August 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

August 2009 Edition

VEGGIES

A pair of giant agricultural companies are trying to make spinach and some other vegetables taste better. They have launched a five-year project to produce new varieties of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce. The objective is to improve the nutrition, flavour, colour, texture and aroma of these vegetables. While farmers and food companies have been breeding plants for decades, even producing different colours of cauliflowers, this project seeks to go further by breeding for taste and smell.

WHALES

According to a new report by the International Whaling Commission, whale watching now generates far more money than whale hunting. Worldwide, the industry now generates about US$12.1-billion per year. In 2008, about 13-million people went to sea to watch cetaceans in 119 countries. Whale watching is clearly more environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial than hunting and whales are worth far more alive than dead.

WORK

The world economy's deepest post-war slump has resulted in higher rates of unemployment in many countries. Spain's jobless rate has increased by more than 8 percentage points in the past 12 months and is now over 18 per cent, the highest in the rich world. The situation is also dire in Russia where the unemployment rate is now over 10 per cent.

CELLPHONES

Since 2002, the African market for cellphones has shown the fastest growth rate in the world having grown by 49 per cent, where the French market has only seen 7.5 per cent growth compared with 28 per cent in Brazil and 27 per cent in Asia. Cellphones have penetrated 37 per cent of the potential market and this figure could rise to 61 per cent by 2018.

CHARITY

Charitable giving in the U.S. fell last year by the largest percentage in five decades. Individuals and institutions made gifts and pledges of US$306.65-billion, a decrease of 5.7 per cent on an inflation-adjusted basis over the $414-billion given in 2007. Some experts are surprised the drop was not even bigger given that endowments fell by as much as 40 per cent, the stock market declined by similar margins, corporations posted unheard-of losses and unemployment rose steadily.

WEIGHT

Airlines are reducing the size of spoons and dropping in-flight magazines to make planes lighter and save fuel during the recession. Northwest Airlines has excluded spoons from its cutlery pack if the in-flight meal does not require one. Another carrier, JAL of Japan, took everything it loaded from a 747 and put it on the floor of a school gym to see what it really needed. As a result,it shaved a fraction of a centimetre off all its cutlery to save weight. The next generation of aircraft seats are likely to be up to 30 per cent lighter than the current generation with composite replacing aluminum.

FOOTBALL

England's leading football clubs pull in far more money than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe. Revenues of the UK's Premier League clubs amounted to US$3.8-billion in the 2007-08 season. The rapid growth of revenues has been fuelled largely by television fees. But crowds are biggest not in England but in the German league with an average of 42,000 per game last season, about 7,000 more than in England.

BARCODES

This year, the ubiquitous Universal Product Code barcode, with its 59 machine-readable black and white lines and 12 digits turned 35 years old. The UPC bar code ranks high on the list of technological innovations that changed not only the economy since the 1970s but our day-to-day lives. The first live use of a UPS bar code was in Troy, Ohio when a cashier scanned a pack of Wrigley's gum. Now, more than 10 billion UPC bar codes are scanned in the U.S. each day and it is estimated that bar codes save the grocery industry alone more than US$17-billion each year.

FREE TRADE

Canada and the European Union have now formally launched free trade talks. The EU is Canada's second-largest export market, after the United States. In 2008, two-way trade in goods and services between Canada and the EU totalled C$114.6-billion, up 6.2 per cent from 2007. Canada-EU free trade in aerospace, chemicals, wood products, automotive vehicles and parts, agricultural products, transportation and other sectors is forecast to increase trade by about 20 per cent.

STANDARDS

The U.S. and Canada have agreed to accept each other's standards for organic food, expanding opportunities for organic food trade. Canadians buy an estimated C$2.1-billion to $2.6-billion worth of organic food, about 80 per cent of which is imported. About 75 per cent of those imports come from the U.S. The US organic market is worth about US$24.6-billion in 2008, up from $3.6-billion in 2007

SUGAR

Sugar mills in Brazil are making the sweetener at full capacity and can't increase output further to meet rising demand and will maintain its current forecast for output of 31.2-million tonnes in the current year. Output in India, Thailand, Mexico and Pakistan is declining creating a global deficit.

STEALING

According to the most recent National Retail Security Survey, retail shrinkage averaged 1.52 per cent in 2008, an increase from 1.44 per cent in 2007, and total retail losses grew to US$36.5-billion. The survey said that employee theft accounted for $15.9-billion (44 per cent) of the losses and that 14 per cent of those cases involved collusion. Shoplifting claimed $12.7-billion (35 per cent) of retail shrinkage. Administrative error ($5.4-billion and 15 per cent shrinkage) and vendor fraud ($1.4-billion and four per cent shrinkage.

WEALTH

The ranks of the world's millionaires shrank at the fastest rate in 2008 with North America suffering the biggest wealth loss worldwide. The global slump in property and equity markets last year cut the number of millionaires by 15 per cent to 8.6-million, wiping out two years of increases. The value of the world's millionaires' assets slid 20 per cent to US$32.8-trillion. The U.S. is home to the most millionaires with 2.5-million followed by Germany, Japan and China.

DEATH

The funeral industry, once considered the safest of investment havens in recession, is having a tough time across North America, but not because people are spending less to bury their loved ones. Strangely, fewer people are dying, a phenomena that is puzzling executives in the business. The number of funerals conducted by one company that owns 1,300 funeral homes and 370 cemeteries in the U.S. and 200 in Canada fell by 11 per cent in the first quarter of the year over the year earlier.

FILMING

Canada's two busiest centres for film and TV production, Vancouver and Toronto, have seen a significant jump in the number of pilots shot this year. A recent study shows that networks are shunning Los Angeles which has seen its share of total U.S. pilot production drop 42 per cent in the past five years. Canada is now more popular for pilot production than LA's closest rival New York.

TRUCKING

Mexican trucking companies are suing the U.S. government for US$6-billion over Washington's refusal to allow Mexican carriers onto U.S. roads under the North American Free Trade Agreement. About 4,500 trucking companies are involved in the lawsuit. Under NAFTA, companies can sue the governments of the three NAFTA signatories, Mexico, Canada and the U.S., if they think they have been unfairly treated by public policies.

FUEL

Earlier this year, in an experimental flight, a Continental jet flew with one of its engines burning fuel derived from microscopic algae to push the 45-ton aircraft into the air, and keep it aloft. Last year, Virgin Atlantic flew the first commercial jet on biofuels on a 40 minute flight between London and Amsterdam in which one engine burned a mix of conventional jet fuel and 20 per cent biofuel derived from coconuts and babassu nuts. Japan Airlines has flown an aircraft using a biofuel from camelina, a weedy flower.

DIGITAL

Over one-fifth of the music industry's worldwide revenues in 2008 came from sales of digital music. The move away from formats like CD's is well advanced in the U.S., the world's largest music market, where more than a third of the industry's revenue now comes from digital sales. The share of digital sales in other big markets such as Britain, Germany and Canada is less than half that in the U.S.

DEBT

Canadians owe far more money than they bring in over the course of a year. In total, individual Canadians owed about C$1.3-trillion at the end of 2008 which works out to almost $40,000. In 2000, the figure was $24,000.

