World Trade - January 2009 - (Page 15)

be taking delivery of up to 230 of these trucks by early 2009.” As members of CRT, JCPenney and Pacer have committed to sponsoring the ﬂeet conversion to support the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports’ 2012 air quality goals. The companies expect the ﬂeet hauling JCPenney merchandise to meet the ports’ emissions goals by early 2009, well ahead of the ports’ deadlines, while also helping to preserve the livelihoods of independent owner-operators in the port trucking community. Slovakia Called “Europe’s Detroit” HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE TO GLOBAL CARMAKERS Boasting skilled labor, low taxes, good highways, and strong logistics, the former communist country of Slovakia is fast becoming “Europe’s Detroit,” say industry analysts. Although the U.S., Canada, China, Japan, and Russia all dwarf Slovakia in sheer number of cars produced, the tiny nation leads the world in per capita production. Slovakia made a record 571,071 cars last year—105.7 for every 1000 Slovaks. Furthermore, it’s estimated that Slovakia will produce 610,000 cars this year, and it hasn’t hit full capacity yet. Meanwhile, the secretarygeneral of the Automotive Industry Association of Slovakia is forecasting the creation of up to 30,000 new jobs between now and 2010 as the country’s ﬂedgling automotive sector prepares to shift into high gear. Brazil Looks to China for Infrastructure Funds FARM TRADE TO BENEFIT Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of poultry and second-biggest supplier of soybeans, is seeking investments in ports and roads from China, its largest market for agricultural products, reports Bloomberg. “The biggest difficulty we have is logistics,” Celio B. Porto, Secretary of Agri-Business for International Relations at Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply. “Our biggest problem in improving our production is lack of capital.” Singapore, Costa Rica to Launch Free Trade Talks BILATERAL TRADE GROWING STRONG Officials from Singapore and Costa Rica say they will start negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two countries, and use an existing agreement that Singapore has in place with other Latin America countries as the basis for their new agreement. In 2007, Costa Rica ranked as Singapore’s seventh-largest Latin American trading partner with total trade amounting to S$372.9 million. From January to October 2008, trade between the two countries grew 14 percent over the same period in 2007. Both countries say the launch From Logistics Professionals to LTL Heroes To their shipper-clients, the carrier procurement professionals at Unyson Logistics are LTL heroes. They’ve harnessed the power of SMC 3 Bid$ense ®, the only strategic LTL bid tool that leverages their expertise to far exceed their clients’ cost-saving and service-level goals. You too can be an LTL hero: • Save time and guesswork during bid preparation • Distribute your bid package quickly and confidently • Conduct sophisticated, lane-by-lane carrier response analyses • Spot opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce transportation costs Be an LTL Hero. Go to www.smc3.com/go/2bahero to view real business case studies and download the free “LTL Purchasing Best Practices” white paper today. Or give us a call at 800.845.8090, ext. 5588. WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM 15 http://www.smc3.com/go/2bahero http://www.smc3.com/go/2bahero

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Trade - January 2009

World Trade - January 2009 Contents Supply Chain Finance Conference: The Right Stuff at the Right Time! Is the Dollar's 'Exorbitant Privelege' as the Global Standard at Risk? Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds The Rise of the 4PL An Evolving Tech Backbone Makes 4PL Service More Effective The Changing Landscape of U.S. Railroads Intermodal Grows Up Port of Hamburg Grows as Distribution Point to Eastern Europe Outsourcing Without Fear Measuring the Carbon Footprint

World Trade - January 2009

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