Articles
Global Economy
Strong Im/Ex Market Fuels South Korea Trade Growth
Air trade in South Korea will remain steady due to strong exports of high technology, basic materials, and machinery parts, as well as imports of industrial raw materials and machinery parts, predicts the DHL Global Trade Barometer, an early indicator of global trade developments calculated using artificial intelligence and big data. The Barometer also expects […]
Read MoreGetting the Most Out of Foreign Trade Zones
When I first started working in logistics, I heard a horror story about what can go wrong when a single detail is missed in a given transaction. A classic-car collector found his dream car in Europe after many years of searching and bought it for several million dollars. When shipping the car to the United […]
Read More
SCPA: One for the Record Books
South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) set a new container volume record, handling 2.2 million TEUs during 2017, and posted nine-percent container volume growth. The port’s total container volume in 2017 surpassed the previous record of 2 million TEUs achieved in 2016. In addition, the port moved 182,884 TEUs in December 2017, an increase of 11.2 […]
Read MoreGet Your Supply Chain Up to E-Commerce Speed
It’s hard to go more than a day without reading about a new startup or outside party looking to “digitize” the supply chain or logistics process. While some logistics companies such as freight forwarders are automated and use software packages based on EDI or newer cloud-based technologies, if the output of your technology is nothing […]
Read MoreChina Ups Delivery Service to the U.S.
Two leading express companies are joining forces to leverage their complementary networks, service portfolios, technologies, and logistics expertise. China’s Ministry of Commerce approved a planned joint venture between UPS and SF Holding, the parent company of SF Express. The agreement allows UPS and SF to collaborate on developing and providing international delivery services from, initially, […]
Read More
India and Southeast Asia: Land of Opportunity and Challenges
The region offers a promising but complex supply chain climate for companies interested in expanding globally.
Read MoreSupply Chain Commentary: Manufacturing Returns to the U.S.
Despite being one of the oldest job sectors, manufacturing is experiencing an interesting reversal. Chinese companies are now moving manufacturing jobs to the United States at an accelerating rate, with job investment in the United States tripling in one year to $45.6 billion, according to the Rhodium Group. Chinese manufacturers are plagued by wages in […]
Read More
Why Global Trade Needs a Rebrand
In 2016, doubts about the wisdom of trade deals factored heavily in the UK’s vote to leave the European Union and in the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Skepticism about the benefits of free trade has been bubbling for years. In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to kill the 14-nation Trans-Pacific […]
Read More
Times They Are A-changin’
Let’s say you are a manufacturer in the Midwest. You’ve got an excellent product line, a well-tuned supply chain, dedicated workers, and a great brand. Let’s say your company’s name is Harrier, because you have a long history of being a tough global competitor. The problem is, your competitors moved offshore, reaping competitive advantages such […]
Read More
Trump Presidency Is Reality. Let’s Talk Supply Chain Implications.
As the 2016 Presidential election results were announced, it became clear that the candidate with the least concrete trade policy had won. This created a fair amount of concern for supply chain professionals everywhere: Would the new president implement the protectionist measures he campaigned on, or were those statements made primarily to appeal to an audience? […]
Read More
Panama Canal Expansion Re-Routes Logistics for U.S. Businesses
Panama has completed the monumental $5.25-billion overhaul of the Panama Canal, which will have far-reaching implications for any business that employs or is part of an international supply chain. The Panama Canal can now accommodate ships that are one-third larger than before. These megaships carry 45 percent of the world’s cargo and will be able […]
Read More
Communication Insights Boost Shipper-Supplier Relationships
Shippers who acknowledge that they have the power to enable their own supplier base to satisfy their needs as well as their customers’ are on the right track. In particular, North American importers would be well served to emphasize stronger communication practices with Asian exporters to boost supply chain efficiency. Stronger communications go beyond monitoring […]
Read More
Panama Canal Expansion to Spur East Coast Shipping Boom
After nearly 10 years and $5.4 billion, worldwide shipping is in for a major shakeup. With the nearly triple-the-size expansion of the Panama Canal completed in late June 2016, a vastly increased quantity of goods will be able to easily traverse one of the world’s most important waterways. This change comes amid a slump in […]
Read More
Global Logistics—September 2016
Cheat Sheets Wrinkle Target’s Supply Chain Target’s supply chain got a wakeup call when supplier Welspun Inc. allegedly provided a fraudulent product. The retailer recently ended its contract with the India-based textile company, claiming that Welspun supplied Egyptian cotton sheets made from a lower-quality cotton between August 2014 and July 2016. Target’s allegations drove Walmart, […]
Read More
Shippers Should See Positives from the Trade Promotion Act
When the U.S. Congress passed the Trade Promotion Act (TPA) in June 2015, debate over its benefits and how its passage would affect the U.S. economy lingered. U.S. Congress felt that the goal of TPA and its historical record were solid proof of the benefits this legislation would provide. Although TPA is not a trade […]
Read More
Global Logistics—January 2016
It’s Not Easy Beijing Green China reached its highest level of air pollution on record in December 2015. The smog in Beijing was so bad that the government issued a series of red alerts (the highest alert on a four-tier scale) spanning days. The alerts forced more than 2,000 factories to reduce or shut down […]
Read More
Spring Clean Your Trade and Compliance Processes
This is the time of year when many of us begin our spring-cleaning projects around the home. Yet it is a good idea to also consider some spring cleaning of your organization’s trade compliance processes, perhaps dusting off some plans set earlier and readying programs for developments coming in the remainder of the year. Prep […]
Read More
Seven Tips for Finding the Right Chinese Partner
China is a major trading partner for the United States, and the relationship is key for both countries. U.S. trade with China is booming, but there are issues that continue to linger, such as the U.S. trade deficit and China’s trade surplus, a Chinese fiscal policy that keeps currency artificially low compared to the U.S. […]
Read More
Global Logistics—August 2015
UPS Peddles Electric Cargo Bikes in Europe E-commerce growth and last-mile expectations place a greater burden on shippers and carriers to find more efficient means to deliver parcels—especially in congested urban areas. That’s why UPS is currently testing the feasibility of using electric cargo bikes to pick up and drop off packages in downtown Basel, […]
Read More
Global Logistics—July 2015
TPP: Fishing for Accountability Buried within the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are provisions that will help protect global fisheries—and consumers—from widespread fraud in the seafood supply chain. It’s a pet project of the Obama Administration, which specifically created the Presidential Task Force on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud in June 2014 […]
Read More