ARCTIC

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic contains 13 per cent of the world's remaining undiscovered oil and as much as 30 per cent of its natural gas. These updated estimates come as Canada and its polar neighbours aggressively pursue their competing claims to vast areas of continental shelf under the Arctic Ocean. The estimate of major oil reserves off North America's northern coast will also increase pressure to open the region to more oil and gas development.

DIET

According to Statistics Canada, in 2008, the Canadian diet included more tea, yogurts, breakfast cereals, berries, processed fruits, asparagus, poultry meat and wine, but less oils, red meat and soft drinks. The total daily intake of calories per person fell to 2,382, down from the peak recorded in 2001.

MILK

A collapse in milk prices has wiped away the profits of U.S. dairy farmers, driving many out of business while forcing others to slaughter their herds or dump milk. But nine months after prices began tumbling on the farm, consumers have yet to see the full benefits of the crash at the checkout counter.

TRADE

Canada is the biggest trading partner for 38 of the 50 American states. Trade between the two countries reached US$597-billion, an average of $1.6-billion each day in 2008. That figure does not include tourism. Canadian exports to the U.S. reached $ 336-billion while imports hit $261-billion.

REVENUES

Online advertising revenue in the U.S. market sank to US$5.5-billion in the first quarter of 2009, down 10 per cent from $6.1-billion in the fourth quarter of last year. This is the first major slump since the burst of the dot-com bubble in 2002. This news could be especially troubling for magazines and newspapers which have increasingly turned to the web to make up for the loss of print advertising dollars.

BULBS

Frosted light bulbs are to be phased out in Europe under EU plans to force people to use more energy-efficient bulbs. From September, retailers will not be able to buy new stock of any type of opaque incandescent bulb.

COMMUNICATIONS

Guards at a prison in Brazil have intercepted two carrier pigeons carrying mobile phones and chargers to inmates.

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July 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

July 2009 Edition

WELLNESS

 
Grocery stores in the U.S. have become hunting grounds for healthy, functional foods and beverages that offer distinct wellness advantages beyond basic nutrition. This has boosted sales of such products by 6 per cent to almost US$31-billion in 2008. During the five year period from 2003 to 2008, many functionally oriented food and drink categories performed well including yogurt, energy drinks, nutritional snacks and trail mixes, milk substitutes, soymilk and blended fruit drinks. It is estimated that sales of these items will reach $43-billion by 2013.

TRADE

Brazilian exports to China grew 64.7 per cent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year. During March and April, for the first time, China became Brazil's biggest trading partner, displacing the U.S. Sales of soya and grain to China increased 70 per cent while iron went up 51 per cent in the first four months. Brazil's newly discovered oil fields also offer significant potential to satisfy the enormous Chinese appetite for resources.

STORAGE

A new optical recording method has been developed that could pave the way for data discs with 300 times the storage capacity of standard DVDs. This would see a whopping 1.6-terabytes of information fit on a DVD-sized disc. The technique employs nanometre-scale particles of gold as a recording medium.

MANUFACTURING

China's total manufacturing costs are now only 6 per cent below those of American factories. Shifts that pushed China costs up in recent months have put Mexico and India on top for cheap manufacturing. It is predicted that China's costs will improve later in the year as more moderate oil prices and the economic slowdown reduce sea shipping costs but it is unlikely that China will catch up with Mexico and India.

WIND

A Loblaws Ltd. store in Nova Scotia has installed a wind turbine which, once fully operational, will provide about a quarter of the superstore's power. This is part of a pilot project to reduce emissions associated with electricity consumption. Loblaw tested the wind patterns in the area for a year to confirm the winds would support a turbine.

WINE

Almost half of Australia's wine industry is facing disaster as a drought caused by climate change and the over-use of Australia's biggest river system threatens to turn vines to dust. Inflows to the Murray Darling River system are at their lowest in 117 years and the residents of Adelaide have been told their supply from the river, which the city relies on for 90 per cent of its water, can no longer be guaranteed. The chronic lack of water has already forced several winemakers, who could not afford to buy extra water, to sell up and a lot of crops have been left to die.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines stands to earn US$3.5-billion more in exports in the next eight years if there is a free trade pact between Southeast and South Asian regions, together with Japan, China and South Korea. Consolidation of free trade agreements (FTAs) across both regions would translate to greater economic benefits compared to the existing web of bilateral trade deals. Trade between the nations of South and East Asia surged by over $114-billion in the seven years to 2007, but the benefits have spread unevenly.

FARMING

Britain's only chilli farm operates from huge greenhouses on a site which supplies 400,000 chillies a year to British supermarkets. Now, customers will be given a wheelbarrow to browse the three acre site packed with 10,000 chilli plants and pick as many spicy peppers as they wish for 35 cents each, including the world's hottest varieties the Dorset Naga and Bhut Jolokia which are more than 30 times hotter than Tabasco sauce and need to be eaten with goggles and gloves for safety.

LIGHT

Researchers have demonstrated white, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) sources with the same efficiency as fluorescent light bulbs. The result brings closer the prospect that OLEDs will be the flat-screen light sources of choice in the future. There has been significant work in OLEDs in recent years, so that small displays and even televisions based on the technology are beginning to come to the market.

AFRICA

A recent report finds that poor infrastructure conditions in the land transport, maritime transport and electricity sectors are significantly undermining the export competitiveness of many sub-Saharan African industries. Coffee, shay butter, pineapples, bananas, natural rubber and related downstream products, textiles and apparel, leather and tourism are all affected by these conditions. Poor infrastructure conditions in the region increase costs and export times can compromise product quality, rendering merchandise less competitive than global competitors.

ORGANS

Since the early 1980s, the Quebec company Casavant Freres, has been making organs. These hand crafted instruments used to be built mainly for North American churches but now they are about to be exported to China. At about C$2-million each, one will soon be housed in the National Theatre of Ordos in Mongolia. The company has 90 employees and has built about 4,000 organs in its history. Casavant makes just nine organs a year with prices ranging between one and five million dollars. Until now, the only Casavant organ in China has been in a museum.

ORGANIC

U.S. sales of organic products, both food and nonfood, reached US$24.6-billion in 2008 growing an impressive 17 per cent over 2007 sales. Organic food sales now account for approximately 3.5 per cent of all food product sales in the U.S. Nonfood categories which include items like organic fibres, personal care products and pet foods grew by an astonishing 39.4 per cent in 2008 to reach $1.65-billion.

COAL

China's construction of coal-fired power plants has raised worries around the world about the effect on climate change. China now uses more coal than the U.S., Europe and Japan combined making it the world's largest emitter of gases. But, China has emerged in the past two years as the world's leading builder of more efficient, less polluting coal power plants, mastering the technology, and driving down the costs. While the U.S. is still debating whether to build a more efficient kind of coal-fired power plant that uses extremely hot steam, China has begun building such plants at the rate of one a month.

