August 2013 Edition
MORE SIZE
Denmark's Maersk Line has unveiled the world's biggest container ship, hoping a new fleet of super-size vessels will deliver savings and return it to profit in an industry suffering from overcapacity, weak economies and cut-throat competition. The 55,000-tonne ship with the length of four football fields is worth US$185-million and is the first of twenty to be delivered to Maersk Line. It will have the capacity to transport 18,270 20-foot containers and will consume approximately 35 per cent less fuel per 20-foot container. Maersk moves 20 per cent of all containers from Asia to Europe and 18 per cent the other way.
TRADE
The UK has announced plans for what could be the biggest bilateral trade deal in history between the European Union and the U.S. worth hundreds of billions of dollars. A successful agreement aimed at boosting exports and driving growth could have a greater impact than all the other world trade deals put together. It is estimated that such a deal could be worth US$150-billion to the EU economy, $120-billion to the U.S. and $127-billion to the rest of the world. The deal will focus on bringing down remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade. Agriculture is expected to be a significant bone of contention.
INVESTMENT
The World Bank is calling on Canadian companies to help reduce extreme poverty by making more investments in the developing world, as development assistance alone cannot do the job of wiping out chronic poverty and that the private sector has much to gain from boosting its presence in struggling countries. About 60 per cent of total mining investment in Latin America comes from Canadian firms. The total annual spending on development assistance is US$125-billion, a pittance compared with the $200-billion per year infrastructure deficit over the next five years in India alone. Ninety per cent of all the jobs created in the world come from the private sector.
CALORIES
Lower-calorie foods and beverages dramatically boosted revenue at 16 US food and beverage companies that account for nearly US$100-billion in annual sales. Between 2006 and 2011, sales of low-calorie products increased more than $1.25-billion, over four times the growth of higher calorie products. These companies had committed to reduce 1.5-trillion calories in food and beverage sales in the U.S. and have achieved the target three years earlier than planned.
RECORDS
In 2006 23 per cent of Canadian doctors were using electronic medical records (EMRs). Now, 56 per cent of family physicians are using them, with an average savings of 3.8 hours per week. 15.6 minutes are saved on average managing a lab report. Last year it is estimated that 4.4-million hours were saved by doctor using EMRs.
WASTE
Tossing out food is a waste of money and water, according to the World Resources Institute, an environmental think-tank. Inside the 1.3-billion tons of food wasted every year worldwide is 45-trillion gallons of water. This represents a staggering 24 per cent of all water used for agriculture.
CONFECTIONARY
In 2011, the global confectionary industry reached almost US$185.5-billion, representing growth of five per cent year over year. The Asia-Pacific region led the market in sales volume with over 3,000 tons of confectionary products and chocolate accounting for more than 55 per cent of total confectionary sales. The US, UK, Brazil, Germany and Russia made up the top five markets in terms of value. This market is expected to be worth $208-billion by 2017.
TECHNOLOGY
Canadian enterprises sold almost C$122-billion of goods and services over the Internet in 2012, double that value of online sales in 2007. Three sectors, manufacturing, wholesale trade and retail trade, accounted for more than 61 per cent of the total value. Overall, 11 per cent of Canadian enterprises made sales of goods or services online in 2012. Volume was highest in the wholesale trade sector at $44.6-billion and the percentage of firms online was highest in the information and cultural industries sector at 35 per cent.
CANALS
Nicaragua is reported to have signed a 100-year concession with a Chinese company to build an alternative to the Panama Canal, a step that could have profound geopolitical ramifications. The US$40-billion project will reinforce Beijing's growing influence on global trade and weaken U.S. dominance over the key shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
BREADWINNERS
Mothers are now the main breadwinners in 40 per cent of American households according to Pew Research. Most of those are single parents, but the big rise is in the share of households in which the wife earns more than her husband, which is now the case in 15 per cent of all households with children. The median family income in such homes is US$80,000, compared with a national median of $57,000 and $23,000 for single mother households. Women's participation in the workforce has been rising for decades but that number has shot up since the 2007 recession.
DRONES
Anti-hunting groups in Britain, conservationists on African game reserves and U.S. animal welfare groups have started using drones to combat poaching and to monitor suspected illegal activities. The cost of unmanned aerial vehicles has dropped so fast in the last year that it has now become cost effective for civilians, rather than only the military, to use them widely. The Sea Shepherd conservation society pioneered the use of UAVs in 2011 to locate the Japanese whaling fleet heading for the Arctic. UAVs can film anything and go anywhere and what cost US$30,000 a few years ago can now be got for $5,000.
