March 1998 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

March 1998 Edition

 TRUCKS

While the proportion of households with a vehicle remained unchanged over the last 10 years the real change occurred in the type of vehicle Canadians were driving. In 1987, 78% of households reported having an automobile and only 23% had a van or truck. By 1997, automobile ownership had dipped slightly to 72%, while van or truck ownership had increased to 33%. The minivan popularity of the early 1990s and the more recent appeal of four-wheel drive vehicles may explain this shift. New motor vehicle sales data show that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of trucks, vans, and buses increased 21% between May 1996 and May 1997.

SHOPPERS

Crowds are the No. 1 complaint of shoppers: 26 per cent cited the problem in a survey by Decima Research for the Retail Council of Canada and American Express. Other pet peeves were high cost of goods (19 per cent), the time involved (17 per cent), bad service and long lineups (7 per cent each) and poor selection (5 per cent). The council suggests retailers do whatever it takes to make shopping less painful. Store employees should be quick, products must be easy to find and checkouts should be free of lineups, it says.

FAMILY FOOD

Average Canadian expenditure on food remained virtually unchanged between 1992 and 1996. The average household spent $112.09 a week on food purchased in grocery stores or restaurants, compared with $110.44 in 1992. One reason that household expenditure on food rose only slightly was due to a 6.5% decline in spending on restaurant meals. Households spent on average 5.0% more on food purchased from stores in 1996 compared with 1992. Provincially, the average weekly food expenditures were lowest in the east and highest in the west. In 1996, the average for households in New Brunswick was $97.31 a week on food while households in B.C. spent on average $121.73 a week, 20.1% higher. Households spent 27.8% of their weekly food budget on restaurant meals in 1996, compared with the 30.2% in 1992.

TRENDS

A major Canadian supermarket chain has launched a new product----banking services for its customers. Modeled on a similar service offered by some grocery stores in Britain, it will provide debit cards, credit cards, savings accounts and access to automated teller machines and telephone banking. The new venture will also feature some in-store kiosks. Banking customers will get loyalty points they can use towards groceries. Chains in Britain have signed up hundreds of thousands of banking customers. Supermarkets have also become more prominent on the U.S. banking scene, where thousands of in-store branches have sprung up and are generally successful.

TRAVEL

After four years of haggling, Japan and the United States reached an agreement on dividing up the $10 billion Transpacific airline market. But European airlines are likely to challenge some of the details of the deal, which still seems to favour American airlines at others' expense.

CONSULTING

According to the Kennedy Research Group which tracks the consulting industry, the worldwide management consulting business is expected to grow by nearly 60 per cent to about $114 billion (U.S.) by the year 2000, driven by technological change and globalization of the marketplace. They expect information technology to account for 70 per cent of consulting work by 2000, an increase from 64 per cent now.

SKILLS

A new Ontario survey says skilled trade jobs are highly valued, but that sentiment isn't prompting youngsters to enter these fields in big numbers. More than half of the 525 interviewees to the Ernst & Young Poll said they would encourage young people to take up a trade. Many industries could soon face severe labour shortfalls in the skilled trades. The study suggests more needs to be done to get the word out about these potential job opportunities.

SENIORS

Having bought a digital organizer and finding it hard to use because the instructions were confusing, the buttons too tiny and its labels so small they could not be read, an Illinois entrepreneur has formed an evaluation company (www.seniorfriendly.com on the Internet) that rates consumer electronics and home appliances according to their ease of use for people 50 and over, of which there are more than 69 million in the U.S. Currently, the website recommends only two VCRs out of 14 units it has tested and 3 out of 15 camcorders. Products are tested against six criteria: Friendliness of packaging, assembly instructions, assembly, operating instructions, operations and routine servicing.

DEALERS

The U.S. has 22,650 automobile dealers and their net profit margins are a modest 1.5 per cent of total sales. The net profit on each of the 15 million new vehicles sold last year in the U.S. was $300 before discounts. New cars, which 20 years ago used to bring in most of the profits, now account for barely 10 per cent of the total. The rest comes from used cars (an estimated 40 million were sold last year), servicing and finance. About 850 dealerships have disappeared in the last five years and it is estimated that there will only be around 11,000 in five years time.

