We may be close to crossing that new bridge

We may be close to crossing that new bridge

The following article, by Jeffrey Simpson, is extracted from the 20 June 2009 edition of “globeandmail.com”.

Could it be that after so many delays, false starts, political wrangling, engineering studies, competing proposals and plain old-fashioned inertia, a new bridge might soon be under construction between Windsor and Detroit, the busiest border crossing in North America?

Yes, there actually could be a new bridge, believe it or not.

With this project - an estimated $2-billion for the bridge, and more for the access roads on both sides of the border - nothing is ever guaranteed until the final rivet is in place. But on the Canadian side, all the political ducks are finally in line; and on the U.S. side, almost all of them are.

Except that in the U.S., a nation of lawyers, nothing is ever finally settled until the last lawsuit has expired….

The bridge is owned by one of the wealthiest men in the United States, billionaire Manuel (Matty) Moroun of Grosse Pointe. He owns a trucking conglomerate, dispenses political contributions (to 21 candidates in 2008, according to Campaignmoney.com), and keeps lawyers busy by filing lawsuits whenever matters are not going his way.

Which they are not. Mr. Moroun opposes the new bridge proposed by the U.S. and Canadian governments. He insists it will unfairly compete with his Ambassador Bridge, and the new bridge he will build, operate and own adjacent to the existing Ambassador that will eventually be phased out….

Alas for Mr. Moroun, the Department of Homeland Security does not favour his project, fearing terrorists could knock out one bridge, thereby crippling commerce among other losses. Nor does the U.S. Coast Guard favour Mr. Moroun's efforts. It recently ordered preliminary work stopped on his new bridge. Nor does the Democratic delegation in Congress from Michigan, with one exception.

Nor does the mayor of Detroit. Nor does the state government….

Mr. Moroun has just launched a lawsuit, claiming the U.S. government agencies had not followed their own rules in turning him down.

Unless this Hail Mary lawsuit succeeds - and very few people give it a hope - work will start later this year on the Windsor side preparing ground for the access from the 401 highway to the new six-lane bridge….

Many Windsorites wanted a tunnel from the 401 to the bridge, but the cost would have been astronomical. Now, it appears Mayor Francis and Queen's Park have reached an agreement whereby some of the access road will be sunken, although not tunnelled. With that compromise, the last hurdle fell on the Canadian side for a new bridge so long discussed, so long delayed.

The federal, provincial and municipal governments in Canada, and the federal, state and local governments on the U.S. side would appear all in agreement, finally, that a new bridge is needed and that it should be the publicly financed one. The Canadian section will likely be built through a public-private partnership….

It almost seems too good to be true: a new bridge by 2015. Hold your breath.

June 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

June 2009 Edition

EARNINGS

 
The relative contributions of wives and husbands to paid work hours and earnings have become closer in Canada over the past 12 years. But in 2008, most dual earner wives still contributed less than 45 per cent of total family earnings. Between 1997 and 2008, the proportion of wives earning at least 45 per cent of the family total increased from 37 to 42 per cent. In 1997, husbands worked over nine hours a week more than their wives but by 2008 this had dropped to just over seven hours. Over the same period, women's average weekly earnings increased at a faster pace than men's.

ENDORSEMENTS

In 2008, during an injury-abbreviated season, Tiger Woods took home US$7.7-million in tournament winnings, and almost $110-million in endorsements. By 2010, his lifetime earnings are expected to top $1-billion.

PETS

Honda is trying to boost sales of its light truck with a version tailored to U.S. dog owners, including an integrated pet bed, restraints and a spill-resistant water bowl. Other features include a rear ventilation fan and rubber floor mats. The pet-accessory and care market is a US$42-billion-a-year business. Honda's plan highlights auto makers' efforts to find niches to overcome the weakest U.S. market since the early 1980s. Last year, Toyota began offering pet-friendly features on one of their vehicles, including a ramp for loading animals, a leash tether, pet booster seat and waterproof and removable hammock-style seat covers.

