LIGHT
U.S. researchers have developed a new type of lighting that could replace fluorescent bulbs. The new source is made from layers of plastic and is said to be more efficient while producing a better quality of flicker-free light. The new light source is called field-induced polymer electroluminescent technology. It is made from three layers of light-emitting polymers that contain a small volume of nanomaterials that glow when electric current is passed through them. It is believed that the first units will be produced this year.
CUBA
Communist-run Cuba has legalized non-agricultural co-operatives as the state slowly pulls back from its centrally planned economy in favour of private initiative and market forces. The move is the latest reform under the President, Raul Castro, who wants to transform the country's Soviet-style economy into one more in line with Asian Communism where political control remains absolute, while allowing more space for the private sector. The initial stage calls for the establishment of more than 200 associations in sectors such as transportation, food services, fishing, personal and domestic services, recycling and construction.
ENERGY
By the end of last year, Canada had about 6,500 megawatts of wind power capacity, enough to power close to two million homes. For the second consecutive year, more than 1,000 MW of power had been added to Canada's grid and there will be around 1,500 MW of new installations on average annually over the next few years. Ontario has the most installations. There are now 159 wind farms across Canada with more than 3,500 turbines. Wind power generates about 3 per cent of the country's power.
MILK
In an age of vitamin waters and energy drinks, the decades-long decline in U.S. milk consumption has accelerated, worrying dairy farmers, milk processors and grocery chains. Per capita U.S. milk consumption, which peaked around the Second World War, has fallen almost 30 per cent since 1975, even as sales of yogurt, cheese and other dairy products have risen. Children, who tend to be heavy milk drinkers, account for a smaller share of the U.S. population than they once did. Americans drank an average of 20 gallons (75 litres) of milk last year, a decline of 3.3 per cent from the previous year, and the biggest slide year-over-year since 1993.
NUMBERS
The U.S. Transportation Department has proposed a regulation imposing criminal penalties and jail time for truck and bus companies that try to evade regulations by changing their names. The rule would let the agency more effectively keep the small number of carriers with the worst safety records off the road. The Department has been criticized for not being aggressive enough in targeting rogue carriers, especially so-called chameleons who repaint their buses and transfer employees and assets to a new company.
NUMBERS
Toronto's Pearson International Airport employs 40,000 workers, creating a C$26-billion annual economic impact including revenues related to direct, indirect and induced activities. In 2011, 33.4 million passengers passed through Toronto which had 448,000 take-offs and landings. Vancouver International Airport has 23,614 direct jobs, creating a $5.3-billion gross domestic product and handles 17-million passengers.
HACKING
Last October, it was learned that an international computer hacker had stolen from the South Carolina Department of Revenue data base, the tax records of every South Carolinian who has filed a tax return online since 1998, 3.8-million individuals and almost 850,000 businesses. It is believed to be the largest cyber-attack against a state tax agency in America's history. Hijacked information included anything listed on the tax returns, from Social Security numbers and bank account information to details about taxpayers' children.
R&D
Gross domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) in Canada amounted to C$30-billion last year, up slightly from 2011. Of this, Business accounted for about $15.5-billion, the higher education sector for about $11.5-billion, the federal government for about $2.5-billion and the balance by provincial governments, provincial research organizations and private non-profit organizations.
TRAFFIC
There has been an increase in traffic on the Northern Sea Route, the icy passage along Russia's Arctic coast. Global warming has opened a route between Europe and Asia that can cut journey times by three weeks. Last year, some 50 vessels made the voyage. One ship that left Norway last November was the first to carry liquefied natural gas. It sailed for Japan where the Fukushima nuclear disaster has led to an increase in demand.
CONSUMERS
Millions of Brazilians are leaving poverty and marching into the middle class. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the perfume sector where Brazil has now become the world's largest fragrance market, and third in the US$300-billion-plus global beauty market. Its consumer class, the biggest in the continent, also has a voracious demand appetite for cellphones, flat-screen TVs and tablet computers. According to the World Bank, throughout Latin America, once better known for hyper-inflation, political instability and high poverty, in the past decade, more than 50-million people have joined the middle class.
GROWTH
Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may have a silver lining: doubling the size of the sweet potato, the fifth most important food crop in the developing world. Many studies of the effects of higher atmospheric carbon dioxide on crops have shown rising yields of rice, wheat and soy. The hardy sweet potato is increasingly becoming a staple in Africa and Asia, producing more edible energy per hectare per day than wheat, rice or cassava.
AUTOS
China's automobile sales and output exceeded 19-million units last year. This figure is a jump from 2011's level of 14-5-million. China hit its target of exporting one million vehicles in 2012.