LABOUR

Plantation owners in Thailand are not replacing people with machines, they are giving the work to monkeys. In some Thai villages up to 10 per cent of the land is devoted to growing coconuts which are harvested each month and produce up to 70 coconuts a year. A workforce of several thousand monkeys in southern Thailand help pick the country's crop of 1.5 million tonnes of coconuts. Villages often have at least one monkey per household and the animal is rented out to the local plantation at a modest fee. A well trained monkey can change hands for up to $400. This is a bargain for a plantation owner who spends just $12 a month on "wages" of eggs, rice and fruit. Working monkeys are given names, groomed, bathed and fed three times a day.

LUMBER

According to the Canadian Lumbermen's Association, China is opening up as a big market for Canadian lumber, helping to offset slumping demand in countries hit by the Asian currency crisis. The Chinese government has rescinded 15-year-old restrictions on the use of lumber and wood products in construction. The country had wanted to conserve its wood supplies but now realizes that most of the wood used in China is for cooking and heating, not construction.

NEWSPAPERS

After years of decline, newspaper circulation in Canada appears to have stabilized. The Canadian Newspapers Association, the main lobby group for the country's 105 daily newspapers, reports that 32.96 million copies a week were sold across Canada in 1997, just slightly below the 34.03 million sold in 1996. Until 1997, circulation fell every year in the 1990s.

2000

Most of Canada's stock exchanges are moving to force public companies to disclose the risks that the Year 2000 computer problem poses for them. Companies that refuse to comply could face sanctions raging from a $1-million fine to a cease-trade order. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission has already put in place disclosure rules which require public companies which have substantial Year 200 problems to disclose their costs and plans this spring. The SEC guidelines cover about 12,000 public corporations, 400 investment companies and thousands of investment-advisor firms.

ADB

Canada is the second largest non-Asian contributor to the Asian Development Bank and the sixth largest out of 56 members. Canada's capital subscription is $2.57 billion (U.S.). Canada has about 5 per cent of the votes on the ADB and any company in a member country can bid on contracts related to ADB projects. Contracts for goods and services awarded to Canadian companies since the bank was founded total nearly $300 million and consulting contracts just over $100 million.

HOURS

France's parliament has passed a law to reduce the working week from 39 to 35 hours starting in 2000.

CARGO

Bulk carriers will soon have to toughen up to meet strict new international guidelines aimed at stopping disasters at sea. The rules, which will take effect July 1, 1999, will force companies to strengthen the bulkheads that separate the front two cargo holds, hopefully preventing vessels from sinking if water gets inside. Because Canada is a frequent port of call for many carriers, it will be up to inspection officials to do more checks. Canada will be able to refuse entry to below-standard ships or delay them until the necessary changes are made.

GROWTH

Mexico has posted its strongest economic growth in 16 years with a 1997 GDP increase of 7 per cent. Analysts are impressed at growth that defied banking sector weakness and a consequent credit squeeze. Last year's performance was helped by positive oil prices, an energetic effort to use up industrial capacity and a predicted downturn in the U.S. economy which never materialized.

PETS

A pet retirement home is being built in Westhampton, N.Y. Though still a hole in the ground, 2,000 pet owners have already asked for applications. There is room for only 50 cats and 50 dogs in the retirement home which has air conditioning and heated floors. $10,000 pays for perpetual care and burial.

DEBT

U.S. consumers spending is at record heights and is being financed through credit at ever increasing rates. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, Americans owe a staggering $1.24 trillion in automobile and revolving credit, double the debt load they had in 1991. On plastic alone, they owe about $523 billion, almost as much as the total of insolvent loans racked up by the troubled Asian countries. Average per capita credit card debt is $7,000 and most Americans have 7.5 credit cards. The cards are lucrative for their issuers. The average interest rate is 16 per cent but some are as much as 22 per cent.

TRANSPORTATION

U.S. customs officials are rethinking a proposed rule change that Canadian truckers say could cause costly inconvenience for shippers. The draft regulation would give local U.S. border officials the power to redirect traffic entering the U.S. If implemented, the new rule could cost millions of dollars. A detour of only 50 kilometres could add more than $60.00 to the cost of a typical international load. Trucks handle about 70 per cent of Canada-U.S. trade.

AFRICA

When companies think of expansion, sub-Saharan Africa is not usually the first place that comes to mind. But a new Harvard study of 20 successful companies concludes it is possible for firms to overcome the region's many obstacles if they think creatively about solutions and make an effort to understand the local environment. The report suggests that Africa may well be the last business frontier.