RELATIONSHIPS

The U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral economic relationship in the world. Together, the U.S. and China accounted for more than 30 per cent of the worlds' GDP in 2007. In 2008, bilateral trade stood at US$409-billion, dwarfing the $206-billion worth of trade between the U.S. and Japan. Chinese exports to the U.S. amounted to approximately 7.7 per cent of China's GDP and at the end of 2008, Beijing was the largest holder of U.S. Treasuries, with over $700-billion in reserve.

ECONOMY

According to a recent survey in 18 countries around the world, consumers are more wary of trying new consumer products when they sense the economy is slowing down. In fact, more than half of global consumers shy away from new grocery, personal and household products during an economic turndown. Not surprisingly, new beauty products are especially vulnerable with 70 per cent of consumers saying they would not try a new beauty product.

POTASH

Brazil may hold the world's third-largest potash reserves, following discoveries in the northern and eastern parts of the country. The resources may help the country become self-sufficient in fertilizer within 10 years.

LABELLING

Food packaging in the UK is more likely to carry nutritional labelling than in almost every other European nation. More than 95 per cent of products in the UK and Ireland had nutritional information compared to an average of 85 per cent for the rest of Europe. A recent study compared more than 35,000 products in 50 retail outlets across five food and drink categories in the 27 EU member states and Turkey.

MEALS

An OECD study found that Canadians spend an average of 70 minutes eating and drinking every day. This is about half the time that the French devote to eating and drinking each day. The report investigated leisure time among 18 countries. Overall, Norwegians were the most leisurely people spending 26.5 per cent of their time engaged in activities defined as hobbies, games, TV viewing, computer use, recreational gardening, sports, socializing with friends and attending events. Mexico came in last with only 15 .8 per cent of every day spent on leisure.

CARS

Tata Motors the Indian truck maker that owns Jaguar and Land Rover has received 203,000 orders for its Nano, the world's cheapest car, more than double the initial expectation. The bookings total almost US$596-million and deliveries will start this month. Tata will choose the first 100,000 customers for the $2,500 Nano by lottery.

SPEED

Scientists have demonstrated the fastest imaging system ever devised. The camera's "shutter speed" is just half a billionth of a second and it can capture over six million images in a second continuously. Its "flashbulb" is a fast laser pulse dispersed in space and then stretched in time and detected electronically. It will be instrumental in imaging fast-moving or random events, such as communications between neurons.

TOLLS

In a concession to financially pressed shipping lines, the Panama Canal Authority has cut back some tolls and fees while giving carriers greater flexibility in reserving movements through the canal. The new fee schedule will reduce tolls on largely empty container ships and charges for transit reservations. Fees for late arrivals are also being reduced.

CAPACITY

Some experts predict that consumer demand for the Internet, already growing at 60 per cent a year, will start to exceed supply from as early as next year and will result in regular "brownouts" that will freeze computers as capacity runs out in cyberspace. The increase in demand is a result of people working from home and the soaring popularity of bandwidth-hungry websites such as YouTube.

BAUXITE

Vietnam is blessed with the world's third-largest reserves of bauxite, the raw material for aluminum and the government is keen to reap the benefits. It is seeking to attract US$15-billion or more of investments to develop bauxite mining and aluminum refining projects by 2025. Critics say the arrival of large -scale mining in a region that currently grows coffee and other crops could cause irreparable damage to the environment and displace ethnic-minority groups.

COOL

A beach near the Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai is to have the first refrigerated beach so that hotel guests can comfortably walk across the sand on scorching hot days. The beach will have a network of pipes beneath the sand containing a coolant that will absorb heat.

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

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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As of June 30th, 2009 all imported bovinae and non-bovinae pet foods from the United States into Canada require import permits

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/import/permit_covere.shtml

May 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

May 2009 Edition

POLLUTION

Ships carry about 90 per cent of global trade, and until recently, such has been the demand for coal, cars and electronics, that there has been little concerted effort to rein in the growth of polluting emissions from ships. But pressure is now mounting in the United Nations to make ships more efficient. Now, a Singapore firm says it has invented and tested a patented method that removes planet-warming carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain and soot. The process uses very alkaline seawater sprayed into the exhaust funnel to scrub out the gases and soot.

CHARITY

The findings on a new study examining the experience of 24 nonprofit groups suggest that people who go online to donate to charity for the first time often do not return to the Internet to make later gifts. While the Internet can be a valuable fund-raising tool for charities, it is not a replacement for direct mail or other forms of fund-raising. The 24 non-profit organizations studied had 9.5-million donors and total revenues of US$747-million.

LUGGAGE

The European Union is ready to set up a new body to order airlines to pay travellers compensation when their baggage fails to appear, meaning that passengers would no longer have to sue airlines who refuse to pay out. The new compensation is based on the value of the missing baggage, with a maximum payment of US$2,100. In 2004, a scheme was scrapped whereby compensation was based on how much luggage weighed.

ENROLMENT

For the first time in six years, enrolment in computer science programmes in the U.S. increased last year. The revival is significant according to scientists and industry executives who in the past have been pointing to declining numbers of science and engineering students as an indicator warning about the nations' weakening ability to compete in the global economy.

SPORTS

The operating revenues for Canada's spectator sports, event promoters, artists and related industries reached C$5.5-billion in 2007, up 9.6 per cent from the previous year. The increase was largely the result of a 15.2 per cent rise in revenues among promoters of performing arts whose revenues amounted to $1.9-billion. Spectator sports generated $2.4-billion in revenues representing over 40 per cent of total industry operating revenues.

WATERING

A sensor developed by Israeli scientists sends text messages to farmers when crops need water, or to homeowners when a plant is thirsty. The product is currently being prepared for the international commercial market. The original idea behind the sensor is to cut irrigation costs by up to 50 per cent.

AIRBUS

The Airbus A380 double-decker jumbo jet will be making its Canadian debut in June in Toronto when Emirates Airline adds the world's largest 'plane to the Toronto-Dubai route. On the upper level of the A380 will be 14 suites in first class and 76 lie-flat seats in business class. There will also be 399 economy class seats on the lower deck. Fares are subject to change, but for now, the carrier expects to charge round-trip prices starting at C$1,130 for economy, $6,550 for business class and $10,000 for first class which includes a lounge and two shower spas.

DIAMONDS

The Government of Botswana and De Beers have closed two diamond mines for the rest of the year as demand falls. Diamond giant De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer by value, produced 48-million carats in 2008. The global financial and economic crisis has forced even the wealthy to cut their spending on luxury goods, including jewellery. Luxury-jewellery retailer Tiffany reported that its same-store sales for the last Christmas season fell by 24 per cent.

BRIDGING

The Italian government has revived plans to build a controversial bridge linking the island of Sicily to the mainland. The Messina bridge, whose centre span of 3.3-km (two miles) would make it the longest in the world. It is part of a massive US$32-billion public works program to create new jobs and boost the economy. In the past, the proposal has been criticised on two points: one, on the grounds of safety as the bridge will span a busy shipping lane and will have to withstand high winds. Second, many fear that huge amounts of taxpayers' money would be siphoned off by the Sicilian and Calabrian mafias.

