As national governments supercharge the drive toward electrification, the scramble to secure supplies of Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries is fueling major investments in mines, factories, and R&D. Global trade data is capturing signs of shifting cross-border supply...
Imports Into Southern California’s Ports Plunged 26% in October
Port of Los Angeles executive director says protracted contract negotiations are pushing importers to Gulf and East Coast gateways Imports into the nation’s busiest container port complex in Southern California are plummeting as U.S. trade sputters and retailers and...
US imports sink in September, suffer steepest drop since 2020 lockdowns
10/10/22 – Demand for Asian goods began dropping earlier this year. This is now having a delayed — and highly negative — effect on U.S. imports. Read More
Supply Diversity Is Key to Global Trading System Resilience: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling for more diversity in global value chains as a means to boost supply chain resilience. Meanwhile, Descartes Datamyne trade data confirms the point that diversification reduces losses to supply disruptions. Moreover, our...
Global Shipping Crisis: Managing Supply Chain Risk More Complicated as U.S. Imports Hit Record High
A somewhat positive short-term outlook for the American economy and continued strong consumer spending helped push U.S. container imports into new record territory in May 2022. The spike will likely make managing supply chain risk all the more complex especially when...
Four Key Steps to Supply Chain Resilience in Today’s Rapid-Fire Shipping Disruptions
Economic downturns, trade conflicts, a pandemic, the shipping crisis, and a hot war in Europe – global supply chain disruptions now come in rapid-fire, tsunami-scale waves. Global trade intelligence can help companies reroute and rebuild supply chains today and craft...
Global Shipping Crisis: U.S. Container Import Volume Remains in Record Territory at Start of 2022
It would not have been outside the realms of possibility to think that the start of the New Year would marked by a lull in U.S. import volume. Afterall the traditionally quieter December month was as frenetic as it has been compared with the previous six months. The...
Address the Global Shipping Crisis by Leveraging Automation and Trade Intelligence
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...
The Global Logistics Shipping Crisis: November U.S. Import Numbers Point to Continued Port Congestion
U.S. import volumes continued to run at a record pace in November 2021. Despite this overall success, retail inventories are not catching up to pre-pandemic levels as a percentage of sales. The ultimate takeaway: as long as the high demand for goods continues in 2022,...
Global Trade Trend: Steep Surge in Holiday Toy Shipments Help Keep U.S. Import Volume at Near Record Highs
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...