Argentina’s Congress has just approved a bundle of agreements that set the terms of a “strategic integral alliance” with China. As MercoPress reports, the two countries will be cooperating on infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, mining, technology, and agricultural...
Need to be Nimble: China’s Economy in the Year of Goat
The Year of the Goat (or, by some interpretations, the Year of the Sheep) challenges China’s economy to sustain a steady climb over some rough terrain, at a slower but not too-slow rate (it’s now forecast at 6.8% by the International Monetary Fund). And, all the...
Can US Polyethylene Net Exports Expect a Lift from Shale?
The trade data shows US polyethylene net exports decreased 20% in October and 7% in November 2014 compared to the same months in 2013 – continuing a downward trend that has persisted since 2009 and through last year’s first three quarters: The US is still a net...
US Poultry Banned in China
China has banned all imports of US poultry and eggs following outbreaks of avian influenza in the Pacific Northwest, reports Reuters. The ban is effective January 8; any poultry shipped after that date is to be returned or destroyed. Other countries have restricted...
Fasten Your Seatbelts for Turbulence in Chemicals Prices
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist In September’s column, we compared first-quarter with second-quarter best and average prices for the basket of 10 chemical commodities that make up the Datamyne US Best Price Benchmark (posted to the Datamyne homepage). This...
Hot Properties: Freight Forwarder, NVOCC M&As Stoked
December’s string of acquisitions in the global logistics sector – including Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of Charter Brokerage, FedEx’s of GENCO, C.H. Robinson’s of Freightquote.com – seems likely to stoke this year’s trend to more M&A activity in transport,...
Florida’s Trade and Logistics Leverage
Can trade and logistics remake Florida? GIS WebTech has shared with us (via twitter) a story from Brookings that raises this question – and answers with an emphatic yes. As Brookings points out, many of Florida’s metro areas have yet to recoup the job losses sustained...
US Almond Exports Volume Down, Value Up in October
Our latest trade data confirms that the California drought’s toll on almond harvests has resulted in decreased export volumes – down nearly 13% in October compared with the same month a year ago. At the same time, the shortage appears to have driven up prices enough...
Agricultural Juggernaut: California’s Almond Exports
This caught our eye in the story about the reboot of US-India trade relations: Almonds round out India’s top five imports from the US. Almonds are an export success story for the US – and for California in particular. In fact, almonds are a leading US export crop,...
US-India Trade Relations: “Forward Together”
Earlier today, US Trade Representative Michael Froman surveyed recent progress toward liberalizing trade achieved by India and the US in a speech to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Froman is in New Delhi to co-chair with India’s Trade...