POPULATION
India looks set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation from 2028. At that point, both nations will number 1.45-billion people. Subsequently India's population will continue to grow until the middle of the century, while China's slowly declines. The UN estimates that the current global population of 7.2-billion will reach 9.6-billion by 2050. Nigeria's population is expected to exceed that of the U.S. by the middle of the century and could rival that of China by 2100.
PROFITS
The world's 40 largest mining companies saw profits fall 49 per cent last year to US$68-billion during a slump that has stretched into 2013. Weak commodity prices have dragged down the sector which saw volumes rise by six per cent but revenues remain flat.
DAMS
Ethiopia has started diverting a stretch of the Blue Nile to make way for a US$4.7-billion hydroelectric dam that is causing a dispute with countries downstream. The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is currently under construction, is part of a $12-billion investment project to boost power exports. The Blue Nile is one of two major tributaries of the Nile, one of the world's longest rivers. Both Egypt and Sudan are objecting to the dam which they say violates a colonial-era agreement which gives them rights to 90 per cent of the Nile's water.
TRENDS
A German cafe is charging customers for the amount of time they spend in the facility instead of charging them for the items they order. Customers are given time-marked wristbands when they enter the cafe. Clocks around the establishment are purposely set to different times to help customers stop thinking about time.
PESTICIDES
Insecticide sales are surging in the U.S. after years of decline as American farmers plant more of their acreage to corn and a genetic modification designed to protect the crop from pests has started to lose its effectiveness. This is a boon for big pesticide makers but it has sparked fresh concerns that one of the most widely touted benefits of genetically modified crops, that they reduce the need for chemical pest control, is unravelling. At the same time, the resurgence of insecticides could expose both farmers and beneficial insects to potential harm.
MENUS
The Angus burger is going away and it may not be the only McDonald's dish on the chopping block. The world's largest restaurant chain has also considered axing Caesar salads, the McSkillet Burrito, the Southers Style Biscuit and steak bagels. The culling is an effort by McDonalds to streamline a menu that has expanded 70 per cent to about 145 items since 2007.
EGYPT
Two years of political upheaval have battered tourism, a motor of Egypt's economy, and lingering uncertainty over the future means it may be years before Egypt regains its place in the sun. In 2010, the last year before Egypt's revolution, a record 14-million tourists arrived and the industry was 13 per cent of GDP and directly or indirectly employed one in seven workers. Arrivals plummeted to 9.5-million in 2011. Hotel occupancy rates are barely 15 per cent in Cairo and below five per cent in Luxor.
FARMS
Equity in Canada's farm sector totalled C$341.4-billion at the end of 2012, up 7.7 per cent from a year earlier. Strong gains in the value of assets outpaced a rise in liabilities. Manitoba recorded the largest percentage increase, up 13.7 per cent to $22.3-billion. Total value of farm assets rose to $408.1-billion while liabilities rose to $66.7-billion. The largest dollar increase was in the value of farm real estate. Growth in the value of crop inventories outweighed a decline in the value of livestock and poultry inventories.
SIZE
Sharp has released what it says is the largest TV ever to go on sale in Europe. The Aquos features a 96-inch screen, trumping the 84-inch screen from LG. Sharp has offered the size in the U.S since 2012, the world's biggest market for jumbo-TVs but believes that there is significant demand in the UK and the rest of Europe for such a set. Eight per cent of all TVs sold in the U.S are sixty inches or larger. In the UK, six per cent of all units sold are over fifty inches.
ICELAND
It may not be the prospect of cheap fish that has prompted China to sign its first free trade deal with a European nation. The pact will waive most tariffs in the two countries' bilateral trade, which Iceland says was more than US$400-million in 2012. With the Icelandic population a mere 320,000 and no low-tariff entry to other European markets included in the deal, many believe that China's real goal is better access to shipping routes through the Arctic.
PHONES
New research shows that the average smartphone user looks at their phone 143 times per day, which works out to nine times every waking hour, or once every 6.7 minutes.
CHOCOLATE
The maker of Cadbury chocolate is close to introducing heat-resistant bars it can sell at market stalls in Africa and some of the world's hottest places. Mondelez International the maker of Cadburys products, which also makes Oreo cookies, has spent ten years on research and is close to introducing the new snacks to consumers. The product was patented last year and can withstand 40 degrees and not turn to liquid.
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.
