World Trade articles from July 2006

World Trade archives from July 2006

The next stage in supply chain management.(On the Web)
July 1, 2006... There's no such thing as universal 'best practices'. MIT is conducting a landmark study on the future of the supply chain for the year 2020, tailoring processes and principles to global economic scenarios.

Access all areas.(On the Web)
July 1, 2006... The full content of the current issue is now immediately available online along with bonus material and other web exclusives!

WTM's 2006 Global Supply Chain buyers guide now online!(search by product/ service)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Simplify your search for service providers. Use the new online Global Supply Chain buyers guide to search by product/ service or by company. View product documents for * listings, access live links, or use our convenient RFP from to request...

Quote of the month.(On the Web)
July 1, 2006... "Our goal is to find new ways to bring our readers and the suppliers together making it easier for them to communicate. With WTM's new online RFP and searchable Buyers Guide, they can do just that." --Steve Beyer, Publisher World...

'Supply Chain Saves the World'.(INSIDE WORLD TRADE)
July 1, 2006... Full disclosure: the headline of this column, 'Supply Chain Saves the World,' isn't original. AMIR Research, the Boston-based firm that has made its reputation as a leading consultant in the space where IT and process operations converge, used...

Coping with a broadly weaker dollar.(small and medium enterprises)
July 1, 2006... In many ways, 2005 marked a year of relief for global supply chain managers because currency fluctuations were less volatile. The Federal Reserve Bank's "measured" pace of interest rate hikes helped offset rising pressures on the dollar...

NAFTA Transport hits record high.(North American Free Trade Agreement)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports that cargo moving by surface transport modes between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 14.8...

Mineta promoting federal transportation plan.(America Transportation Network)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... "Congestion is not a fact of life. We need a new approach and we need it now," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta told a gathering at the National Retail Federation recently. Secretary Mineta has been actively promoting the...

New rail service links Mexico, Southeast U.S.(southeastern United States)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Kansas City Southern has started a new daily inter-modal rail service between Mexico and the southeastern United States. The route begins at the Port of Lazaro Cardenas and stops in major distribution markets in Mexico City, San Luis Potosi...

New air cargo rules effective December 1.(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Long-awaited rules governing air cargo security are soon to be released, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and will take effect on December 1. The new rules mark the first significant change to air cargo...

U.S. air exports up sharply in 2005.(export traffic increased )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... U.S. air exports rose sharply last year with help from a strong global economy and a weaker U.S. dollar, among other factors. According to the Colography Group, air exports totaled nearly 92.4 million shipments in 2005, marking the first...

TSA hikes peak season surcharge.(Transpacific Stabilization Agreement)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The 11 members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement are raising the planned peak season surcharge to cover increased costs. Beginning July 15, the surcharge will rise from $400 per forty-foot container to $500 for cargo from Asia to...

Export credit insurance gets easier.( Export-Import Bank of the United States)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... U.S. companies competing in the global marketplace now have a faster, easier way to obtain multi-buyer export credit insurance from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) with "Ex-Im Online," which launched June 1. The...

Transportation Services Index (TSI).(Bureau of Transportation Statistics)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 0.1 percent in April to 111.2 (2000=100) from its March level, rising for the second consecutive month, reports the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). ...

Port officials approve floating barriers.(Small Craft Intrusion Barrier)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Port of Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved $2.9 million for floating security barriers at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex. The barriers are 5,000 feet each with a total coverage of 10,000 feet, and will be...

Duty-free trade for environmental goods proposed.(FREE TRADE FOR 'GREEN' GOODS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The U.S. and six other WTO member-nations are moving towards duty-free trade for environmental goods. Solar panels and wind turbines are an example of the types of environmental goods that would qualify for duty-free trade, remarked U.S....

Goal is alternative to U.S. ports.(Port of Guaymas)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Officials at the Port of Guaymas in Northern Mexico may solicit bids for a new container terminal as early as year-end to provide shippers with an alternative to U.S. ports. Already, officials from the port are discussing plans with U.S....