BATTERIES

A new manufacturing method for lithium-ion batteries could lead to smaller, lighter batteries that can be charged in seconds. Batteries that discharge just as quickly would be useful for electric and hybrid cars, where a quick jolt of charge is needed for acceleration. The approach only requires simple changes to the production of a well-known material. Because of the electric punch that they pack, gram for gram, lithium-ion batteries are the most common rechargeable batteries found in consumer electronics, such as laptops.

JUSTICE

The number of workers in the Canadian justice related occupations reached 362,665 in 2006, a 20 per cent increase since 1991. All justice sectors recorded increases in their personnel between 1991 and 2006, ranging from 12 per cent among police officers to 24 per cent among court personnel.

BURNING

Researchers have developed an indicator that turns an appropriate shade of pink to alert wearers of sunburn. The thin film device could be worn as a wrist band to warn wearers they risk receiving a potentially harmful dose of ultraviolet rays. UV rays drive a chemical reaction in the indicator, releasing an acid into a dye, and causing it to change colour.

AGE

Japan now has so many people over 100 that it is cutting costs by reducing the size of silver cups it presents to those who reach that age. last year, 19,769 people reached triple figures in the world's most rapidly aging country, compared with only 153 in 1963, the year when the cups were first presented.

INNOVATION

Canada ranks 14th in a field of 110 countries when it comes to innovation in manufacturing. A study, compiled by an international consulting firm, judged countries partly based on government support for innovation, through tax and education policies, and the quality of infrastructure. But it also looked at the performance of innovative companies, measured by factors such as high-tech exports, the amount of intellectual property generated and employment growth. The top countries were Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland and the US was eighth. Canada came ahead of countries such as Britain, Israel, Australia and Germany.

PLACEMENT

Britain will not allow broadcasters to use product placements in their programming despite the collapse of traditional advertising revenues. The major commercial TV network in the UK has seen revenues slump by almost 20 per cent in the first quarter of this year, leading it to cut 600 jobs and sell assets.

FLYING

Britain's airports were hit by the recession and high fuel prices last year, with 4.6-million fewer people taking to the air, the first passenger decline in 17 years. The escalating cost of jet fuel in the first half of 2008 pushed up ticket prices while the recession delivered a further blow to the air travel market in the second half. London's airports were hit particularly badly with Stansted showing a drop of 1.4-million passengers and Gatwick showing a 2.8 per cent drop in passengers.

TUNGSTEN

This industry is forecasting a healthy future as tungsten will increase in use as an environmentally friendly alternative to lead. Tungsten can now be used as a non-toxic substitute for lead in fishing lures, wheel weights and protective X-ray vests The industry is also hoping that hunters may be prepared to pay a little more for bullets and shotgun shot. The extremely dense metal has traditionally been used in steel hardening, in electronic applications and in light bulb filaments. The annual worldwide production of tungsten is a relatively small 80,000 tonnes with a value of about US$225 a tonne.

CONVENIENCE

A recent study reports that shoppers are looking for more efficient end effective ways to shop for convenience food items. The study found that rather than having convenience items scattered throughout a store, shoppers would prefer a dedicated convenience meals aisle where a full range of quick and easy products can be found. The study interviewed 1,500 shoppers in-store, and analyzed more than 15 million frequent shopper card households and over 100 million baskets. A convenience meals aisle would be located in the centre of a store, a highly profitable area for retailers, representing 88 per cent of total store net profit.

FISH

World fish production hit 143.6-million tonnes in 2006, the highest since records began in 1950. Just over 110-million tonnes was eaten by people, the rest used as animal feed or for other commercial purposes. Some 47 per cent of fish on dinner plates is now farmed and this is likely to increase as the amount caught in the wild levels off. China is the world's biggest producer landing 17-million tonnes of fish from its waters and farming 34.4-million tonnes.

WATER

As every farmer knows, water is a precious commodity. A new book details how much water is needed to create some daily goods. A cup of coffee for example, needs much more water than that poured into the pot. 1,120 litres go into producing a single litre of coffee. Only 120 litres go into making a litre of tea. 900 litres goes into making a litre of wine or apple juice. Leather shoes and microchips require over 16,000 litres of water each to be produced.

DOOMSDAY

There are now almost 20 million food crop seed samples stored in the "doomsday vault" in the Arctic. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault built 130 metres inside a mountain aims to protect the world's crop species against natural and human disasters. This US$7-million facility opened in 2008 is now storing one third of the planet's most important food crop varieties.

INVESTMENT

The Canadian government spent C$921-million on science and technology activities in biotechnology in fiscal year 2007/2008. Of the total, 29 per cent went on in-house activities performed by government departments or agencies. The other 71 per cent consists of contracts or grants to organizations and individuals outside of government.

PUBLICATIONS

Each month, a group of 30 to 40 people in China work on translating the latest issue of "The Economist." In the past, Chinese authorities have ripped articles about China out of some issues before they have hit the newsstands.

COMPLAINTS

Among the most bizarre complaints made by British holidaymakers were: sand being too white; there were too many Spanish people in Spain and too much curry served in restaurants in India. And frustration by some that it took nine hours to fly home to the UK from Jamaica when it took only three hours for Americans to fly home.

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April 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

