By David M. Noah email | bio

Shipping Solutions will host a two-day user conference on Sept. 25-26, 2008, in Bloomington, Minnesota, at the Minneapolis Airport Marriott located right next to the Mall of America.

Intended for people currently using the Shipping Solutions export software and potential customers interested in learning how the software will save their company time and money, the conference will include government officials, industry experts and company personnel presenting on current export documentation and compliance issues as well as on the Shipping Solutions software itself.

Among the government agencies that are expected to present at the conference are:

In addition, industry experts will be presenting on topics such as:

All attendees will also have the opportunity to attend small-group or one-on-one sessions with Shipping Solutions staff to learn more about the software, see demonstrations of new features, and get their specific questions answered.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to participate in a feedback session with company personnel that will help Shipping Solutions guide future development of the software.

Registration for this two-day user conference is only $595. Two or more attendees from the same company will save $50 each. Shipping Solutions Annual Maintenance Program (AMP) subscribers will save an additional $100 off each registration.

Shipping Solutions has arranged for a discounted room rate of $139 per night at the Minneapolis Airport Marriott. To receive this special discount room rate, attendees can contact the Marriott at 800-228-9290 or 952-854-7441 before Sept. 3, 2008, and mention “Shipping Solutions.”

Because of the nature of the event, Shipping Solutions is limiting the size of the conference on a first come, first served basis. For more information about the Shipping Solutions User Conference or to register for a guaranteed spot at the conference, call Shipping Solutions at 888-890-7447.

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By Mary K. McCormick email | bio

There is little doubt that global trade is an equalizer. Throughout the history of the world, trade has provided a way for countries and cultures to expand their minds and their pocket books. The question is whether our recent reliance on one country to supply the vast majority of manufactured goods to the rest of the world is healthy to the global economy.

The developed economies are addicted to Chinese imports. As is typical of addiction, the problem is detrimental both to the addicted and to the ‘enabler.’ In this case the addicted are the developed economies of the world that rely almost exclusively on China as its manufacturing base. The enabler is China itself. By presenting itself as the factory to the world, it is experiencing great upheavals in social stability, devastating environmental degradation, and the potential long term effects of unfettered capitalism.

Just like friends and family of the addicted suffer, the rest of the world suffers as a result of this reliance on China as well. From increased fuel prices driven by China’s insatiable appetite for energy to its increasing influence in foreign policy, which tends to downplay human rights, the world is being dramatically affected by this addiction.

Beyond the philosophical is the more immediate impact this addiction has on companies that rely on imports to provide the best quality and price possible to consumers. This is also where we as a profession can have the greatest influence.

There are two major reasons why U.S. companies source products from China. First and foremost is cost. The second reason is to establish a presence in what may one day prove to be one of the largest consumer economies in the world.

The hidden costs of sourcing from China are becoming more and more apparent, however. The myriad regulations and overlapping authorities provide ample opportunity for corruption, inefficiencies and outright fraud in the system. Those are issues our industry is accustomed to dealing with and can play a critical role in mitigating. It is also true that the same issues can be found when importing from nearly any country, but there are certain indicators that China’s dominance over manufacturing may be beginning to show signs of waning.

The Chinese government and manufacturing industry is on record as being interested in upgrading its reputation as simply a low-cost producer. This is hardly unexpected and is reflective of the improvements that global trade is expected to provide countries like China.

The side effect is that the days of finding ‘incredibly good deals’ may be coming to an end. Other countries with much shorter supply chains to the U.S. and Europe are eager to exploit this potential opening in the competition for these lucrative markets.

The Trans-Pacific trade routes will also see a largely disproportionate increase in costs in 2008. At a recent keynote address to the Journal of Commerce's Container Transport Investment Conference in New York City, Ron Widdows of APL declared a new era in this trade.

"You are going to see rates increase in the transpacific. That the U.S. economy, the stock market, and some of my customers are not faring well economically will not be relevant. Rates will go up. They must. The underlying costs are too high. Rates are going to go up; bunker recoveries are going to increase.” That should not give importers a ‘warm and fuzzy’ about the continued cost effectiveness of ‘Made in China.’

Fees will also be increasing at the major West Coast ports who serve this trade. In Los Angeles/Long Beach, for example, fees will be introduced of $70/feu to assist in drayage trucks upgrades and $30/feu for much needed infrastructure upgrades.

There is also the matter of time. Importers sourcing in China have long realized that geography naturally dictates longer supply chains when sourcing from Asia. As a supply chain is elongated, the risk associated with importing becomes more apparent. The ability to perceive and control disruptions when they occur becomes exponentially more difficult and complex.

It appears that the ‘slow boat from China’ may be getting even slower. During his speech, Widdows also addressed the need to slow the speed of his vessels. “The additional ships will allow those loops to reduce speeds to about 20 knots, from about 23.5 to 24 knots. That will save fuel and allow APL and its partners to get better utilization of the ships.”

Authorities are also warning that climate change could make weather conditions in China much tougher in the years ahead. For example, in the major Yangtze port city of Hankou, water levels fell to 46 feet in early January; the lowest level since records began in 1866. To add more credence to the effects of climate change on trade, just this week southern China is enduring a tremendously powerful winter storm that is disrupting an already taxed transportation infrastructure. These snowstorms are the worst storms in half a century and have affected nearly 80 million people across 14 provinces and may be an indication of even greater infrastructure challenges to come.

China will obviously remain an important player in global sourcing, and rightfully so. The country’s ability to manufacture good-quality, low-cost goods is undeniable. Sourcing from China will remain a critical component of most U.S and European supply chains in the foreseeable future.

Increasingly, however, the real competitive advantages may come from diversifying and taking advantage of all the globe has to offer. From global climate change and political considerations to the increasing costs and risks associated with the China trade, 2008 may well prove to be the year globalization means more than simply ‘Chinazation.’

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