COWS

A breed of cattle that was recreated by German geneticists after becoming extinct can be seen in Britain for the first time in 2,000 years, Aurochs, which can grow as large as half a ton, were last seen in Britain in Roman times but they became extinct in mainland Europe in 1627.

INVESTMENT

Canada recorded its first ever surplus in bilateral investment with the United States last year, overtaking an economy 10 times its size. Direct Canadian investment in the U.S. was $17.1-billion greater last year, rising by $80-billion to total $311-billion. In 2007, the balance of such investments favoured the U.S. by $62-billion. U.S. investment in Canada rose by $900-million in 2008 to $294-billion. The U.S. share of investment in Canada fell to 58 per cent of the total last year, the lowest in records dating back to 1926.

WASTE

For the second year in a row, the amount of waste generated in the U.S. has gone down. The decline in 2007, from 513-million tons to 508-million, was the first in more than 20 years. In 2008, the amount fell to 505-million tons. This is not due to setting aside newspapers and aluminum cans, the figures are the total before recycling.

TONER

Every page on a laser printer uses toner made from petroleum-based products. Now there is a greener choice that shows promise, a toner product derived from soybean oil. While some customers may be wary, potential benefits are clear. It's easier to recycle paper printed with soy, and soy toners can cost less than the standard alternative. Newspaper, magazine and book publishers have shifted to soy-based ink in recent years.

ICELAND

With Iceland's economic meltdown sending its currency down by 44 per cent in 2008, tourists who saw this remote North Atlantic island as expensive, are now flocking to its dramatic volcanic scenery. More than 10,500 Canadians visited the country last year, a rise of 68 per cent from 2007, contributing to an overall total of 502,000 tourists in a nation of just 320,000. Iceland is known for its breathtaking scenery,including the Blue Lagoon hot springs, spouting geysers, plunging waterfalls and glaciers and volcanoes as well as a UNESCO world heritage national park.

WATER

U.S researchers say that water levels in some of the world's most important rivers have declined significantly over the past 50 years. They say the flows are linked to climate change and will have a major impact as the human populations grows. The only area with a significant increase in water flows was the Arctic due to a greater amount of snow and ice melting. The researchers analyzed water flows in more than 900 rivers over a 50-year period to 2004. Besides climate, other significant factors have been the building of dams and diverting water for agriculture.

POST

The EU has given permission for the Danish and Swedish postal services to merge, however, the Danish parcel delivery service must be sold off to avoid antitrust concerns. The new company will be headquartered in Stockholm and have an annual turnover of US$6.5-billion and employ 50,000 people.

RECALLS

A new survey of Americans shows that only about 60 per cent ever looked for recalled food in their homes and only 10 per cent had ever found a recalled product. Approximately 12 per cent reported eating a food they thought had been recalled. More than 25 per cent reported that they had simply discarded food products after hearing about a recall, potentially wasting safe, nutritious food.

CLOTHES

A suit made from the world's most expensive wool has been sold to a mystery buyer for $140,000. It took more than 80 hours to make the one-off suit from Arctic wool, qiviuk, and rare South American wool, vicuna. The suit has 18-carat gold and diamond buttons. The qiviuk and vicuna wools were blended with pashmina to create a cloth known as Vanquish 11.

FISHING

A new EU report states that Europe has far too many fishing boats and major cuts are needed to make fishing sustainable. The reality for EU fish and fishermen consists of overfishing, fleet overcapacity, heavy subsidies, low economic resilience and decline in the volume of fish caught. Eighty-eight per cent of EU stocks are fished beyond their maximum sustainable yield.

FUEL

Jet fuel consumption and the prices airlines are paying for it fell significantly in the first two months of this year. Low demand for air cargo or passenger traffic depressed already declining fuel prices. U.S passenger and cargo airlines burned 1,397-billion gallons of fuel in January, down 12.8 per cent from a year earlier and 1.273-billion gallons in February, down 15.9 per cent.