April 2009 Edition

RAIL

A Chinese company has won a contract to build a US$1.8-billion monorail to carry pilgrims around the Islamic holy city of Mecca. The rail link will go between Mecca and the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah which are visited by massive tides of pilgrims during the annual haj. More than two million pilgrims descend on Mecca each year. CHARGERS The mobile phone industry has at last decided to make one device that can recharge any cell phone. The announcement was made at the recent 2009 Mobile World Congress that a deal had been brokered among the world's leading handset makers to come up with a standard for charging cell phones. A single standard will not only make life easier for the more than three billion mobile phone users in the world but it will also help the environment. DIET The Valencia Agricultural Research Institute has launched a breeding program of the rare Valenciano rabbit and predicts that it could be on supermarket shelves within three years. It is hoped that the animals, which can grow as big as a lamb and produce 15lbs of meat, will prove popular as a healthy and cheap alternative to red meat. The Valenciano breed was established in 1912 when farmers cross bred large domestic Spanish rabbits with the imported Flemish Giant variety. During the first half of last century, the enormous rabbits were exported across Europe and to Cuba, Argentina and Chile. WORTH For the fourth consecutive year, Real Madrid remained the biggest revenue earner in the world football league in 2008. The Spanish club earned US$460-million. Manchester United was second with earnings of $402-million. FC Barcelona was next followed by Munich, Chelsea and Arsenal. The Spanish teams' dominance owes as much to swings in currencies as to on-field brilliance. TASTE After a couple of decades when the New York-style bagel became increasingly prevalent, British consumers spent more on croissants than on the bagel last year. According to retail figures, sales of croissants in 2008 climbed 30 per cent to hit US$120-million, overtaking sales of bagels which slipped nine per cent to $89-million. ENERGY The largest utility in California, squeezed by rising demand for electricity and looming state deadlines to curb fossil fuels, has signed a deal to buy solar power from seven immense arrays of mirrors, towers and turbines to be installed in the Mojave Desert. The contracts amount to the world's largest single deal for new solar energy capacity. When fully built, the solar arrays, on a sunny day, would supply 1,300 megawatts of electricity, more than a modern nuclear power plant. LEGO The Danish toy company is to take a radical step into the gadget market and launch a mobile phone. The slim mobile has a plastic casing made up of colourful Lego bricks, which the user can change according to their mood. It is understood that the phone, initially aimed at the US and Asian market, will be priced between $20.00 and $60.00, and will include an MP3 player, walkie-talkie and digital camera. Lego has become increasingly adventurous about moving its trusted toy brand into other areas and has experimented with Lego electronics before, unveiling a prototype camcorder. TREES New research shows that living near trees makes people live longer and feel happier. Leafy streets also encourage a lower crime rate and a more "civilized" atmosphere, even in poorer areas. Researchers believe that living close to parks and other green spaces is essential to our physical, psychological and social well-being. Japanese research show that older people live longer when their homes are within walking distance of a park or other green space. LEGAL AID In 2007\2008, legal aid plans in 10 Canadian provinces and territories spent C$670-million on the delivery of legal aid services. Just over half of direct legal aid expenditures spent went towards cases involving criminal matters, the remainder was spent on civil issues. Nearly 748,000 applications for legal assistance were submitted to the 10 reporting legal aid plans and 472,000 applications for full legal aid service were approved. RETAIL Lower-income shoppers are the fastest-growing income group in the United States and will generate US$84-billion in incremental spending during the next decade. Information Resources Inc.(IRI) contends that less affluent consumers represent an enormous opportunity for retailers and manufacturers during a slow economy. IRI studied five lower-income micro-segments which are positioned to drive a large share of sales growth for retailers: Singles and married couples aged 25-34, Seniors older than 65, Households with children, Hispanics and African-Americans. TRAVEL There is a revolution going on in Spanish travel as domestic airlines have lost a fifth of their passengers in the space of a year while long-distance trains have gained almost a third. Early mornings at Barcelona's rail station are filled with business people who will head to Madrid for meetings almost 500k away on trains travelling at speeds of up to 300kph. The opening of the Barcelona-Madrid line a year ago marked the beginning of the end of airlines' dominance. In the first ten months it carried 2-million passengers. Spain is to build another 9,000k of lines over the next decade. SANDWICHES Last year, the French munched their way through 13-billion sandwiches, 50-million more than in 2007. In 2008, bankruptcies of restaurants and cafes, affected also by the smoking ban, leapt by 26 per cent. Between 2003 and 2008, the sandwich market jumped by 28 per cent in volume and is now worth US$5.1-billion a year. The young seem particulary keen. The average 25-34-year-old consumes twice as many sandwiches every year as a 45-54-year-old. Working women also like le sandwich as it allows them more time to go shopping during lunchtime. ARTISTS In the last Canadian census, 140,000 people identified themselves as artists. A new study has revealed that artists overall are working for near-poverty levels with an average annual earnings in 2005 of $22,731, compared with $36,301 for all Canadian workers, a 37 per cent difference. Of the 140,000 artists analyzed, 43 per cent earned less than $10,000 and two per cent, 2,705, earned over $100,000. 39 per cent of all Canadian artists have a university degree. UNIONS The percentage of American workers belonging to a union jumped in 2008, the first statistically significant increase in the figure in the 25 years it has been reported. In 2008, union members represented 12.4 per cent of employed workers, up from 12.1 per cent a year earlier. The number of workers belonging to a union rose 428,000 to 16.1-million with much of that increase coming from growth of government employees in unions, which rose by 275,000 to 7.8-million. GOLD Jewellery dominates gold consumption though the metal is also critical in electronics as an efficient, noncorroding conductor. In 2007, 2,398 tons of gold was used for jewellery, 310 tons for electronics, 93 tons for other industrial uses and 58 tons in dentistry. 235 tons went for bar hoarding, 137 tons for official coins and 73 tons for medals and special coins. SMELL London's Harrods, the world's best known purveyor of luxury went for maximum impact when it played with scent for a few weeks last year. No fewer than 12 different fragrances permeated its departments in the boldest experiment yet in the use of aroma in retailing. In 2009, several other stores will follow Harrods lead in Britain, and beyond. They will include at least one supermarket, the owner of several shopping malls and a fast food chain. All will try out an array of new smells, sights and sounds hoping to make people stay longer and spend more. TOURISM The World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2020 some 100 million Chinese will be travelling overseas. Up to now, most Chinese travellers get no farther than Hong Kong or Macau. Fewer than four million a year venture beyond Asia. But hoteliers expect Chinese travellers, especially rich ones, to have a significant influence on their industry in the future, like the Japanese, Arabs and Russians before them. BULBS The Royal Society of Chemistry is seeking a British light bulb that has burnt for longer than a number of records in the U.S. and is offering a reward of $1,000 for the oldest authenticated bulb in Britain. It will have to better the light bulb in the Livermore fire station in California which dates back to 1901 and is still burning brightly. Another is the one installed at the Fort Worth Palace theatre on 21 September 1908, which, though now in a museum, is still working. So far, the oldest known bulb in Britain is only 70 years old. WINE In just three years' time, the U.S. will become the world's largest consumer of still wine. American consumption is expected to grow over the next five years despite the dismal economy, reaching 330-million cases or 3.96-billion bottles. CARS The German government is paying people who junk old cars a bonus equivalent to almost US$4,000 towards a newer, environmentally cleaner vehicle, as part of its $106-billion stimulus plan. Participants must have cars demolished at a government-recognized scrapyard and provide proof of purchase of a new car and two documents from the recycling facility. SICKNESS Approximately 76-million Americans, one in four, are sickened by foodborne diseases each year. Of these, an estimated 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die, costing the U.S. $44-billion annually. President Obama has called for a "complete review" of the nation's food safety system. The FDA's resources have been cut over the past three years as it has lost 20 per cent of its science staff and 600 inspectors. REMITTANCES The money sent home by Mexican migrants fell in 2008 for the first time on record, part of a global trend that could worsen as emigrants from developing countries lose jobs in the global financial crisis. Remittances, the second-largest source of foreign income after oil, plunged 3.6 per cent to US$25-billion in 2008 compared with $26-billion the year before. PLACEMENT Product placement is big business. Between January and November 2008, Coca-Cola led the way with 3,091 product placement appearances in TV and movies. Both Nike footwear and apparel made the Top 10 list as well. Another popular category for product placement was technology--AT&T and Dell both made the list. MOSS A new bathmat made of moss is kept alive by water that drips from your body as you dry. The mat contains a total of 70 pieces of island and forest moss. It feels soft underfoot and does not smell when it gets damp. Each piece of moss is cut into a foam frame which prevents the moss from spreading or growing out of control. Its designer says the mat is very relaxing and needs little care. 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

U.S. to focus on unclogging Canada-U.S. land border crossings

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has agreed to examine the possibility of opening U.S. customs facilities within Canada to help speed trade across the nations' land borders, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said Wednesday.

Following meetings with the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Van Loan said he had "gained a commitment" to open talks aimed at unclogging Canada-U.S. land border crossings by pre-clearing vehicles in advance of their arrival at the boundary.

