So we have a handful of Chinese companies that haven't grown up by the traditional method of attaching an umbilical cord to the government and receiving endless amounts of financial support and monopoly status in return. These "Second Mouse" ventures are going head to head, both in China and around the world, with entrenched, Western-style multinationals. The question is: can they really compete?
A slew of luxury goods retailers are leaving Argentina in response to import barriers, currency controls and soaring inflation.
American designer Ralph Lauren was the most recent departure when it announced last month that it was closing three of its stores in Buenos Aires, including its flagship in the upscale Recoleta district, as draconian measures on imports have all but left it unable to stock its shelves.
Canada's oil patch is quietly sending large new volumes of oil on rail cars, even as it fights to overcome mounting opposition to plans for new pipelines to the U.S. Gulf Coast and Canada's West Coast.
Mazda Motor Logistics Europe N.V., the Belgian-based operation of Mazda Motors, is using Descartes' cloud-based customs solution to automate declaration filings in Belgium.
International Civil Aviation Organization authorities have encouraged the more than 700 officials that convened in Montreal for its High-level Conference on Aviation Security to adopt new airfreight security measures. A risk-based approach to cargo safety is key, ICAO personnel reiterated during the conference.
The growth of U.S. exports, especially to countries such as China, has put a spotlight on the need for strategic inland ports across the United States, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. Inland ports, which traditionally focus on moving and handling imports, are also facilitating the effective movement of goods outside the U.S.
Zepol Corporation, the leading trade intelligence company,reports that
U.S. import shipment volume for August, measured in TEUs, is down from July by 3 percent and 0.3 percent from August 2011. It's unusual to see a drop in imports from July to August, since the trend for the past three years has been a spike in the month of August. In 2010 and 2011, August was actually the peak month of the year for TEU imports.
The era of easy growth for Chinese companies is coming to a close. Sales growth is slowing, while margins and profitability are under pressure. To reach the next level, Chinese companies need first to overcome a more challenging economy at home, where the days of relying on low labor costs, price competition, and a giant domestic market to fuel growth are over.
Considering the astonishing growth of China's economy over the past decade, it should come as no surprise that 73 Chinese companies showed up on this year's Fortune Global 500. That's up from 11 just ten years ago, but given that fact that the nation saw average annual GDP growth of 9.91 percent between 1979 and 2010, and is now the world's second largest economy, one might ask why more Chinese companies aren't on Fortune's list.
Drewry Maritime Research's latest Annual Review of
Global Container Terminal Operators report shows that whilst some things have remained the same, others have changed significantly with more change to come.