Past issues of the A&A Economic News Digest can be found at http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/index.asp
Denmark's Maersk Line has unveiled the world's biggest container ship, hoping a new fleet of super-size vessels will deliver savings and return it to profit in an industry suffering from overcapacity, weak economies and cut-throat competition. The 55,000-tonne ship with the length of four football fields is worth US$185-million and is the first of twenty to be delivered to Maersk Line. It will have the capacity to transport 18,270 20-foot containers and will consume approximately 35 per cent less fuel per 20-foot container. Maersk moves 20 per cent of all containers from Asia to Europe and 18 per cent the other way.
TRADE
The UK has announced plans for what could be the biggest bilateral trade deal in history between the European Union and the U.S. worth hundreds of billions of dollars. A successful agreement aimed at boosting exports and driving growth could have a greater impact than all the other world trade deals put together. It is estimated that such a deal could be worth US$150-billion to the EU economy, $120-billion to the U.S. and $127-billion to the rest of the world. The deal will focus on bringing down remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade. Agriculture is expected to be a significant bone of contention.
INVESTMENT
The World Bank is calling on Canadian companies to help reduce extreme poverty by making more investments in the developing world, as development assistance alone cannot do the job of wiping out chronic poverty and that the private sector has much to gain from boosting its presence in struggling countries. About 60 per cent of total mining investment in Latin America comes from Canadian firms. The total annual spending on development assistance is US$125-billion, a pittance compared with the $200-billion per year infrastructure deficit over the next five years in India alone. Ninety per cent of all the jobs created in the world come from the private sector.
CALORIES
Lower-calorie foods and beverages dramatically boosted revenue at 16 US food and beverage companies that account for nearly US$100-billion in annual sales. Between 2006 and 2011, sales of low-calorie products increased more than $1.25-billion, over four times the growth of higher calorie products. These companies had committed to reduce 1.5-trillion calories in food and beverage sales in the U.S. and have achieved the target three years earlier than planned.
RECORDS
In 2006 23 per cent of Canadian doctors were using electronic medical records (EMRs). Now, 56 per cent of family physicians are using them, with an average savings of 3.8 hours per week. 15.6 minutes are saved on average managing a lab report. Last year it is estimated that 4.4-million hours were saved by doctor using EMRs.
WASTE
Tossing out food is a waste of money and water, according to the World Resources Institute, an environmental think-tank. Inside the 1.3-billion tons of food wasted every year worldwide is 45-trillion gallons of water. This represents a staggering 24 per cent of all water used for agriculture.
CONFECTIONARY
In 2011, the global confectionary industry reached almost US$185.5-billion, representing growth of five per cent year over year. The Asia-Pacific region led the market in sales volume with over 3,000 tons of confectionary products and chocolate accounting for more than 55 per cent of total confectionary sales. The US, UK, Brazil, Germany and Russia made up the top five markets in terms of value. This market is expected to be worth $208-billion by 2017.
TECHNOLOGY
Canadian enterprises sold almost C$122-billion of goods and services over the Internet in 2012, double that value of online sales in 2007. Three sectors, manufacturing, wholesale trade and retail trade, accounted for more than 61 per cent of the total value. Overall, 11 per cent of Canadian enterprises made sales of goods or services online in 2012. Volume was highest in the wholesale trade sector at $44.6-billion and the percentage of firms online was highest in the information and cultural industries sector at 35 per cent.
CANALS
Nicaragua is reported to have signed a 100-year concession with a Chinese company to build an alternative to the Panama Canal, a step that could have profound geopolitical ramifications. The US$40-billion project will reinforce Beijing's growing influence on global trade and weaken U.S. dominance over the key shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
BREADWINNERS
Mothers are now the main breadwinners in 40 per cent of American households according to Pew Research. Most of those are single parents, but the big rise is in the share of households in which the wife earns more than her husband, which is now the case in 15 per cent of all households with children. The median family income in such homes is US$80,000, compared with a national median of $57,000 and $23,000 for single mother households. Women's participation in the workforce has been rising for decades but that number has shot up since the 2007 recession.
DRONES
Anti-hunting groups in Britain, conservationists on African game reserves and U.S. animal welfare groups have started using drones to combat poaching and to monitor suspected illegal activities. The cost of unmanned aerial vehicles has dropped so fast in the last year that it has now become cost effective for civilians, rather than only the military, to use them widely. The Sea Shepherd conservation society pioneered the use of UAVs in 2011 to locate the Japanese whaling fleet heading for the Arctic. UAVs can film anything and go anywhere and what cost US$30,000 a few years ago can now be got for $5,000.