Policy shift away from rail.(rail freight and inland waterways)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... European Union lawmakers are preparing to implement new initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of the 25-nation EU economy. Specifically, the new initiatives are aimed at moving away from rail freight and inland waterways and towards...

Earliest completion is March 2007.(skies agreement)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The deadline to finalize an 'open skies' pact between the U.S. and EU has been pushed back to next March after negotiators failed again to work out details to liberalize the trans-Atlantic aviation market. One of the biggest sticking...

Securities and banking attracting investment.(intellectual property protections)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Chinese government says that strong foreign investment in financial services such as banking and securities boosted the country's total foreign direct investment last year to $72.4 billion--up significantly from the $60.3 billion first...

Free trade talks underway.(U.S., SOUTH KOREA FTA)
July 1, 2006... Negotiators from the U.S. and South Korea are holding negotiations to discuss terms of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). The talks are believed to be the biggest for the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993....

Trade begins to bridge the gap.(political differences)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Despite long-standing political differences, trade between China and Taiwan is growing and there are signs of increased cooperation. The two countries will soon begin nonstop chartered passenger flights between the countries, which some...

Port security charges began June 1.(security charge on imports and exports )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Chinese government has imposed a security charge on imports and exports moving through the country's seaports, effective June 1. The charge will remain in effect for three years and is intended to offset the investment the government...

EU cites lack of worker rights as reason.(International Labour Organisation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The EU is likely to remove Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits from Belarus for its lack of "compliance with ILO (International Labour Organisation) commitments," said a European Commission official. If that should occur, it...

Top 15 box carriers.(table)(Statistical table)
July 1, 2006... Top 15 Box Carriers Rank Ocean Carrier TEUs 1 Maersk 1,665,272 2 Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) 784,480 3 CMA CGM 507,954...

Romania, Bulgaria face longer accession process.(EU DELAYS DECISION ON WTO BIDS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The European Commission has delayed a decision on whether Romania and Bulgaria can join the EU next January, as originally hoped, because of concerns over corruption and organized crime. It's possible that the commission could delay...

Asks WTO for 'special consideration'.(U.S. CHANGES POLICY ON TEXTILES)
July 1, 2006... The Bush administration will ask the WTO to give textiles "special consideration" to protect the domestic industry from low-cost production in countries such as China and Vietnam. Specifically, the U.S. does not want textiles to be grouped...

Scorsune appointed by National Retail Systems.(Names & News)(Thomas C. Scorsune )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... National Retail Systems, a provider of retail logistics services in North America, has appointed Thomas C. Scorsune as senior vice president, global logistics. Scorsune, with 30 years in the distribution management business, most recently...

Pacer shuffles top management.(Names & News)(Pacer International )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Pacer International has made several changes to its top management. Tom Shurstad has been promoted to president while Tom Finkbiner will move up to president the Pacer Stacktrain division. Shurstad, who most recently served as president of...

Schneider Logistics names Evans.(Names & News)(Dave Evans )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Schneider Logistics has announced that Dave Evans has joined the company as director of new business development. In the position, Evans will expand the company's customer base in the western United States, developing new business for...

RILA gives nod to Thompson.(Names & News)(Retail Industry Leaders Association)(Allen Thompson )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) says it has appointed Allen Thompson as vice president for global supply chain policy. Thompson was a senior member of the Democratic staff of the House Homeland Security Committee, and...

Tillman new finance VP for Menlo.(Names & News)
July 1, 2006... Menlo Worldwide announced that Joseph E. Tillman, a 34-year veteran of the freight transportation and logistics industry, has been named vice president of finance. Tillman joins the Menlo organization from Vector SCM, the global logistics...

Zim to buy 10,000-TEU vessels.(Names & News)
July 1, 2006... The board of directors for Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. Has approved the $1 billion purchase of eight container ships from Hyundai Shipyards. Zim will take delivery of four 8,200-TEU and four 10,000-TEU vessels during the second...