INSTRUCTIONS

Some product advice noted by the New Scientist:

-(Airline peanuts) "Instructions: Open packet, eat contents."
-(Swedish chainsaw) "Do not try to stop chain with hands."
-(European camera) "This camera only works when there is a film inside."

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February 1998 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

February 1998 Edition

 AIR MILES

There are newsletters dedicated to collecting points, Internet sites that offer advice and even a company that sells insurance to protect them. When American Airlines started the first of the reward programs in 1981, it attracted 1.8 million participants. It is estimated that 52 million people in North America are now enrolled in points programs, and the number is growing at 11 per cent a year with 6.2 per cent of all flights on the continent taken free. The big rise in the pursuit of points now stems from the fact that consumers can collect points and redeem them without leaving the ground. 40 per cent of points are now earned in transactions through the use of credit cards, the familiar Air Miles card and even through phone companies.

SKILLS

The Conference Board warns that Canada has not produced, attracted or retained enough skilled workers to sustain growth in high technology, one of the biggest and fastest-growing industries. Too many of the nation's skilled technologists are being lured to the U.S. to fill some of the 190,000 high-tech jobs now vacant there. They are attracted by innovative U.S. companies offering the kind of work environments that appeal to young, mobile people. Conversely, the comparatively low value of the dollar and high personal tax rates are additional incentives for Canadians looking south of the border.

TOURISM

A study by the World Tourism Authority estimates that the worldwide tourist industry will expand so fast between now and 2020 that it will not only be the world's biggest industry but it will be the largest by far that the world has ever seen.

SHORTAGES

Anyone thinking about China's 1.2 billion consumer market should think about hair, or scrap metal or leather. Of all the consumer products made and sold in China, these make up the very short list of items that the country's ministry of internal trade says are in short supply. China is a major manufacturer of wigs made from human and synthetic hair. Four types of leather and fur are in short supply, used for making coats and five types of scrap metal, including aluminum and copper.

EUROPE

A Price Waterhouse study suggests that Canadian companies with subsidiaries, debt or private placements within the European Union should prepare a strategy for the arrival of the European Economic and Monetary Union which starts January 1, 1999. It states that Canadian firms have underestimated how the European landscape will change. Debt outstanding at July 1, 2002 will have to be redenominated and companies may need to renegotiate, sign new documentation and establish new payment arrangements. Contracts in European currencies will have to be converted into the new one.

CAREERS

The U.S. occupation with the biggest projected job growth is cashier. The Bureau of Labour Statistics says 530,000 cashier jobs will be created by 2006, a 17 per cent increase from the current 3.1 million. Other growth areas: systems analysts, general managers and registered nurses.

CHEMICALS

Turmoil in the Asian financial markets is hastening a downturn in the chemicals business worldwide as prices tumble. Nearly one-third of U.S. chemicals exports go to the Asia-Pacific region. Chemical companies in the U.S., Japan and Europe are struggling with their heavy investments in Asia, especially in Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. Many large U.S. companies are curbing production to forestall inventory buildups in the U.S. Some chemicals, such as polypropylene, are selling at half the price of a year ago. Estimates are pegging 1998 as a terrible year, with 1999 and 2000 even worse for the industry.

PHARMACEUTICALS

The European Union is challenging Canada's drug patent legislation before the World Trade Organization, arguing that it reduces protection to 19 1\2 years. This could force Canada to change the way it treats generic drug companies. The Patent Act gives brand-name drug companies a 20-year patent protection. But during those 20 years, generic drug companies are allowed to develop and test copies of the brand-name products and six months before the 20 year patent expiry, actually begin producing and stockpiling generic products ready for the market. About half of Canada's pharmaceutical market is dominated by European firms and sales in Canada are worth over $5 billion annually.

INFORMATION

A generation of "dataholics" is on the rise, with more than half of all business people saying they crave information, especially from computers and the Internet. A Reuters study of 1,000 international business people said 53 per cent admitted to craving information and 54 per cent claimed to get a "high" when they find what they want in an electronic search. At the same time, they often feel overwhelmed by all the information at their disposal and worry that their children are turning into info junkies. 46 per cent of those surveyed said their children already prefer computers to their peers.

