Oct. 1 and are expected to continue indefinitely.

OSHA has said it will continue to respond to complaints and referrals from those impacted.  The organization has listed several resources on its website to help employers comply with the new standards.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), an organization of enforcement carriers across North America, has been ramping up its enforcement of a 1998 law requiring labels on rear impact guards.

Since 1998, trailers with long overhangs and vans have been required to have rear impact guards (RIGs).  Each of these RIGs must also be properly labeled.  According to reports, drivers are seeing an increase in violations for issues with these decals.  This has caught the attention of the American Trucking Association, who have expressed concern over the increase.

A properly formatted label should list the name of the trailer manufacturer, where the trailer was built and when.

In our last newsletter, we talked about building out an online presence for your shop, including some of the challenges and benefits that come with it.  But what happens once you have your site built?  Or your social media page ready to go?  Keeping your digital presence well maintained is important in turning a small advantage into a huge one.

As a shop owner, you know how important routine maintenance is for vehicles, equipment or any piece of machinery.  It isn’t much different for a website.  It is critical to look through your website every so often to make sure everything is working as it should be.  Make sure links still work.  Make sure photos are still visible.  Definitely make sure all the products, services and pricing you have listed are up to date.  It might be a good idea to create a regular web maintenance schedule, whether it be on a weekly or monthly basis, to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Related: Simple Steps Can Help Reduce the Cost of Downtime

Ensuring the information on your website is up to date may be the most important part of maintenance.  It’s easy to forget about making an update when you start or stop a special offer or change pricing.  This can become a problem when a customer comes in expecting to pay one rate and being charged another.  You may not lose an immediate sale, but its very likely that customer is going to feel ripped off and go elsewhere in the future.  They are also going to let everyone who will listen know about their experience either online or via word of mouth.  If they didn’t have a good experience, especially if it involves pricing, that can be bad for business.

By the same token, not having a new product or service or extended hours listed on your site can be costly as well.  That new feature or extra hour of operation on Sundays might be the difference between someone coming to your shop.  While it likely won’t have the negative impact of posting incorrect information, it could still result in potential dollars lost.

If you are using your website or social media platform to communicate with your customers, be sure to post updates regularly.  It doesn’t have to be every hour, but posting at least every week is generally good policy.  If you suddenly stop interacting, it can throw up a red flag to customers.   Some may think you have gone out of business or closed your shop.  It also calls the credibility of the information on your website into question.  If your most recent posts are from three or four years ago, how can a customer be sure everything else on your site isn’t also out of date?  You don’t have to spend hours blasting posts all over social media, but a quick updatecan go a long way.

Keeping your online presence well maintained is critical for long term success in that space.  It takes a little extra effort, but it will go a long way into bringing more customers to your shop and building a trusted brand name for yourself.

An Ohio-based company has announced it plans to build a fully-automated indoor farm, the first of its kind in the United States.

80 Acres Farms of Cincinnati broke ground on the facility Monday, which will clock in at 150 thousand square feet upon completion.  According to reports, all aspects of the growing process will be automated, from seeding to harvesting.  The facility will be monitored by company employees and mechanical control systems and will be operational throughout the entire year.  Crops grown will include a variety of greens, herbs and kale.

Related: Learn more about the different industries served by PetroChoice

Produce grown at the site will supply various food retailers, including Whole Foods.  The farm will be built in three phases, with the first on track to be completed before year’s end.

Automaker Nissan announced the sample testing at its Japanese factories failed to meet national testing standards, leading to improper measuring of exhaust emissions and fuel economy.

According to reports, the incident marks the second time this year the company has reported issues with its inspection process.  In addition to the emissions and fuel economy tests, Nissan said tests for external vehicle noise, horn volume and headlights were also conducted improperly.

Related: GM Issues Recall on 2015 Trucks, SUVs

The automaker blamed a lack of oversight by its plant managers and a shortage of inspectors, as well as a need for more training.  It plans to have future tests overseen by supervisors and increase its number of inspectors going forward.

The questionable testing only impacted vehicles that were to be sold in Japan.  None of the cars in question were exported for sale in other countries.