Last month, South Korean President Park Geun-hye wound up a four-nation swing through South America in search of expanded trade and economic cooperation. In Colombia, Park pressed for ratification of the pending free trade agreement (approved by Colombia’s Congress...
Are Conflict Minerals in Your Supply Chain?
The US government wants to know if there are conflict minerals in your supply chain. (And it’s not alone.) Under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, publicly-held companies that make, or contract for the making of products...
Tracking Tesla Trade Data
Our new report on US exports of Tesla Model S electric cars provides a month-by-month count of how many vehicles shipped and their destinations January through December 2014. [May 12, 2015: Datamyne has refined its methodology for tracking Tesla exports since this...
Happy World Malbec Day!
April 17, 1853, is remembered as the day Argentina took its first official steps toward establishing a national viticulture based on carefully selecting and cultivating varietals from France and Italy that ultimately produced Argentina’s iconic wine, Malbec. More than...
Whiskey, whiskey: Top US distilled spirits import, export
Whiskies led US distilled spirits import-export trade with the rest of the world in 2014, with bourbon dominating US whiskey exports, and Scotch & Irish whisky (spelled without the ‘e’) the top US import in this product category. The US leads the world in imports...
China Surpassing US in Chemicals Sales
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist When I began writing this column in 2013, I focused on China as a source of better-priced chemicals. I took note then of a 2011 Deloitte forecast that China was on the verge of surpassing the US in total chemicals sales. Time to...
US Imported Beer Up
It may have been National Beer Day, but many here in the States yesterday hoisted a bottle of brew from Mexico, just south of the border but far and away the top source for US imported beer. Total US beer imports were up 11.7% by value, and 6.9% by volume, in 2014...
Wild Card in Polyethylene Trade: Iran Sanctions
Market watchers trying to factor in Iran’s potential return to global markets in oil, gas and petrochemicals have no choice but to spin many an alternative scenario. Limited sanction relief provided by November 2013’s Geneva Interim Agreement has resulted in limited...
Risky for Business: Trade Sanctions
by Peter Quinter, guest columnist It has been a year since President Obama issued Executive Order 13660, entitled “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine,” and opened an economic front in the international dispute with Russia...
New Report Ranks NVOCCs in US Maritime Imports
Datamyne’s new quarterly ranking report on the top 20 NVOCCs (non-vessel operating common carriers) in US maritime import trade wraps up 2014 with Expeditors International of Washington (EXDO), Blue Anchor America Line (BANQ), and Christal Lines (CHSL) ranked No. 1, 2...