TRUCKS

Ontario, Canada will begin a pilot program this summer to assess the benefits of pulling two 53-ft. trailers behind one cab. The one-year program will include up to 100 vehicles. Longer combination vehicles, known as LCVs, are already allowed in Western Canada, Quebec and 20 states in the U.S. Government studies show that LCVs were involved in 60 per cent fewer collisions than single trailer trucks.

WOOL

Wool prices in New Zealand have fallen to the lowest in 30 years as the slump in global construction sapped flooring demand for new buildings and home renovations. The price of coarse crossbred wool, a heavy grade accounting for about 80 per cent of New Zealand's output, dropped nearly four per cent.

PLASTIC

Most credit cards are made out of polyvinyl chloride. PCV, like all conventional plastic, is an oily substance. It takes about 4.25 grams of petroleum to make one five-gram credit card. Multiply that by 1.6-billion, the number of debit and credit cards produced annually in the U.S. and we are looking at roughly 45,000 barrels of oil. However, these figures do not include the billions of gift cards, loyalty cards and store charge cards.

MERGING

Two retail industry groups with a major voice in U.S. transportation policy are merging to give retailers a more powerful, united association in Washington. The National Retail Federation, the retail industry's largest association, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association will merge this summer. The merger comes as retailers struggle with a host of legislative initiatives and regulatory issues in Washington, as well as the recession, changes in consumer in-store and online spending and the need to invest in new technology.

RAIL

Jordan plans to begin work on a US$6-billion railway next year to bolster trade with its neighbours and create jobs. The project is vital as it will make freight movement faster, cut transportation costs and boost trade. The railway would link the Red Sea port of Aqaba with the Syrian border, through Amman and then the industrial city of Zarqa, the two largest cities in the largely desert country. Extending some 1,600 kilometres, the rail would also provide a link to the Saudi and Iraqi borders.

TEA

The U.N. reports that, in 2008, the demand for tea exceeded supply, driving up the cost. Tea consumption reached 3.85-million tonnes last year, up 4.8 per cent from 2007, but production was only 3.78-million tonnes. Tea was in surplus in 2007. Tea prices have soared as drought has hit Kenya and Sri Lanka hard in the past year, as well as India, which is the world's biggest producer of tea.

ANNIVERSARIES

The toaster is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year a century after it was first patented by technician Frank Shailor who worked for General Electric. The toasting machine was created 20 years before sliced bread was invented. It became an instant hit selling a million in the U.S before being introduced in Britain. Originally, the toaster was constructed of a wire fence with no covering and users had to place the bread inside and turn it by hand.

CLOTHING

More than 90 per cent of clothing sold in the U.S. is made offshore. Nearly a third of U.S. apparel imports came from China followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. Clothes manufacturing began in New England and New York in the 1800s, shifted to Pennsylvania, then headed south after the turn of the century to states where labour was cheap and unions weak. Then it jumped the border to even cheaper labour pools in Mexico and the Caribbean. The rush to China began in the 1970s.

FLOWERS

Kenya was the largest foreign supplier to flower auctions held by FloraHolland a cooperative which sells 90 per cent of the plants and flowers auctioned in the Netherlands. The country is the world's largest exporter of flowers and plants with around 60 per cent of the global market. Germany was the single biggest foreign destination for FloraHollands plants and flowers, buying 28 per cent of what Holland exported.

PLANES

Airlines have announced plans over the past year to take 1,700 planes out of service as fewer people fly. The number of planes in storage has jumped 29 per cent in the past year to 2,302. Eventually some will be sold, some scrapped and some sit in desert facilities.

DROPPINGS

Wombat droppings are helping an industrial city in Australia fight the effects of the global financial crisis. One local industry in Tasmania is thriving by producing handmade paper out of a material no-one else wants, wombat poo. The novelty paper is a hit with tourists keen to buy a distinctly Australian souvenir from the area. Once sterilized and rinsed properly there is no scent left.

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