This week in interesting industry headlines:
Use of Unmanned Aircraft System in agriculture continues to expand [Farm & Ranch Guide]
"These larger unmanned aircraft will be used in precision agriculture and some of the first things farmers will be willing to pay for is the ability to make yield predictions. In addition, Nowatzki predicts farmers will use large UAS to track insect and disease movements. Accurate elevation data, he feels, is also something growers will be willing to pay for." Read more
Exuberance and Disappointment at Shell's About-Face in the Arctic [NYTimes.com]
"The economies and cultures of Alaska and Washington have long been intertwined and dependent. Many Alaskan fishing fleets today are based in Seattle and pay their wages here; in decades past, gold miners disembarked from Puget Sound for the gold fields of Alaska and Canada. The result is akind of mutual orbit with each side circling the other, in mutual benefit or frustration. On Monday, the glaring differences were everywhere." Read more
Timing is important when disposing equipment at auction [American City & County]
"Tractor-loader-backhoes in the North American markets are following seasonal trends in auction and private retail valuations, according to a new EquipmentWatch Intelligence report. The valuations, say EquipmentWatch analysts, vary based on model age and month of sale." Read more
Volkswagen's Biggest Challenge Right Now: Fixing the Cars [Fox Business]
"It's believed that VW's engineers, under intense pressure to meet mileage and performance targets, chose to rig the software because they couldn't hit those targets while keeping the emissions below legal levels. Certain types of emission controls impede both performance and fuel economy. One of the challenges facing new VW CEO Matthias Mueller is that all of those cars must now be fixed." Read more
Alcoa splitts into mining and metal groups [Financial Times]
"Its move is intended to create businesses with differing characteristics that will appeal to different types of investor: a cyclical commodity business that will generate a lot of cash during upturns, and a metals business that can deliver long-term growth serving the aerospace and automotive industries." Read more