Taking global supply Chain professionalization to the next level: the Supply Chain 2020 Project at M.I.T. is producing landmark research destined to revolutionize how we think about 'best practices.'.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
July 1, 2006... It wasn't all that long ago, really, that the concept of the 'supply chain' itself was new and confusing. Top executives realized there was more at stake in moving goods from Point A to Point B than traditional logistics but, in the absence of...

A. N. Deringer, Inc.(Corporate Profiles)(Company overview)
July 1, 2006... Vision To be first choice for logistics services in our market for goods moving between our primary service areas: North, Central, and South America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Mission Using our network of offices and services...

The World Trade 100: oil dominates the top U.S. import and export sectors while demand for American products abroad in assorted sectors grows.(Statistical data)
July 1, 2006... Oil stays at the top of the list for U.S. imports this year while electrical machinery has moved ahead of vehicles as the leading U.S. export. Machinery of all kinds showed strong results for both imports and exports, while aircraft and raw...

Ryder System, Inc.(Corporate Profiles)
July 1, 2006... Vicki O'Meara President U.S. Supply Chain Solutions Ryder System, Inc. Ryder provides a complete array of leading-edge supply chain, warehousing and transportation solutions for multiple industry sectors in North America,...

Is China always the answer? It depends. 'Reverse migrations' are more common as companies start bringing their supply chains back closer to home.
July 1, 2006... "We get a lot of customers who come up to us and say, 'We're building this product in the United States, we need to move to China,'" says Craig London, Solectron Corporation's executive vice president, strategy, marketing, global services and...

FMI International.(Corporate Profiles)
July 1, 2006... Since 1979, FMI International has been a leader in providing logistics services to the fashion industry and retail community. Our proven track record of consistent, reliable service, along with our innovative solutions to meet the unique needs...

Effective multicultural communication: marketing and managing off-shore requires sensitivity to the nuances of foreign languages.
July 1, 2006... One billion people will have access to the Web by year's end--and more than 70 percent of them will speak a language other than English. Think what this exponential leap in multi-cultural commerce is doing (and, more importantly, going to do)...

Shifting winds: supply chains must be able to adapt as hurricanes become more disruptive with climate change.
July 1, 2006... As the 2006 hurricane season gets underway this month, the specter of Katrina hovers in he air--a cloud made darker by authoritaive predictions that this year will see a much higher than average level of severe storms. The National Oceanic...

The difference between managing a global vs. domestic supply chain is a matter of degree: variables like border crossings and multiple hand-offs make for more uncertainty, but experts say it all comes down to managing information.
July 1, 2006... Truth be told, there are very few solely domestic companies left these days. Businesses are either directly sourcing overseas or their suppliers are; fewer and fewer companies are not selling their goods in international markets. And, even if...

Lockheed Martin builds a supply chain of maximum flexibility: Lockheed is changing from linear supply chains to multiple node supply networks to optimize fast response.(DRIVING THE INTEGRATED GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN FROM THE TOP)(Interview)
July 1, 2006... Lou Kratz is vice president and managing director, Focused Logistics Enterprise, at the Lockheed Martin Corporation. As such, he is responsible for coordinating Lockheed Martin's logistics and weapon system sustainment efforts. He leads...

World Trade's First Annual Buyer's Guide to Logistics Products and Services.(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... Supplier Index Aa-At Aankhen Inc. 1735 N. First St., #306, San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 387-0083 Fax: (408) 387-0086 info@aankhen.com www.aankhen.com ABF Freight System, Inc. 3801 Old Greenwood Rd., Fort...

Making the exotic ordinary.(Great Moments IN WORLD TRADE)
July 1, 2006... Minor Cooper Keith was twenty-three years old when he came to Costa Rica to build a railroad. Because of what grew besides the tracks, he stayed more than fifty years. The story starts in 1871. The government of Costa Rica had contracted...