"The arrival of the Obama administration presents us with an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the United States, and I believe we are doing that," Van Loan told reporters at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

Canada has long sought to win U.S. support for land border pre-clearance facilities for commercial vehicles, similar to those already open in most major airports for air passengers. The Bush administration rejected the idea, but "we did gain a commitment today to examine that issue again," Van Loan said.

The minister said he suggested Canadian and U.S. officials examine the possibility of a pilot project along the Detroit-Windsor corridor because "that's a particular choke point" for cross-border trade.

Van Loan and Napolitano also agreed to hold twice-yearly meetings, for the first time formalizing regular cabinet level contacts to deal with potential border security irritants.

"This is a very significant and positive development for Canada," Van Loan said. "It is a mechanism that has been absent to date."

Van Loan also met with John Brennan, President Barack Obama's assistant on homeland security, and Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate homeland security committee.

While the minister said he discussed a range of issues with his American counterparts, Van Loan acknowledged he did not raise one of the biggest irritants between Canada and the former Bush administration — the U.S treatment of Maher Arar.

"I did not canvas that issue today," Van Loan said.

The Harper government had regularly protested the Bush administration's decision to keep Arar on a no-fly list despite being cleared in Canada of any connections to terror.

"I'm happy to raise it again in the future," Van Loan said when asked why he did not press Arar's case with the new administration. "We have raised it in the past. We're familiar with the American position on it, and we'll see if that changes."

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/focus+unclogging+Canada+land+border+crossings/1402891/story.html

March 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

March 2009 Edition

BUTTER

 
The European Union plans to artificially boost prices by buying up to 139,00 tonnes of dairy products at a cost to the public purse of over US$475-million. From March to the end of August the EU will become the owner of 30,000 tonnes of butter and 109,000 tonnes of skimmed powder milk paid for above market cost to support the dairy industry. Export subsidies and EU food stocks were last used in 2007 and last year the Commission tried to scrap such payments but the reform was blocked by France and Germany.

TRENDS

The weak economy took its toll on eBay in the last quarter of 2008 as the company reported its first revenue decline in a decade. Net income for the fourth quarter declined 31 per cent to US$367-million, from the same quarter a year earlier. Last year, eBay made considerable changes aimed at reducing the company's dependence on its auction business.

AGE

As of July 2008, the median age of Canada's population was 39.4 years. Almost one Canadian out of seven (13.7 per cent) is aged 65 or over. Although Canada's population has been aging since the end of the baby-boom, it still remains one of the youngest among the members of the Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development. Nova Scotia has the highest proportion of seniors (15.4 per cent) in the country and is the first province to have more seniors than youth.

HEARING

Keen golfers are being warned by doctors that they may be risking their hearing. Players that use a new generation of thin-faced titanium drivers to propel that ball further should consider wearing ear plugs. Ear specialists suspect the "sonic boom" the metal club head makes when it strikes the ball can damage hearing.

DISASTERS

Natural disasters killed over 220,000 people in 2008 making it one of the most devastating years on record. The most deadly was Cyclone Nargis in Burma, which killed more than 135,000 people and left more than one million homeless. The next worst was the earthquake that shook China's Sichuan province leaving 70,000 dead and almost five million homeless. The Sichuan earthquake caused around US$85-billion in damages, the third most expensive on record.

TECHNOLOGY

The world's first watch-shaped mobile video phone has been unveiled and can be worn on the wrist like a watch. South Korean LG Electronics' "3G watch phone" has a touch screen dialling system with a camera and a speaker built in to enable users to make video calls and gain high speed access to the internet. It also recognises voices, transforms text to speech, has a Bluetooth function and works as an MP3 player. The "watch phone" is part of a trend towards multi-tasking gadgets that can perform a host of functions.

DIET

The best choices for fish that are high in heart-healthy omega-3s and are low in contaminants are: farmed Arctic Char, Atlantic Mackerel, farmed Oysters and Alaska black cod. The worst are: Chilean Seabass, Grouper and Orange Roughy all of which are fish high in mercury or PCBs.

GROWTH

Most southern and western U.S. states are no longer growing as fast as they did at the start of the last decade. Much of this is due to the housing crisis that is making it hard for many to move. However, in 2008, Utah was the fastest growing state, knocking Nevada from the top rank. Utah's population grew by 2.5 per cent. It was followed by Arizona, Texas, North Carolina and Colorado. Nevada was eighth after being in the top four for 23 years. Only Michigan and Rhode Island lost population last year.

WIND

The wind farm industry in the UK has been forced to admit that the environmental benefit of wind power in reducing carbon emissions is only half as big as it had previously claimed. The British Wind Energy Association has agreed to scale down its calculation for the amount of carbon emission that can be eliminated by using wind turbines instead of burning fossil fuels. The move is seen as a setback for advocates of wind power.

SHREDDING

A London-based design consultant has invented a shredder using hamster power as part of his master thesis in industrial design. The hamster has to run for 45 minutes on its wheel to shred a single sheet of paper but in turn creates its own bedding.

BULBS

Health Canada is testing compact fluorescent bulbs to measure potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation and electromagnetic-field exposure levels. The move follows a warning from British health officials over some types of compact fluorescent bulbs. It is recommended that the bulbs not be used in areas where people spend more than one hour a day within 30 cm of the bare light bulb. The larger long tube strip lighting fluorescent tubes, commonly used in offices can be used safely.

LAPTOPS

In the third quarter of last year, for the first time ever, worldwide notebook computer shipments topped those of desktops. Shipments of notebook PCs surged nearly 40 per cent to 38.6 million units while desktop units fell 1.3 per cent to 38.5 million.

HENS

Major stores in the UK have begun clearing their shelves of eggs from caged birds four years before the introduction of a EU law banning tiny cages. It is estimated that within two years, shoppers could be able to buy only free-range eggs. All products containing egg will also use free-range varieties. In Britain, "enriched cages", which are larger and have a perch, nest and litter, will still be legal but will be banned in Germany.

BRANDS

Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. is the top retail brand in Canada with a brand value of C$3.1-billion. Next is Canadian Tire Corp. with a value of $1.8-billion followed by Rona Inc, valued at $485-million, Sobeys Inc, $368-million and Lululemon Athletica Inc. whose brand is valued at $352-million. In the United States, the top five brands are Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot, Target and CVS Pharmacy.

CLIMATE

Rivers that connect the Great Lakes have dried up completely through climate warming in the fairly recent past and it could happen again this century. The Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie, and the St. Clair, which drains Lake Huron, and other rivers that connect the lakes are major economic arteries for Canada and the U.S., carrying shipments of everything from iron ore to grain to auto parts. Around 7,000 years ago, a warm period caused the lake levels to drop by some 20 metres, leaving all these rivers high and dry.

ONLINE

Last December saw more than one billion people log on to the world wide web, the first time this number have ever been online in a single month. The actual number is probably higher as this figure was based only on the number of internet users aged 15 or above working from home or on work computers. There are now more Chinese internet users than in the U.S., with 178 million Chinese compared to 163 million Americans.

GROWTH

New data shows that China passed another milestone as it leapfrogged Germany in 2007 to become the world's third largest economy, behind the U.S. and Japan. The revised figures raised the value of China's gross domestic product to US$3.5-trillion at 2007 exchange rates.

