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| U.S.-South Korea FTA enters force March 15 |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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The White House on Tuesday said the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement will enter into force on March 15. The announcement followed the completion over the President’s Day weekend of work by the United States and South Korea to review each other’s laws and regulations related to the implementation of the agreement. The United States has exchanged diplomatic notes with South Korea in which each side confirmed that they had completed their legal requirements and proc...
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| Shipping analyst sees brighter 2012 for Asia-U.S. trade |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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Trenck A leading shipping analyst said last week he expects the transpacific trade to perform better in 2012 than it did in 2011. “I feel better about the U.S. short-term than many other areas of the globe,” Charles de Trenck, founder of Hong Kong-based Transport Trackers, wrote in his 2012 forecast. “The political cycle is also bound to distort the picture – and may hurt prospects for needed deeper budget cuts. The U.S. in 2012 will be a year of politics when it would be tough...
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| SAP launches consumer app |
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Monday, February 20, 2012
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Last week, SAP launched its first consumer app, Recalls Plus. Recalls Plus addresses the often cumbersome process of tracking consumer goods recalls via a new engagement system with share options and social networking. It also allows consumers to track recalls on individual products, product categories, and food allergens on mobiles. While doing this, SAP brings this information to consumers directly, bypassing all manufacturers a...
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| Analyst: $13.1 billion for smart transport |
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Friday, February 17, 2012
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A study by Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm, found that intelligent transportation systems (ITS) will continue to see increased investment worldwide despite tightening purse strings. Pike estimates global investments in smart transport technology will reach $13.1 billion from 2011 through 2017. ITS, also called smart transportation systems, includes electric vehicles, vehicles with advanced telematics systems, new and ...
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| U.S., EU seal organic food trade |
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
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The United States and European Union on Wednesday announced that starting June 1 organic products certified in Europe or the United States may be sold as “organic” in either region. The United States and Europe are considered the world’s largest producers of organic crops, with a collective value of $52 billion (40 billion euros). The agreement’s signing took place at the BioFach World Organic Fair, the largest trade show for organic products in the world. &...
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| ITC: U.S. makers hurt by washers from South Korea, Mexico |
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
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The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined that there is a “reasonable indication” domestic manufacturers of large residential washers imported from South Korea are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value. The ITC also determined similar washers imported from Mexico, while not subsidized, are also sold at less than fair value in the United States. The commission made its determination in a 4-1 vote on Fr...
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| Wind turbine tower imports hurt U.S. makers, ITC says |
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
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The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined there is a “reasonable indication” that domestic manufacturers of utility-scale wind turbine towers are injured by imports allegedly subsidized by China and from both China and Vietnam sold in the United States at less than fair value. The commission made its determination in a 5-0 vote on Friday. As a result, the Commerce Department will continue its investigations on imports of these products, wit...
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| U.S. trade deficit grows even with strong exports |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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The U.S. trade deficit widened in December and for 2011 as a whole despite solid growth in exports, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday. December exports and imports totaled $178.8 billion and $227.6 billion, respectively, resulting in a goods and services deficit of $48.8 billion, up 3.7 percent from $47.1 billion in November. The December trade deficit compared to a year ago increased $8.3 billion, with exports up $14.8 billion, or 9 percent, and imp...
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| U.S., Peru urge end to yarn forward rule |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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U.S. import and Peruvian export advocates last week sent a letter to Peruvian Foreign Trade Minister Jose Luis Silva and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging elimination of a “yarn forward” rule of origin on apparel as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The Peruvian Associación de Exportadores (ADEX) and members associations of the U.S. Trans-Pacific Partnership Apparel Coalition sent a joint letter on behalf of U.S. and Peru apparel producers, reta...
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| Drewry upbeat about ro/ro business |
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Thursday, February 09, 2012
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Drewry, a maritime research firm, said the car carrier industry is "better positioned than most others in the shipping industry, who suffer from large newbuilding orderbooks, to weather a double-dip recession." Publicizing a new report on the sector, Drewry said "the downturn hurt car-carrying vessels, with capacity utilization falling significantly," but added "operators are now less likely to charter tonnage for long periods, instead placing an emphasis on fu...
