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FRA Proposes "Sweeping" New Rule for U.S. Railroads The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has proposed a rule it terms the "most sweeping and revolutionary proposal in decades" to govern the safety of tank cars carrying hazardous materials, reports Progressive Railroading. For starters, the rule would require tank cars carrying poisons such as chlorine to be strengthened to avoid punctures at higher speeds than currently stipulated, while train speeds will also be lowered. In addition, some tank cars manufactured prior to 1989 will be phased out entirely under the proposed rule because they do not adequately resist fractures that can lead to a catastrophic failure, said FRA officials. Auto Production Shifts to BRIC Nations A recent study by Canada's Scotiabank states that auto production in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (known as the BRIC nations) will surpass that of North America, traditionally the world's largest car market, for the first time in 2008. The study cites plant closures in North America coupled with rising production in emerging nations with driving the trend. Specifically, auto production in emerging markets has grown 15 percent over the past five years as automakers have sought out new consumer markets and lower-cost manufacturing opportunities. Scotiabank senior economist Carlos Gomes said the rising car production in emerging nations "is particularly troubling for the Canadian auto parts sector, because the industry remains almost exclusively focused on the domestic and U.S. markets." "These two markets absorb more than 95 percent of all Canadian auto parts shipments, but are increasingly becoming a smaller piece of the global auto industry," he explained. Slowing Economy Not Dragging Down Industrial Real Estate One of the world's leading industrial real estate developers says the U.S. market for distribution facilities is holding up despite a slowing economy. The average vacancy rate for bulk distribution space across the country's top 30 markets increased to 7.8 percent at the end of 2007 from 7.6 percent at the mid-point of the year, according to the real estate developer. Meanwhile, another survey of the market shows that construction on new distribution facilities jumped during the second half of 2007 to 79 million square feet from the 66 million square feet of new construction reported during the first half of last year. "The nation's bulk distribution property leasing markets held up well last year, despite the global credit crunch," said an executive with the company. However, he cautioned that the outlook for 2008 is uncertain. Demand for IT Services in Asia-Pacific Posts Strong Growth Consultancy Springboard Research says demand for IT services in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) was estimated to be worth $37.5 billion in 2007. Furthermore, India's IT services market, forecast to expand at an annual 18.6 percent rate, will remain the fastest growing, the firm reported. "The Asia-Pacific IT services market is arguably the global leader in terms of growth, supplemented with a mix of mature and emerging markets," said an executive at Springboard Research. "The markets of interest are not just the top four -- China, India, Australia and Korea -- but the emerging ones like Indonesia and Vietnam, which will register significant growth," he added. In India, annual economic growth of 9 percent is spurring domestic IT spending as companies upgrade computer systems to stay competitive and consumers log onto the Internet.