The Covid-19 pandemic has played havoc with global trade flows, as consumers have displayed an increased need for goods while manufacturing struggles to meet demand. The system for moving those products has been under unprecedented stress for months, and its weak...
Surging imports into the U.S. towards the end of the year typically ring up holiday cheer for distributors, retailers and other businesses. But with many ports, especially those along the western seaboard, experiencing severe and sustained congestion, higher volumes...
Frankly, we didn’t think the US federal government shutdown would last this long. Anecdotal information is that imports are arriving at US ports and being processed by Customs, but delays in moving shipments out of port facilities are just beginning (see Bloomberg,...
It’s too soon to tell whether and to what extent the US federal government shutdown will impact US imports. But it’s not too soon to start keeping track. Here’s what our bill of lading data shows about the volume of trade through four major ports October 1 through 5...
Ab Circle Pro exerciser traded on but didn’t deliver infomercial promises Companies that marketed the Ab Circle Pro in 2009-10 with TV infomercial claims that three minutes on the abdominal exerciser would yield results equivalent to 100 sit-ups have settled a...
More FDA inspections and access to results are called for A new report from Food and Water Watch reprises a lengthy list of Chinese import disasters, from melamine-contaminated pet food in 2007 to antibiotic-laced honey in 2010. The point of Decade of Dangerous...
When the actress plays a role, it’s artistry. When tilapia is passed off as snapper, it’s fraud. We called it “cluck-cluck cutlet of the sea” – without much flavor of its own, tilapia takes on the flavors of the other ingredients in a range of recipes. Now the New...
New report from Datamyne covers players, trends in a leading US-Chile trade sector The Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) is projecting growth in exports for the 2010-11 season: from a 2% increase in apples to a 40% boost for kiwifruit, to a whopping...
Radiation fears cause shortages of iodine, drive demand for seaweed While the struggle to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plants goes on, reports are coming in from Brooklyn – more than 6,600 miles away from the threat of radiation release – that upscale...
Who makes this stuff? The Snuggie wearable blanket, the PedEgg foot callous file, TopsyTurvy upside down tomato planter — these and more solutions to problems you didn’t know you had until you saw the infomercial are brightening up an otherwise gloomy retail sector....