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| U.S., Vietnam to close $1.5 billion in finance deals |
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012
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Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, is meeting with Vietnamese government officials this week in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi to boost U.S. commercial ties and business opportunities with the Southeast Asian country. In 2011, Ex-Im Bank authorized only about $1 million in financing to Vietnam. However, nearly $1.5 billion in infrastructure projects are currently in discussion, including satellite, thermal power, and renewable energy projects...
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| Hazardous waste cargo seized in Indonesia |
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Monday, February 06, 2012
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Several environmental groups reported a shipment of 113 containers of toxic waste discovered last month at the Jakarta Tanjung Priok Port in Indonesia points up the continuing problem of hazardous waste being shipped to developing countries. Indonesia Toxics-Free Network, the Basel Action Network, Ban Toxics, and BaliFokus urged all world governments to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment and enforce the Basel Convention which seeks to control...
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| Open U.S.-Canada wheat trade sought |
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Friday, February 03, 2012
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The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) each passed a resolution calling for an open border with Canada that provides reciprocal bilateral wheat trade. Under a December 2011 law, which still faces some legal challenges, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) will lose its grain marketing monopoly Aug. 1, allowing western Canadian farmers to sell their wheat and barley in the open market. The United States is routinely Canada’...
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| First batch of Fords heads to S. Korea |
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Wednesday, February 01, 2012
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The Port of Portland two weeks ago began exporting Ford vehicles made in Detroit to South Korea, marking the first time the auto maker has utilized the Pacific Northwest to deliver finished vehicles abroad, the Oregon port announced on its Website. The Columbia River port is taking advantage of its import facilities and rail services to export U.S.-made cars. Glovis, the logistics arm of South Korean manufacturer Hyundai, arranges with roll-on/roll-off carrier ...
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| FMC's Cordero sees LNG as ship fuel |
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Wednesday, February 01, 2012
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Liquefied natural gas "continues to make progress as a credible fuel alternative" for international transport carriers, Federal Maritime Commissioner Mario Cordero told a conference in Houston last week. Speaking at the World LNG Fuels Conference, Cordero referenced an annoucement from the classification society Det Norke Veritas last month that it had approved in principle a design by Kawasaki Heavy Industries of a 9,000-TEU containership fueled by LNG. ...
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| WTO slaps China’s export restraints |
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
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The World Trade Organization Appellate Body on Monday found China’s export restraints on several industrial raw materials used as key components in the steel, aluminum, and chemicals industries to be inconsistent with the country’s WTO obligations. The Appellate Body affirmed a WTO dispute settlement panel’s July 2011 finding, agreeing with the United States and rejecting China’s attempts to portray its export restraints as conservation or environmental protection measur...
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| Shippers see TP roll-up, rates falling |
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Monday, January 30, 2012
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The number of eastbound transpacific shippers whose cargo was rolled has increased markedly since November, according to American Shipper ’s latest survey of shippers, intermediaries and carriers in the trade. In November, American Shipper found that 31 percent of shippers had experienced recent cargo rolls, but that number spiked to 60 percent, according to the most recent poll, conducted Jan. 27-30. American Shipper ’s Transpacific Pulse survey drew responses fro...
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| TNT starts pharma transport service |
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Monday, January 30, 2012
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TNT Express said Monday it has started a service that will simplify and secure the international movements of pharmaceutical products requiring strict temperature control, such as such as vaccines and insulin. The express carrier said its PharmaSafe service is "designed to tackle the main challenge facing pharmaceutical supply chains: the lack of control and visibility inherent in the involvement of too many parties (typically more than 20 for an air shipm...
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| U.S. West Coast container volume drops in 2011 |
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Friday, January 27, 2012
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Total 2011 container volume at the major U.S. West Coast ports fell by 0.8 percent year-on-year, according to the maritime consultant Dynamar. Collective volume at Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, and Tacoma dropped to 19.1 million TEUs, compared to 19.2 million TEUs in 2010. As previously reported by American Shipper , Los Angeles saw volume rise 1.4 percent, while Long Beach volume fell 3.2 percent in 2011, mostly thanks to volume switching ...
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| AAFA holds emerging market seminar |
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Friday, January 27, 2012
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The American Apparel & Footwear Association will host a seminar Jan. 31 in New York to discuss overseas retail growth. The seminar, Retail Hotspots: Developing a Strategy to Globalize, will focus on market entry, operation models, and consumer demographics in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations. Speakers include Dr. Harry Broadman, PriceWaterhouseCoopers' chief economist and emerging markets practice leader, and former White House trade ne...