BEER

According to the brewers of the country's national drink, by the end of 2008 the average German drank 2.2 litres less beer than in 2007. However, Germans are still drinking an average of 109.5 litres a year. This figure is an all-time low in a country where Germans used to drink 150 litres of beer annually. The drop is believed related to the result of smoking bans in pubs and restaurants as well as different drinking habits of younger consumers.

COCOA

London cocoa futures hit a 23-year high last year as cocoa turned out to be the most lucrative global commodity. At its highest in 2008, cocoa traded at US$3,640 per tonne, the highest price since 1985.

ORGANIC

Recent research indicates that organic foods still have to gain mainstream acceptance by U.S. consumers. Less than 40 per cent of those surveyed have purchased anything from the major organic categories. While organic fresh fruit is a big winner in the organic category, frozen organic products like vegetables and ice cream have not been popular with consumers.

HONEY

The U.S. is grappling with a new type of smuggling aimed at exploiting America's high demand for imported honey. So-called "honey laundering" involves elaborate schemes in which cheap, diluted or contaminated honey from China is brought in after being "laundered" in another country to disguise its origin and evade tariffs and health inspections. Shipments of tainted honey have arrived in the U.S. after being repackaged in Russia. Other shipments have come via India, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and even Poland.

LIVABILITY

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Vancouver, Canada, is the world's best place to live. The EIU ranked 127 cities in terms of personal risk, infrastructure and the availability of goods and services. All the cities that fell into the top "livability" bracket were based in Canada, Australia and Western Europe. The worst places were in Algiers in Algeria and Port Morsby in Papua New Guinea. London was ranked tenth, as was Dublin and Los Angeles.

COLOUR

Three European companies involved in the auto refinishing business have found a way to match car paint perfectly. They ended up creating a hand-held device that can analyze the paint on a car and determine exactly how to reproduce it. Up to now, many body shops have had to revert to trial and error to achieve a perfect match. The device, called a BYK-mac, uses digital imaging to analyze the colour and characteristics of a painted surface, such as sparkle or graininess from many angles and in different levels of light.

HUNTING

The sport of hunting in the U.S. appears to be in decline. In Vermont the number of hunting licences sold has dropped 12 per cent over the past ten years. In New Hampshire, where 60,000 resident and visiting hunters contribute US$83-million annually to the state economy, the decline is even steeper, a 23 per cent drop in licences since 1996. Only Maine has seen the popularity of hunting remain steady. Hunting fees are used to help pay for wildlife management.

VALUE

For the fourth straight year, the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association are the most valuable team, valued by Forbes at US$613-million. The Los Angeles Lakers are second, valued by Forbes at $584-million. Rounding out the top five are: the Chicago Bulls, $504-million, the Detroit Pistons at $480-million and the Cleveland Cavaliers, $477-million. The Toronto Raptors placed 11th at $400-million, a seven per cent increase over 2007. In football, the highest value franchise are the Dallas Cowboys at $1.6-billion.

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

Duty Calculator(s)

One of the most common questions we see is "Do you have a Duty Calculator" or "Do you have a Duty and Tax Calculator?"

The answer is - YES - we do. We actually have a number of different Duty & Tax Calculators.

The main one is located here - http://www.borderbuddy.com

This lets you calculate the duties and taxes on a shipment entering Canada from anywhere in the world. You select a number of different parameters, including Customs specific item categories, the shipping date (to calculate Customs Exchange Rate), and, voila, you can see how much your shipment into Canada will cost you.

We also have a calculator that tells you the cost of importing a car or vehicle into Canada. I wrote about that early last year.

We offer a calculator for eBay items if you are a Canadian looking to import. That can be found here.

Lastly, and certainly not least - we built a calculator to determine what duties and taxes are on wine being imported into Canada. The Wine duty & tax calculator can be found here.

If you're interested in calculating duty and do not see what you're looking for here - please contact us toll free 1.800.663.4270 or at consulting@aacb.com - and we will answer your questions, free of charge.

We're always looking for your feedback, so if you have any suggestions for changes or updates, please let me know.

February 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

February 2009 Edition

TIME-SHARE

 
The time-share vacation home, the status symbol of the U.S. middle class symbol is taking a serious hit as consumer credit has dried up. One of the largest time-share companies is cutting 4,000 jobs as it shrinks its time-share business and expects 2009 sales to be US$1.2-billion, down from $2-billion in 2008. Time share sales in the U.S. grew from about $2.7-billion in 1997 to $10.7-billion in 2007.

WINE

A bumper harvest has pushed Italian wine production above that of neighbouring France for the first time in a decade. It is estimated that the 2008 production of Italian wine is up 8 per cent over 2007 to 4.7-billion litres, compared with 4.4 billion litres in France where production fell 5 per cent.

DEVELOPMENT

America ranks 17th out of 22 rich countries in its commitment to fostering prosperity in the developing world. The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark take the top four spots thanks to the generosity of their foreign aid, relative to the size of their economies. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada score well by dint of good trade and security policies. Environmental, technology and migration policies count too. However, America's relatively low trade barriers, the generosity of it citizens' private aid flows and pro-poor technologies save it from last place.

CRIME

Art crime is big business and is estimated to be worth between US$1.5- and $6-billion annually. It is now the fourth largest international crime, after drug-dealing, gun-running and money laundering and is now a fully globalized industry with paintings stolen in Europe turning up in Japan or the U.S.

BORDERS

The U.S. is to build a seventh border crossing between California and Mexico by 2014 to ease chronic congestion and boost trade. The State Department has granted a permit to build a toll crossing between Otay Mesa and Tijuana at a cost of US$715-million. The current crossing at Otay Mesa handles cargo, vehicle and pedestrian traffic and is free. The new crossing will offer alternative facilities at a fee. Last year, some 79-million people crossed through California's six existing ports of entry.

BULBS

A European Union report has recommended banning conventional incandescent light bulbs by 2012 to save money and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. The report says that the EU could save up to US$12-billion a year in energy bills by switching to low energy bulbs. The report needs the backing of the European Parliament and all 27 member states to become law.

MEDICINE

According to a federal survey of over 32,000 Americans, more than one-third of adults and nearly 12 per cent of children in the U.S. use alternatives to traditional medicine, showing how entrenched acupuncture, herbal remedies and other once-exotic therapies have become. The most commonly used are dietary supplements, and herbal products such as echinacea, flaxseed oil and ginseng.

SIZE

A UK food industry group predicts that Tesco will grow faster than Carrefour in the next four years and in 2012 will overtake the French company to become the world's second largest retailer after Wal-Mart. Tesco's growth will be spurred by international expansion in markets such as China, the U.S. and India. By 2 012, Tesco's sales are expected to reach US$157-billion annually.

STOVES

Between two-and-a-half and three billion people, nearly half the world's population, use a stove every day, in conjunction with solid fuel such as wood, dung or coal. The WHO estimates that toxic emissions from cooking stoves are responsible for causing 1.6-million premature deaths each year, half of them among children under five years old. Research on stoves in India, Guatemala and Mexico has found links between indoor air-pollution from stoves and increased incidence of pneumonia, cataracts and tuberculosis.

