World Trade - September 2008 - (Page 13) tion for satellite manufacturing facilities,” said an executive with ProLogis. “The country has become skilled at adapting to new challenges and maintaining a strong export market. With recent boosts in funding and subsequent investments in infrastructure, education, and safety, Mexico is well positioned to continue to improve its competitiveness amongst the world’s major manufacturing markets.” Looking ahead, the report predicts Mexico’s maquiladoras (manufacturing plants) will continue to fuel the country’s economic growth, citing recent tax and fiscal reforms passed in 2007 that will help to generate increased tax revenues. MARK YOUR Calendar CSCMP Annual Global al Conference 2008 Denver, Colorado Oct 5, 2008 - Oct 8, 2008 http://cscmp.org/events/ conf_08_global/index. asp?XX=1 PARCEL Forum Chicago, Illinois Oct 6, 2008 - Oct 8, 2008 http://www.parcelforum. com 4th eyefortransport Sustainable Supply Chain Summit San Francisco, California Oct 15, 2008 - Oct 17, 2008 http://events.eyefortransport.com/sustainablesupplychain/ Names & News NOL Appoints Eng as President Neptune Orient Lines has announced the appointment of former APL executive Eng Aik Meng as the shipping line’s new president. Eng succeeds Ron Widdows, the long-time chief executive of APL, who was named group president and chief executive of NOL in July. CMA CGM Taps Driscoll CMA CGM (America) LLC has tapped John C. Driscoll as senior vice president, USA Commercial. Driscoll will oversee sales, trade, and marketing for the company’s U.S. operations. Most recently, Driscoll worked as vice president and general manager for CMA CGM (Caribbean) LLC in Miami. Klaus-Michael Kuehne to Retire Kuehne & Nagel executive chairman Klaus-Michael Kuehne, 71, said he is stepping down from his position on the Swiss forwarder’s board of directors October 1. He is reported to have recommended Karl Gernandt, 48, as his successor. The move will be subject to shareholders’ approval at the company’s annual general meeting in May 2009. DHL Names Hickler Express carrier DHL has chosen Hans Hickler to head the company’s global customer service initiative called First Choice. Hickler had been CEO of DHL Express in the United States since September 2006 when he was replaced in May by Ken Allen under a corporate restructuring. U.S, Canada Border Trade Drops TRAFFIC SLOWS AT BUSIEST BRIDGE Cross-border trade at the Ambassador Bridge—the busiest crossing between the U.S. and Canada—fell nearly 11 percent in June compared to the same month last year. The second- and third-busiest crossings, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, and the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, New York, saw only modest gains ranging from 2 percent to 2.6 percent in June. Trucks carry about twothirds of the approximately $2 billion in daily trade between the U.S. and Canada. World Trade Magazine will be publishing announcements of forthcoming global supply chain events in every issue. For inclusion, please forward event details to laras@worldtrademag.com Brazil Wants to Revive Global Trade Talks LULA SAYS U.S., INDIA DIFFERENCES CAN BE RESOLVED Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he has initiated a series of consultations with the U.S., China, and India to salvage the recently collapsed Doha Round of global trade talks. Lula believes a deal could be reached if differences between India and the U.S. can be resolved. “It might take a month or two, but an agreement is necessary because we need to guarantee for the poorest countries access to the market of the most developed ones,” he said. The recent failure of the WTO negotiations hinged on a disagreement between India and the U.S. over the so-called special safeguard mechanism, which would allow developing countries to impose a special tariff on certain agricultural goods in the event of an import surge or price fall. UK Think Tank Warns of $200 Oil “ERA OF EASY OIL” IS OVER The world’s oil supply chain will be stretched to breaking point and oil prices could easily rise above $200 per barrel in the next five years, warns a new report from the respected UK think tank, Chatham House. Arguing that investment in oil production capacity in all exporting nations has failed to keep pace with demand, Paul Stevens, the report’s author and a senior research fellow at the institution, says there is little that governments can do to avert a crisis of supply in the short to medium term. He added that a major worldwide recession would be the only phenomenon capable of stemming rising demand. “The message is clear,” Steven stated. “As the oil market approaches the end of this decade, spare crude producing capacity moves closer to zero. Any supply outage would therefore create a supply crunch.” Although many analysts believe this year’s record run-up in prices was due at least in part to an inflow of speculative investment from Wall Street and a fall in the value of the U.S. dollar, it is also accepted that surging demand for energy in Asia combined with falling production numbers have raised fears that the “era of easy oil” is over. WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM 13 http://cscmp.org/events/conf_08_global/index.asp?XX=1 http://www.parcelforum.com http://events.eyefortransport.com/sustainablesupplychain/ http://www.worldtrademag.com
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