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| IMF dials back 2012 growth forecast |
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
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The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday scaled back its forecast for world economic growth this year to 3.3 percent from 4 percent projected in September because of a mild recession expected in the Euro zone that will contribute to slow growth elsewhere. The forecast is lower than the 3.8 percent growth expected for 2011 and the 5.2 percent global growth in 2010. The IMF slashed its growth projections for advanced countries by three-quarters of a poi...
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| Drewry sees more interest in index-linked contracts |
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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Neil Dekker, head of container research for London-based Drewry, said interest in index-linked shipping contracts may grow this year because of continuing volatility in shipping rates and the possibility that rates may spike later this year. Speaking about the latest edition of Drewry's Container Forecaster publication in a video posted on the company's Website, Dekker said Drewry has heard anecdotally that interest in index-linked contracts is on the rise by shippers an...
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| Ports debate Panama Canal widening |
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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The ability to move larger ships through the Panama Canal will reduce the cost of all-water service between the Far East and the eastern part of the United States, but speakers at a conference held last week in Tampa, Fla. were divided on how significant theimpact of the canal will be on cargo routing. "We are not the fat hog waiting to be cut," said Dean Wise, vice president of network strategy for the BNSF Railway. "We are not going to sit back and see t...
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| U.S., Canada extend lumber agreement |
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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The United States and Canada on Monday signed a two-year extension of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA), so that the agreement will be in effect through Oct. 12, 2015. “The Softwood Lumber Agreement is very important for U.S. producers, particularly when both sides of the border are facing weak demand,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. Monday’s action extends the SLA with no changes. The SLA entered into force on Oct. 12, 2006 and was ...
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| Trade finance dwindles in 2012 |
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Friday, January 20, 2012
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New research by the International Chamber of Commerce and International Monetary Fund has revealed a pessimistic outlook for demand for trade finance products like letters of credit in 2012, with the euro crisis largely to blame. Based on input from 337 financial institutions responding to a joint ICC-IMF survey , the findings show emerging Asia has the strongest outlook globally while the euro area is the weakest. Results of the survey were released Thursday by the U.S....
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| U.S., Saudi Arabia discuss trade opportunities |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
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U.S. and Saudi Arabian government officials discussed ways to open trade avenues between the two countries during a meeting in Riyadh this week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement. Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East L. Daniel Mullaney and Saudi Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry for Foreign Trade Abdullah A. Al-Hamoudi co-chaired the second meeting of the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Trade and Investment Council, with ...
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| U.S. exports fall 0.9% in November |
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Monday, January 16, 2012
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The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday reported that U.S. exports of goods and services in November 2011 fell 0.9 percent from the previous month to $177.8 billion. However, the department noted that November’s exports of consumer goods ($15.7 billion) were the highest on record. U.S. imports of goods and services increased 1.3 percent to reach $225.6 billion, causing the U.S. trade deficit to increase 10.4 percent to reach $47.8 billion in November. P...
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| Agility releases new emerging markets index |
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Monday, January 16, 2012
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Agility and Transport Intelligence said ithey will launch the second edition of the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, a measure of how change and instability in the last year have affected more than 40 of the world’s emerging markets. The index will address issues like: Which market became China’s biggest trading partner? Did the Arab Spring impact business and confidence across the Middle East? Which markets does the logistics industry think are the top 10 ...
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| U.S. containerized imports up 1% in 2011 |
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
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U.S. containerized import volume rose 1.5 percent year-on-year in December, according to trade intelligence firm Zepol Corp, with total inbound volume increasing just less than 1 percent for 2011 compared to 2010. U.S. imports from China declined in 2011 by 0.8 percent, while imports from South Korea rose by 5.3 percent. Total 2011 imports from Asia dropped by 0.5 percent, while imports from Europe rose by 8.5 percent, partly due to a 12.2 percent increase from Germany and a 19...
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| November Asia-Europe volume falls |
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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November container volume from Asia to Europe declined by 5.3 percent year-on-year, according to the latest figures from Container Trade Statistics. Volume reached 1 million TEUs on the westbound Asia-Europe lane in November, the latest month for which statistics are available. For the year, European volume from Asia was 12.7 million TEUs, a 3 percent increase from the same period in 2010. On the transatlantic, eastbound volume in November fell 4.6...
