When COVID-19 shut down retail outlets, sales inevitably faltered. Then stuck-at-home consumers decided to redecorate – or move on and furnish someplace new – and orders for furniture surged. Sales are better than expected, but less than they might have been had...
Brazil-US Trade: Trouble Brewing?
House bill challenges 2010 agreement that settled cotton dispute by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor In my last column, about Brazil’s surprising spike in demand for US ethanol and cotton, I noted that the way had been cleared for shipments of $328 million worth of US...
Copper Exports: Volume Down, Value Up
Chilean, Peruvian copper fetches record prices as shipments slip in 1H11 End of July, we looked at copper exports from top source Chile and top comer Peru through year-end 2010, when the price of copper began its climb toward a record US$10,000/ton [Copper Benchmark]....
Rates Matter Most
Reliability ranks second in survey of shippers’ criteria for carriers by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor Last month we did a survey asking what matters most to shippers when they choose an ocean carrier. Rates ranked as the top priority, garnering 41% of the votes,...
10 Most Common Misconceptions in International Trade
People who import-export say the most surprising things By Peter Quinter, guest columnist I have been an international trade attorney for over 20 years. In that time, I have represented a few thousand companies involved in the importation, exportation, and...