Global Trade

January 1, 2014 marks the 20-year anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) implementation and there is strong evidence of the pact’s positive impact on manufacturing in the United States. U.S. manufactured goods to Canada and Mexico more than tripled since 1993, growing some $173 billion through 2012 and accounting for over 18 percent of the total growth in U.S. manufactured exports over that period.

By completing the International Trade Data System (ITDS), the processing and approval times for U.S. businesses that export American-made goods and services will be cut from days to minutes.

UPS® announced it has completed the purchase of U.K.-based Polar Speed, an innovative provider of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical supply chain solutions in the U.K. The acquisition further strengthens UPS's healthcare network across Europe, providing healthcare companies access to a single source for logistics solutions across the continent.

The underlying economic premise for importing and exporting is “specialization and trade.” Simply put, specialization means some region, country, or people have a “comparable advantage” for making certain products over another region, country, or people.

Since its inception in 2009, the Index has tracked the rise of the emerging markets, firstly in the wake of the economic downturn and then throughout a period of global recovery. Throughout this period the sector has maintained its growth dynamic, although it certainly has not been immune from economic and political upheavals.

With the global economy seeming to be in better shape than for many years, it would seem a good point at which to examine prospects for the global logistics industry. Economics and logistics output are, of course, inextricably linked.

Even though total supply chain costs may be reduced by global sourcing, typically, transportation and logistics costs have been rising as a percentage of the cost-of-goods sold (COGS).

In the 2013 report, Enabling Trade: Valuing Growth Opportunities, the World Economic Forum and Bain & Company found that reducing supply chain barriers could increase the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) by over US$ 2.5 trillion. Building on the momentum of both this finding and the WTO’s recent trade facilitation agreement, the 2014 report, Enabling Trade: From Valuation to Action, looks at how to accelerate reform.

This White Paper examines the true costs of global sourcing and highlights the impact of sourcing strategy, the potential for global savings and the need to balance cross-functional costs and tradeoffs.

For the first time in their 18-year history, the WTO member countries agreed on a multilateral pact. They pushed past the differing needs of developed and developing nations, industrialized vs. agricultural issues, and cut through the politics. They agreed that all members should modernize and develop a more professional process for inbound products.

Spain's government is pushing for talks to settle a dispute over $1.6 billion in cost overruns for expanding the Panama Canal, a project led by Spanish builder Sacyr, Spain's ambassador to Panama said recently.

Walgreen, the largest drug retailing chain in the US, Alliance Boots and AmerisourceBergen signed a $400bn 10-year agreement that will create what Forbes magazine coined the “Earth’s Drugstore”. Not only will the agreement create “Earth’s Drugstore” but it appears it is set to create one of the largest and most influential global supply chains.

The data contained in this report not only highlights the extent of obstacles to doing business; they also help identify the source of those obstacles, supporting policy makers in designing regulatory reform.

New entrants in the market will rely heavily on a mix of hub-and-spoke network configurations as well as interlining between long-distance shipping routes using transshipments through the Caribbean Triangle.

Global 3PL Mallory Alexander International Logistics has examined the relative strengths and weaknesses of the transport networks in three major trading nations and points to the complexity U.S. shippers must deal with in the coming years.

Before entering this vibrant marketplace, trade experts advise logistics managers to conduct a careful examination of the region’s transportation and regulatory infrastructure.

Before entering this vibrant marketplace, trade experts advise logistics managers to conduct a very careful examination of the region’s transportation and regulatory infrastructure.

There is no doubt that Latin America holds enormous promise for manufacturers across a wide variety of industries that are looking to expand their supply chain depth and breadth. As they look beyond their previous offshore sourcing models, which focused heavily on the Asia-Pacific region, they are finding fertile and profitable ground in Mexico, Central America and South America.

This article analyzes the distribution of value from innovation in the global supply chains of the Apple iPad and iPhone. We find that Apple continues to capture the largest share of value from these innovations.

Economic and trade reforms begun in 1979 have helped transform China into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. China’s economic growth and trade liberalization, including comprehensive trade commitments made upon entering the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, have led to a sharp expansion in U.S.-China commercial ties.