POPULATION
India looks set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation from 2028. At that point, both nations will number 1.45-billion people. Subsequently India's population will continue to grow until the middle of the century, while China's slowly declines. The UN estimates that the current global population of 7.2-billion will reach 9.6-billion by 2050. Nigeria's population is expected to exceed that of the U.S. by the middle of the century and could rival that of China by 2100.
PROFITS
The world's 40 largest mining companies saw profits fall 49 per cent last year to US$68-billion during a slump that has stretched into 2013. Weak commodity prices have dragged down the sector which saw volumes rise by six per cent but revenues remain flat.
DAMS
Ethiopia has started diverting a stretch of the Blue Nile to make way for a US$4.7-billion hydroelectric dam that is causing a dispute with countries downstream. The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is currently under construction, is part of a $12-billion investment project to boost power exports. The Blue Nile is one of two major tributaries of the Nile, one of the world's longest rivers. Both Egypt and Sudan are objecting to the dam which they say violates a colonial-era agreement which gives them rights to 90 per cent of the Nile's water.
TRENDS
A German cafe is charging customers for the amount of time they spend in the facility instead of charging them for the items they order. Customers are given time-marked wristbands when they enter the cafe. Clocks around the establishment are purposely set to different times to help customers stop thinking about time.
PESTICIDES
Insecticide sales are surging in the U.S. after years of decline as American farmers plant more of their acreage to corn and a genetic modification designed to protect the crop from pests has started to lose its effectiveness. This is a boon for big pesticide makers but it has sparked fresh concerns that one of the most widely touted benefits of genetically modified crops, that they reduce the need for chemical pest control, is unravelling. At the same time, the resurgence of insecticides could expose both farmers and beneficial insects to potential harm.
MENUS
The Angus burger is going away and it may not be the only McDonald's dish on the chopping block. The world's largest restaurant chain has also considered axing Caesar salads, the McSkillet Burrito, the Southers Style Biscuit and steak bagels. The culling is an effort by McDonalds to streamline a menu that has expanded 70 per cent to about 145 items since 2007.
EGYPT
Two years of political upheaval have battered tourism, a motor of Egypt's economy, and lingering uncertainty over the future means it may be years before Egypt regains its place in the sun. In 2010, the last year before Egypt's revolution, a record 14-million tourists arrived and the industry was 13 per cent of GDP and directly or indirectly employed one in seven workers. Arrivals plummeted to 9.5-million in 2011. Hotel occupancy rates are barely 15 per cent in Cairo and below five per cent in Luxor.
FARMS
Equity in Canada's farm sector totalled C$341.4-billion at the end of 2012, up 7.7 per cent from a year earlier. Strong gains in the value of assets outpaced a rise in liabilities. Manitoba recorded the largest percentage increase, up 13.7 per cent to $22.3-billion. Total value of farm assets rose to $408.1-billion while liabilities rose to $66.7-billion. The largest dollar increase was in the value of farm real estate. Growth in the value of crop inventories outweighed a decline in the value of livestock and poultry inventories.
SIZE
Sharp has released what it says is the largest TV ever to go on sale in Europe. The Aquos features a 96-inch screen, trumping the 84-inch screen from LG. Sharp has offered the size in the U.S since 2012, the world's biggest market for jumbo-TVs but believes that there is significant demand in the UK and the rest of Europe for such a set. Eight per cent of all TVs sold in the U.S are sixty inches or larger. In the UK, six per cent of all units sold are over fifty inches.
ICELAND
It may not be the prospect of cheap fish that has prompted China to sign its first free trade deal with a European nation. The pact will waive most tariffs in the two countries' bilateral trade, which Iceland says was more than US$400-million in 2012. With the Icelandic population a mere 320,000 and no low-tariff entry to other European markets included in the deal, many believe that China's real goal is better access to shipping routes through the Arctic.
PHONES
New research shows that the average smartphone user looks at their phone 143 times per day, which works out to nine times every waking hour, or once every 6.7 minutes.
CHOCOLATE
The maker of Cadbury chocolate is close to introducing heat-resistant bars it can sell at market stalls in Africa and some of the world's hottest places. Mondelez International the maker of Cadburys products, which also makes Oreo cookies, has spent ten years on research and is close to introducing the new snacks to consumers. The product was patented last year and can withstand 40 degrees and not turn to liquid.
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.
Past issues of the A&A Economic News Digest can be found at http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/index.asp
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