Last week President Trump announced that the US will impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum. Last year I disclosed in a Logistics Viewpoints article that I see the Trump administration’s trade proposals as posturing and rhetoric to set up future negotiations to leverage the US’s economic clout in an effort to extract trade benefits on the margin. I did not see a trade war resulting at that […]
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Archive for Global Trade
Although it’s a fresh, new year, many global companies and their supply chains in the US have been suffering alongside individuals this winter. Icy, wintry winds and driving snow jammed air traffic and roads in the east, while fires swept across the west, then rains turned major highways into muddy messes with flash floods. All throughout 2017, Mother Nature didn’t pause to worry about the delays and problems she created for shippers all over the […]
Read More →Vague item descriptions. Wrong addresses. Potential customs traps that can cost companies time and money when moving international shipments. Even with advanced technology that has come a long way in digitizing customs procedures, risks still remain in today’s global trade environment if electronic declarations aren’t filled out completely, accurately, and plausibly. Any of these pitfalls can increase costs and hamper productivity—and simply, interrupt the flow of goods. But there is a way forward. Best-of-breed, multi-country […]
Read More →The United States exported $2.2 trillion dollars of product in 2016, making it the third largest world exporter after China and the European Union.[i] Much of this is due to the easing of export controls over the past five years by the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in cooperation with other federal agencies. That’s great news for US companies seeking to expand their sales beyond the domestic market. Yet still, the […]
Read More →Congratulations to me! I have (finally) completed ARC’s Global Trade Management Systems Market Research Study. I will take this opportunity to communicate and consolidate the research findings from the study and the accompanying writing I published over the last few months in Logistics Viewpoints. The GTM Solutions Market ARC focuses its GTM research on two high-level functionality sets: Trade Compliance – functionality for managing trade compliance costs and processes like duties, tariffs, restricted party screening, […]
Read More →Measuring on-time performance was once the most common key performance indicator (KPI) for transportation departments when visibility solutions first became available. Each quarter, a carrier score card was reviewed. Ocean and air carriers were measured by on-time performance. Rail carriers reported and measured theirs as scheduled departures. And motor carriers were measured by their service types. Very rarely were companies looking at the performance of multi-mode or multi-leg shipments. Even more uncommon were the best […]
Read More →ARC Advisory Group conducts an annual in-depth analysis of the worldwide global trade management (GTM) software market. The research process includes the analysis of large amounts of information and interviews with executives from numerous GTM companies. The process concludes with the publication of ARC’s Global Trade Management Market Research Study. I am nearing the end of the study update process and thought I would take this opportunity to discuss some of the GTM market’s current characteristics. ARC’s […]
Read More →Although denied party screening (DPS) has been around for 25 years, several recent developments related to U.S. trade sanctions and cybersecurity may be contributing to the increased attention it is garnering on the world stage: Mega Fines: The huge fines for companies conducting business with denied or restricted parties are making headlines. In the U.S., the largest criminal fine in a sanctions case to date—$1.19 billion—was levied in March of this year. Strong on Security: […]
Read More →Production costs, transportation costs, and product quality are all primary considerations in corporate sourcing and production decisions. However, customs duties and other trade tariffs can also be critical inputs into these supply chain decisions, particularly when preferential treatment is an option. Trade duties and regulations vary by country and industry. And the automotive industry has the perfect combination of supply chain and customs complexity that makes the management of customs duties potentially rewarding, but also […]
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Supply Chain Brief
What Good is a Control Tower with No Control?
The trade industry certainly loves buzzwords, and ‘control tower’ gets serious air time in our industry. But, what really is a control tower and how does it relate to your supply chain operations? When we think of control tower capabilities, we envision an airport control tower or a scenario like NASA mission control. Folks buzzing around with big screens showing various views of activity, blips moving across space and lots of communication going on. The […]
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