World Trade - December 2008 - (Page 10)

TRUCKING AIR OCEAN TECHNOLOGY TRADE FINANCE 3PL WAREHOUSING SUPPLY CHAIN AIR Watch of RFID-related business activity will accelerate over the medium term because of growing demand for RFID applications in supply chain management and other activities, according to the forecast. Furthermore, the RFID market is expected to enjoy a 15 percent compound annual growth rate from 2008 through 2014, says ABI Research. DHL Exits U.S. Domestic Market DHL announced last month that it would discontinue its U.S. domestic air and ground services and refocus on its international business. The company will also slash 9,500 U.S. jobs, with more than 7,000 cuts hitting the town of Wilmington, Ohio, where DHL operates a major distribution hub. “This is a catastrophic event for the entire region,” said David L. Raizk, the mayor of Wilmington, a city of about 12,000 just 40 miles north of Cincinnati. He said that 20 percent of the region’s businesses depended on the hub and would most likely close. The move was a surprise for many, considering that Deutsche Post, the German company that owns DHL, had stated previously that it would maintain its American operations by turning over its domestic air-cargo service to its rival United Parcel Service. The latest job cuts from DHL are in addition to 5,400 jobs already eliminated by the company earlier this year. lowed by modal yards and unsecured locations, such as drop lots and motel and restaurant parking lots. “Although many incidents go unreported, cargo crime in the United States is estimated to cost businesses several billions of dollars per year,” said Barry Tarnef, a marine loss control specialist for Chubb Marine Underwriters. Chubb analyzed 1,316 incidents of cargo theft from January 2005 to June 2008 and found that 52 percent of thefts occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Truck stops and rest areas accounted for 39 percent of the thefts; modal yards owned, operated or managed by trucking companies, railroads or steamship lines were next at 27 percent, and unsecured locations accounted for 25 percent of thefts. Consumer electronics—mostly TVs and DVD players—were stolen in more than 15.1 percent of the incidents, followed by food and food products, 14 percent; clothing and footwear, 10 percent; computers and related equipment, 8 percent; metals, 5 percent, and pharmaceuticals, 5 percent. Gulfport ranks third among U.S. Gulf Coast ports in container volume. TRUCKING Report Shows Mexican Trucks Operating Safely on U.S. Roads A report prepared for the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters on the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking demonstration project shows that Mexican domiciled trucks can operate safely and in compliance with all U.S. laws and U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. The demonstration project began in September 2007. An independent evaluation panel reviewed the program for 12 months and issued the report in October. Among the ﬁndings, the report stated that demonstration trucks had no crashes. Furthermore, over 7,000 safety inspections were conducted on the participant drivers and more than 1,400 safety inspections on the participant trucks, in addition to the every-truck-every-time checks performed at border-crossing facilities. RAIL Setback for CN Rail’s Bid to Buy EJ&E A U.S. court has dealt a blow to Canadian National Railway’s bid to purchase the Chicago area Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad, but CN remains hopeful that regulators will approve the plan. Last month, a federal appeals court rejected CN’s request that it order the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to rule on the $300 million transaction before the end of the year, when CN’s tentative agreement to buy the railway from United States Steel Corp expires, according to a Reuters news report. Canadian National, which operates 20,400 miles of track in Canada and the U.S. wants to buy the 198-mile EJ&E so that it can route freight trains around Chicago, where they now face lengthy delays in the congested rail hub. The fight is being closely watched by the railway industry, which is under pressure to increase capacity to meet rising freight demand nationally, but which is worried that projects designed to increase capacity will be stopped because of local political concerns. OCEAN New Report Highlights Trends in Cargo Theft A new report by the Chubb Group shows that high-value consumer electronics, food, and clothing are the three most stolen cargoes, and that theft of these and other items occur most often during weekends. In addition, highway truck stops and rest areas are the most targeted locations for cargo thefts, accounting for more than one-third of all incidents, fol- Port of Gulfport Approved for $1 Billion Expansion Commissioners at Mississippi’s Port of Gulfport have approved an expansion plan that will extend the port’s existing cargo handling facilities seaward. The potential $1 billion project is a major boost for the port, which suffered severe damage in 2005 from Hurricane Katrina. Container volume at the port is only now approaching the 214,000 TEUs the port handled prior to the storm. TECHNOLOGY RFID Market to Hit $5.3 Billion in 2008 Consultancy ABI Research says the worldwide market for Radio Frequency Identiﬁcation (RFID) technology will reach $5.3 billion in 2008. Despite the slowing global economy, the annual growth rate 10 WORLD TRADE DECEMBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Trade - December 2008

World Trade - December 2008 Contents The Promise of Peril The Current Reality with IP in China Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds Performance Partners: Awards of Excellence Managing With Mobility What 2009 Bodes for the Supply Chain Small Business Takes to Export Green is Here for Good Fast Fashion

World Trade - December 2008

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