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...
No sail, no sale
Booking blues, box shortages and soaring rates plague shippers By Bill Armbruster Remember the good old days – like this time last year -- when container carriers were putting up “For Sale” signs all over the place? Well, these days shippers are more likely to see...
Sea Change for Bottled Water?
U.S. imports of water from Fiji are down sharply CNN Living poses the question — has bottled water become the new eco-no-no? — and answers, not quite yet. But trade statistics do show a marked drop in U.S. imports of “unsweetened water” (HS code 2201) from top sources...
Cockeyed Optimism
The surge in imports may be a triumph of hope over reality. By Bill Armbruster Have U.S. importers been too optimistic about growth prospects in the U.S. this year? I think so — and I think that helps explain why there such was a mad scramble for container space out...