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| U.S., South Korea meet on FTA implementation |
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Monday, January 09, 2012
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Jan. 9-10 will hold working-level meetings with South Korea in Seoul to continue discussions related to implementation of the U.S.-Korea trade agreement. The delegations will discuss each other’s respective laws and regulations related to implementation of the trade agreement, USTR said. On Oct. 12, Congress approved the U.S.-Korea FTA among other trade legislation including FTAs with Colombia and Panama. The Korean Nat...
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| Small firms miss exports, UPS says |
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Friday, December 30, 2011
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Only a quarter of small and medium-sized businesses export even though growth prospects overseas are better than strictly through domestic sales, according to a survey of more than 1,000 companies sponsored by UPS. The survey sample shows the untapped potential for exports, but is substantially more than the 1 percent of U.S. companies overall that the U.S. government and other experts estimate are engaged export activity. The uncertain economy and governmen...
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| AGOA countries remain same |
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Friday, December 30, 2011
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The White House has determined all 40 sub-Saharan African countries currently eligible for trade preferences and other benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) will remain the same and no new countries will be added at this time. The Obama administration’s determination is based on the annual review of whether the countries named in AGOA continue to meet its eligibility criteria. Those criteria include establishing, or making continual prog...
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| Bryson plans trade mission to India |
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
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Newly minted U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson will lead his first trade mission on March 25-30 to India, focusing on infrastructure opportunities. India plans to invest about $1 trillion in infrastructure during the next five years. “Selling more made-in-USA infrastructure products to India will help U.S. companies grow and hire more people while helping India meet its ambitious goals to dramatically improve it roads, railway and bridges,” Bryson sa...
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| WTO government procurement revised |
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Friday, December 16, 2011
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During the 8th Ministerial Conference Thursday, the World Trade Organization finalized the revision to its Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). The United States praised the revision stating it will provide new opportunities for U.S. goods and services suppliers to secure government procurement contracts in numerous additional markets in WTO member economies. “Government procurement represents one of the most rapidly expanding areas of opportunity fo...
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| U.S. trade steps to help African countries |
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
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In advance of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, the United States on Wednesday announced steps to help the poorest WTO member countries benefit more fully from global trade. Expanding on programs providing preferential access to the U.S. market for least developed countries’ (LDCs) exports, as well as ongoing contributions in Aid for Trade and trade-related capacity, and new, additional initiatives include: Renewal of a technical assistance ...
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| Asia-Europe volume up 3.5% in October |
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Monday, December 12, 2011
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October containerized imports from Asia to Europe grew 3.5 percent against the same month in 2010, according to the latest figures from Container Trade Statistics (CTS). CTS tracks container volumes on trades to and from Europe, using information direct from carriers. Asia-to-Europe volume reached 1.1 million TEUs in October, the latest month for which CTS has statistics. Year-to-date through October, volume was 11.7 million TEUs, up 4 percent on the same period in ...
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| Air freight slump continued in October |
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Monday, November 28, 2011
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A drop in business confidence amidst worsening economic conditions led to a 4.7 percent drop in freight-ton kilometers flown in October versus the same month in 2010, the International Air Transport Association reported Monday. Since June, air cargo volumes have slumped almost 5 percent even though world trade overall is only off by 1 percent. IATA attributed the difference to purchasing managers cutting air freight and switching to cheaper, slower transport modes in antic...
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| Maryland governor leads trade delegation to India |
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Monday, November 28, 2011
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O'Malley Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is scheduled to arrive in India Monday with representatives from 43 companies, educators and state officials on a six-day trade mission to Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. Prior to arriving in India O'Malley and Christian Johansson, secretary of business and economic development, will make a brief stop in Doha, Qatar, to discuss foreign direct investment opportunities in Maryland. The governor will work to convince Indian comp...
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| Trucks show economy is growing |
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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The American Trucking Associations' advance seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index increased 0.5 percent in October after rising a revised 1.5 percent in September 2011. The not-seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 118.5 in October, which was 0.8 percent below the previous month. "Tonnage readings continue to show that the economy is growin...