PROPERTY

Chinese bargain hunters are descending on American cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, where home owners have suffered some of the steepest price falls in the U.S. Property professionals say there is considerable interest among wealthy Chinese who often hold a high proportion of assets in property, in investing abroad. Restrictions on taking money out of China may be an obstacle but some potential investors have overseas connections such as a foreign passport which can make it easier.

COINS

Mexico, following the lead of several other countries, has proposed making coins smaller and using cheaper metals to keep costs low amid the financial crises and volatile metal costs. Mexico's central bank produces around 1.5-billion coins each year and estimates it could save around 200-million pesos a year. In the U.S., the U.S. penny now costs 1.2 cents to produce.

SPEED

With a price tag of between US$8,000 and $16,000 the Telsa supercomputer is beyond the reach of most consumers but it is expected to revolutionize the way scientists and medical professionals carry out their work. The gadget's power will allow doctors to process the results of brain and body scans much more quickly allowing them to give results to patients in hours rather than days as they process information 1000 times more quickly than domestic PCs.

CHICKEN

A survey of U.S. consumers show that they are reducing their consumption of red meat in favour of chicken. While the US$66-billion beef sector still rules the roost, chicken increased its sales in 2008 by 6.7 per cent, three times the overall growth rate for meat. Premium red meats have taken a hit as shoppers cut back their overall spending.

SCIENTISTS

Half a billion dollars is to be invested in training scientists and engineers to tackle the problems Britain faces in the future. The US$500-million will be used to create 44 training centres across the UK and fund more than 2,000 PhD students. It is hoped they will develop solutions to major concerns such as climate change and energy issues.

COUPONS

The faltering economy could mean renewed interest in coupons as shoppers refocus on the cost of products they buy. Coupons that offer cents off, or percentages off the price of things like groceries, clothing and restaurant meals are particularly popular when consumers need to stretch their dollars. In 2007, 89 per cent of the population in the U.S. said they used coupons, compared with 86 per cent in 2006. Complete data for 2008 is not available as yet but there are indications that the figure may be as high as 94 per cent.

LUGGAGE

It was expected that the new state-of-the-art luggage system at the US$8.5-billion Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport would improve performance but this is not proving to be so. British Airways came near the bottom of the table of airlines. It is 25th out of 29 airlines with 18.9 bags per thousand passengers going missing. Last summer, BA mislaid more than 17,000 bags a week. Another British carrier, BMI has been named as the European airline most likely to lose a passenger's bags with 25.5 bags being lost per thousand passengers.

MOUSE

Swiss company Logitech has hailed as a major landmark the production of its one billionth mouse which is now 40 years old. This comes at a time when analysts claim the days of the mouse are numbered. The mouse now faces tough competition as laptops and notebooks, which use a touch pad, are increasingly taking the place of the desktop computer.

SENIORS

Canada's rural population is aging faster than its urban population in terms of its share of senior citizens. Statistics Canada reports that between 1996 and 2006, the number of rural seniors increased by 19 per cent. Because of the migration of younger people to urban areas, the share of the rural population that was senior (aged 65 and over), increased by 2.1 per cent whereas the share of seniors in the predominantly urban population increased by 1.1 per cent. In 2006, for every senior in rural regions there were 4.3 people in the working-age population. However, in urban Canada, the ratio was higher at 5.6.

WATER

The journal Science reports that growing crops in salt water is becoming necessary to overcome shortages of fresh water. They suggest the domestication of wild plants that grow in salty conditions could help reduce global food shortages. The rising cost of bringing in freshwater to irrigate traditional crops may force producers to turn to salt water agriculture. Around the world, many agricultural areas are becoming less productive as salt levels in water supplies increase.

ELECTRICITY

The state of Hawaii and Hawaiian Electric have endorsed an effort to build an alternative transportation system based on electric vehicles with exchangeable batteries and an "intelligent" battery recharging network. By using existing electric car technologies, coupled with tens of thousands of recharging stations connected by the Internet, it is predicted that all-electric vehicles will become feasible. It is planned to test the program in 2009 in anticipation of a widespread rollout in 2012. Hawaii is a relatively small market with high energy costs. The state has about 1.2 million cars and replaces 70,000 to 120,000 vehicles annually.

CONGO

The Democratic Republic of Congo is struggling to recover from a lengthy civil war in which an estimated three million people have died. Since its independence in 1960, its vast mineral wealth has been a key factor in the country's civil war and instability. It has huge reserves of gold, cobalt, tantalite and cassiterite, all of which are used in the manufacture of consumer electronics raising ethical issues for consumers and manufacturers as to where components are made. Many ideas have been touted to try and identify where components have been sourced. One promising one is to use the "fingerprinting" now in place for locating where diamonds have been mined.

COLOUR

Scientists have developed purple tomatoes which they hope may be able to keep cancer at bay. The fruit are rich in an antioxidant pigment called anthocyanin which is thought to have anti-cancer properties. Anthocyanins, found in particulary high levels in berries such as blackberry, cranberry and chokeberry, have been shown to help significantly slow the growth of colon cancer cells. They are also thought to offer protection against cardiovascular disease. There is evidence that the pigments have anti-inflammatory properties and help eyesight.

CHOCOLATE

A scientist at Brock University has calculated the ages of 3,206 chocolate bars on Canadian retail store shelves. The average bar was 140 days old, or more than four and a half months. About 3.3 per cent were more than a year old. Wal-Mart and 7-Eleven had the youngest candy, which averaged 43 days less than the shelf time at six other retail chains. Products were older in summer than in fall or winter, likely because of seasonal swings in consumer demand.

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

Tariff Relief on Machinery and Equipment

Happy New Year!

There was some great news for our Machinery and Equipment clients in Canada's Economic Action Plan - 2009 Budget. There are over 200 tariff's that are affected, and we are working diligently here at A & A to ensure your items will receive the lowest possible duty rates under these new changes. More information is provided below. If you have any questions, please contact our Consulting Team at consulting@aacb.com

Providing over $440 million in savings for Canadian industry over the next five years by permanently eliminating tariffs on a range of machinery and equipment.

Tariff Relief on Machinery and Equipment

With almost 90 per cent of all imports entering the country duty free, Canada is one of the world's most open economies. Still, tariffs continue to apply on several goods imported from outside North America, including certain machinery and equipment used by Canadian industry.

Budget 2009 proposes to permanently eliminate tariffs on a range of machinery and equipment. This measure will lower costs for Canadian producers in a variety of sectors, such as forestry, energy and food processing, which must purchase specialized equipment from overseas to modernize their operations and enhance competitiveness. This measure will affect close to $2 billion in annual imports of machinery and equipment and provide over $440 million in savings for Canadian industry over the next five years. The Government will undertake further consultations with Canadian businesses to identify additional areas where tariff relief could be provided.

Budget 2009 will also take steps to facilitate the movement of goods by improving the Customs Tariff rules respecting the treatment of temporarily imported cargo containers, and undertake consultations with respect to further liberalizing the use of these containers in Canada.