TRADE
Canada is reviving its long-stalled free trade talks with South Korea as the federal government shifts its negotiating focus from Europe to fast-growing Asia. South Korea is the world's 15th-largest economy. Reaching a final agreement pits the interests of auto-makers who have long fought duty-free entry of Korean vehicles such as Hyundai and Kia to Canada against the Canadian agri-food exporters who are losing market share to rivals in the U.S. and Europe which already have free trade there.
COFFEE
Record coffee harvests in Brazil, the biggest coffee grower, are compounding a global glut of arabica used by chains like Starbucks Corp. and Dunkin' Donuts Inc. which should lower their costs. Brazilian farmers will reap 50.8-million bags this year, a record for the so-called low season. The harvest reached 55.9-million 60-kilogram bags in 2012, an all time high. Output usually drops in alternate years because of growing cycles.
THE FUTURE
The Conference Board of Canada forecasts that by 2025, Canada's exports to the U.S. will drop from about three quarters to about two-thirds. By contrast, Canada's share of goods trade with booming China will expand to almost 7 per cent from 3 per cent currently. The share of Canada's exports to India will more than double and will be roughly equal to Canada's trade with Mexico. Trade with Brazil will also double by 2025.
HOMES
Some 50-million of China's 230-million urban households live in substandard quarters often lacking their own toilet and kitchen. It is estimated that China will need to build 10-million new apartments each year until 2030. Some may be as small as 160 square feet to be affordable. Recently, larger apartments have been the traditional focus of China's developers which can cost as much as 40 years' income.
TVs
High-definition televisions have rapidly become the norm in U.S. homes. More than three-quarters of American homes now have a high-def TV and nearly 40 per cent have more than one. In 2007, only 11 per cent of homes had a high-def TV. However, there is more of a taste for high definition than a supply of programming. In May of 2011, 61 per cent of all prime-time viewing was done on a high-def set, yet only about 29 per cent of prime-time viewing on networks was in true high definition programming and it was even less for cable networks. Sports and entertainment are the most likely to be seen in high definition.
GENDER
Canada is losing ground on a key measure of gender equality, sliding out of the world's top twenty list along with the United States. Canada fell three notches in the World Economic Forum's annual list, landing in 21st spot behind the Philippines, Latvia and Nicaragua. The world's most equal societies are still the Nordic ones: Iceland remains in first place followed by Finland, Norway and Sweden. Yemen is in last place in the 135-country list.
SPEED
A new U.S. study says that setting a speed limit for cargo ships sailing near ports and coast lines could cut their emissions of air pollutants by up to 70 per cent. Such speed-reduction policies would help reduce the impact of marine shipping on Earth's climate and human health. While marine shipping is the most efficient form of transporting goods with more than 100,000 ships carrying 90 per cent of the world's cargo, engines on large cargo vessels burn low-grade oil that produces large amounts of pollution.
LOSS
It is estimated that Canadian retailers lose about C$4-billion a year to theft, accounting errors and damaged products. A Retail Council of Canada report estimates that employee theft has grown to more than 33 per cent of theft-related incidents from 19 per cent in 2008. Theft by external parties, including shoplifters and organized crime dropped to 43 per cent of reported incidents from 65 per cent in 2008. Alcohol, women's apparel, cosmetics and fragrances are among the top stolen items.
TECHNOLOGY
Lettuce is California's main vegetable crop. The state grew US$1-6-billion worth of the plant in 2010 and accounts for more than 70 per cent of all lettuce grown in the U.S., the world's second-biggest exporter of the plant. Lettuce are fussy to grow needing fertilizing, weeding and thinning so they do not grow too close to each other. Now, an application has been developed for a robotic labourer which can be pulled behind a tractor which takes pictures of the plants and identifies weeds and lettuces that are growing too close to each other and kills them but feeds the remaining crops at the same time.
LIFE
People around the world are living longer but with higher levels of sickness. High blood pressure, smoking and alcohol have become the highest risk factors for ill health replacing child malnourishment which topped the list in 1990. The burden of HIV/AIDS remains high accounting for 1.5-million deaths last year.
TRENDS
The Latino growth has impacted U.S. grocery trends to the extent that it has redefined American cuisine. Overall, the U.S. market for Hispanic food and beverages exceeded US$8-billion in 2012, an increase of three per cent from the previous year and an increase of eight per cent from 2009. This sector is expected to approach $11-billion in 2017, up 31 per cent from present levels. Given the enormous buying power of Latinos this is a trend marketers cannot afford to ignore.
GUM
A fifty per cent federal tax on chewing gum is being proposed in Mexico to help pay for the cleaning of chewing gum that people spit out in public places such as sidewalks, plazas and parks.
Thank you for reading the A & A Economic News Digest. For more information visit our website www.aacb.com or contact A & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd. at strehler@aacb.com.
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