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| Panjiva sees depressed retail shipment data |
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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The trade information service Panjiva said its review of shipping data "suggests retailers are taking the necessary precautions to avoid a large surplus of products following the holiday season." It said some popular toys and high end consumer goods may be hard to find in stores this holiday season because of cautious ordering by retailers. The New York-based firm said that typically between August through October "the 'it' holiday toys generally receive at le...
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| U.S. economy grew only 2% in 3Q |
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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The Commerce Department on Tuesday revised downward its estimate of U.S. economic growth in the third quarter to 2 percent from 2.5 percent last month. The new estimate of the nation's output of goods and services is based on more complete data. Productivity increases came from consumer spending, exports, federal government spending and non-residential fixed investment. Those gains were counteracted by a decreases in inventories, and state and local government ...
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| LA container volume and retail sales grow in October |
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
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Loaded inbound volume at the Port of Los Angeles rebounded in October, growing by 5.5 percent year-on-year, to 368,842 TEUs. That ended a run of four consecutive months in which import volume fell year-on-year at the United States’ largest container port. Overall, volume climbed 4.4 percent in October compared to the same month in 2010, to 712,586 TEUs. That was aided by a 28.1 percent surge in loaded export volume, to 193,547 TEUs. October statistics for the ...
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| DHL study: Globalization not so pervasive |
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Monday, November 14, 2011
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A new study released Friday by DHL indicates that globalization is still not as advanced as most people believe and that continued economic integration could spur global gross domestic product gains of five percent or more. The first DHL Global Connectedness Index (GCI), a detailed country-by-country analysis of trade flows, was unveiled last week at the APEC CEO Summit and Leaders’ Week in Honolulu. The study was conducted by global business strategist and economi...
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| High-tech sources to change in Asia |
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Friday, November 11, 2011
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Rising costs in China are prompting high-tech companies in Asia to explore alternative sourcing locations within the region as well as in North America, according to a new survey sponsored by UPS. As part of this shift, half of all high-tech trade lanes in five years' time are expected to involve intra-Asia movements. The survey, conducted by IDC Manufacturing Insights, revealed that 19 percent of high-tech company respondents plan to source supplies and raw materi...
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| October U.S. import volume fell 1 percent |
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Friday, November 11, 2011
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U.S. import volume declined 1 percent in October, according to figures released this week by the trade intelligence firm Zepol Corp. Volume in October, as measured in TEUs, grew 0.3 percent against that in September. Year to date, U.S. inbound volume is up 1.1 percent over 2010. Zepol said shipments from Europe rose 10 percent in October, after a 15 percent drop in September, mostly due to increased imports from Italy, France and Spain. Pacific coast po...
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| Europe imports lag in September |
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Thursday, November 10, 2011
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The latest volume figures from Container Trade Statistics show that trade slowed significantly in September on the westbound Asia-Europe trade. Volume reached 1.1 million TEUs during the month, a 0.2 percent increase on September 2010. For the third quarter, westbound Asia-Europe volume grew 4.1 percent, to 3.7 million TEUs, the lowest growth of any quarter this year. Eastbound Europe-to-Asia trade has been more robust, growing 11 percent in September (to 504,900 TE...
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| Time savings reduce trade transaction costs |
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Wednesday, November 09, 2011
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Trade transaction costs across the Asia-Pacific region have fallen 5 percent between 2006 and 2010, resulting in savings of $58.7 billion for businesses, according to a new report prepared on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. APEC said an independent research team has investigated whether the organization has met its target of reducing trade transaction costs between 2007 and 2010, after implementing a comprehensive action plan to facilitate trade in the Asia-Pac...
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| U.S. explores East Africa trade |
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Tuesday, November 08, 2011
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The United States has started exploratory discussions with the East African Community on the development of a potential new trade and investment partnership. “The possibility of a new trade and investment partnership between the East African Community and the United States has generated a high level of interest and excitement on both sides,” said Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Florie Liser, in a statement late last week as she visited the region. Th...
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| U.S. Commerce’s clean tech trade mission to India |
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Friday, November 04, 2011
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The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration will lead a trade mission to India on Nov. 7-11 to promote U.S. goods and services within the clean technologies sector. Representatives from seven U.S. firms will visit New Dehli, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. They include A123 Systems, Westborough, Mass.; Advanced Power Systems International, Torrington, Conn.; Amonix, Seal Beach, Calif.; Azure Power, San Ramon, Calif.; Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, New Orleans; Synergics Energy ...
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| Manufacturing growth slows, inventories decline |
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Wednesday, November 02, 2011
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The Institute for Supply Management on Tuesday reported that manufacturing activity slowed down 0.8 points in October from the previous month. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) had a weak reading of 50.8 percent, based on scale where anything above 50 indicates economic expansion. New orders increased 2.8 percentage points to 52.4 percent, growing for the first time in four months. The price index for raw materials dropped 15 points to 41 percent and is below the 50 percent ma...
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| Economic reports lift freight prognosis |
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Friday, October 28, 2011
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Thursday’s news that the U.S. economy, according to advance estimates, grew 2.5 percent in the third quarter is the latest optimistic sign that companies hope will translate into more business in the months ahead. The Commerce Department’s data showed that personal consumption, exports, and business investment in equipment and software were the main drivers of the increased productivity. The Labor Department also reported that first-time jobless claims decreased last week by 2,...
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| U.S. supports trade with Palestine |
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
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U.S. Commerce Undersecretary for International Trade Francisco Sánchez on Monday met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah to promote expansion of U.S.-Palestinian commercial relations. Sánchez was the first senior U.S. Commerce official from the Obama administration to meet with the Palestinian Authority. “The U.S. government is strongly committed to the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state that lives side by sid...
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| Forecast: October retail containers up 2.6% |
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011
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Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 2.6 percent in October over the same month last year and should reach its highest level of the year as retailers stock up for the holiday season, said the monthly Global Port Tracker report released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. The report estimated September volumes were 1.37 million TEUs, up 2.7 percent from September 2010. “Octob...
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| Ex-Im Bank’s record FY 2011 |
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Friday, October 14, 2011
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In preliminary fiscal year 2011 figures, the U.S. Export-Import Bank reported to exceed $32 billion in export financing, which supported about $40.6 billion in exports at more than 3,600 U.S. companies. Fiscal year 2011 ended on Sept. 30, and the bank released preliminary data Thursday while it completes the closing of its books for the year. "U.S. exports are contributing to our economic recovery and the record-setting growth of Ex-Im export financing is helping s...
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| OOCL exec urges better pricing, innovation |
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
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Erxin Yao, president of OOCL (USA), urged the shipping industry to pay more attention to pricing services profitably and fostering innovation rather than trying to hold onto market share. “Faced with the challenges of today, we forgot why we suffered yesterday and reverted back to the old ways: rate, rate, rate instead of service, service, service,” he said in a speech at the Foreign Commerce Club of New York’s annual Steamship Night dinner this week. “But think we must a...
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| SoCal port empties down in September |
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
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September volume at the Port of Los Angeles fell by 0.8 percent compared to the same month in 2010, due entirely to a massive 21.4 percent drop in empty containers. Loaded volume into the port actually grew 7.1 percent, to 549,609 TEUs, chiefly due to a 26.6 percent increase in loaded exports, to 176,954 TEUs. Loaded import volume fell 0.2 percent, to 372,655 TEUs. Total volume fell to 705,623 TEUs. For the year, volume is up 0.25 percent, to 5.9 million TEUs. &nbs...
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| ICS: seafarers on piracy “firing line” |
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
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The chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping has made another call for stronger action against pirates. "The world community cannot tolerate the abuse and the killing of seafarers," ICS Chairman Spyros M. Polemis told seafarers and maritime industry professionals, during a speech at the India Shipping Summit in Mumbai Tuesday. "India and its seafarers have truly been in the firing line." Warning that the piracy season was about to begin again with renewed ...
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| OECD: Indicators point to economic slowdown |
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Monday that composite leading indicators (CLIs) for August, designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trends, continue to point to a slowdown in economic activity in most OECD countries and major non-member economies. The CLI for the OECD area fell half a point in August, the fifth consecutive monthly decline. The Paris-based organization said the indicators for the Un...
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| A yearly boom and bust cycle? |
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Monday, October 10, 2011
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Drewry Shipping Consultants says "an excess of capacity on key routes, as well as poor discipline from carriers means that container shipping lines will not cover their cost of capital in 2011 and many will lose money once again." That gloomy outlook comes despite the fact that the London-based consultancy sees demand for container transport growing 7 percent this year. "Despite concern in the western economies, we still see decent volumes in intra-Asia and on emer...
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