WEB SITE

A new site contains tips for female entrepreneurs. The Online Woman's Business Centre (www.onlinewbc.org) covers topics such as marketing, finance, technology and networking. Although the site is sponsored by the U.S. government's Small Business Administration, much of the information is useful to Canadians.

BANKS

According to the Canadian Bankers Association, Canada's seven biggest banks have more than 722,000 small and medium-sized business clients, defined as those with credit authorizations of less than $1 million. The average amount of credit outstanding for this group is $64,000. Since the second quarter of 1996, the number of these customers has increased by 3.2 per cent.

WINE

France spends more on wine than any other country. The French spent $14.1 billion in 1996 equivalent to $242 a head. Although America's wine market, worth $10.5 billion, is the second biggest, this works out at a mere $40 each. Austrians are just behind the French, buying $240 a head. Wine sales in Britain, where beer once ruled, are already the third-highest in the world, and still growing at over 10 per cent a year. Russia and Poland are likely to remain the fastest growing markets as incomes rise and people develop western spending habits. The Japanese spend only $4.50, barely enough for a bottle each.

CARGO

Some German enthusiasts are designing a helium-filled blimp that could revolutionize the global heavy-haulage business. Their CargoLifter 160, a 246 metre long, 61 metre wide blimp would be able to hoist heavy, bulky objects such as 160-ton turbines or an empty Boeing 747, wings and all, 10 times faster and an average 20 per cent less expensively. The CargoLifter's cargo bay would hold 395 cubic metres. An even bigger airship still on the drawing boards would haul as much as 450 tons. Such unprecedented carrying capacity could lead to changes not only in the way that companies deliver things, but in the way they design and build them too. Airships appear to be on a comeback, helped in part by the U.S. governments 1996 decision to sell off its strategic helium reserves.

ASIA

Some Asian governments are sending a stern message to their citizens: Stay home. They are raising passport fees and other international travel costs, and even openly admonishing people not to go abroad, as part of efforts to protect their foreign-currency reserves. Malaysia has more than doubled the cost of passports and there is now a travel freeze for government officials. Thailand is considering raising international airport taxes and imposing an exit tax. In South Korea, the government is essentially shaming citizens into not travelling overseas. Flight attendants were recently shown on television at Kimpo Airport with signs urging people not to travel.

LICENSING

According to Fortune magazine, the National Basketball Association of the 1990s has emerged as a truly global sports league. NBA games are televised from Santiago to Seoul and last year the league and its partners sold almost $500 million (U.S.) worth of licensed products. Even in countries such as Mongolia, Namibia and Kuwait where it does no other business, it licenses TV rights to local broadcasters.

INDIA

The results of the biggest tax amnesty in India were recently announced. Film producers, sports stars and thousands of businessmen hid their faces from the press as they visited their local tax offices to declare illicit gains. They came in limousines, some with bodyguards and suitcases of money, others with sachets of jewels, all hoping for peace in the new tax year. They declared a massive $13 billion in illicit gains, hidden in jewels, gold and silver, bogus land deeds and false bank accounts. The 466,000 Indians that came forward paid a staggering $4 billion in taxes to the government, a windfall that was greater than all foreign aid to India last year.

SHOPPING

With the U.S. dollar worth C$1.40, U.S. shoppers are making a run for the border to hunt for bargains. The 40 per cent exchange rate makes shopping in Canada worthwhile to Americans, even after taxes and tunnel or bridge tolls. Clothing, china and giftware are particularly popular items as well as furs and crystal according to retailers. U.S shoppers also save on sales taxes as most stores ship directly to their U.S. customers and under the NAFTA, customers don't have to pay sales tax on those items.

TAXES

User fees imposed by all levels of government in Canada were estimated to bring in $23 billion last year. This is more than the amounts raised by the goods and services tax or corporate income taxes. User charges cover the costs of such things as food inspection, passports, maintaining camp-sites, ice breaking and providing regulatory advice on merger proposals. At the federal level about 300 user charges raised nearly $4 billion in revenue. The Auditor General of Canada has raised questions about the government's increasing reliance on user fees.

OTHER FEES

Circuit City Stores have imposed a 15 per cent "restocking fee" on non-defective personal computers returned within 14 days. Electronics retailers are getting fed up with students who "borrow" laptops, returning them for a refund after term papers are done.

PRIZES

According to the Chronicle, seeking to boost the reputation of its city, the Houston Image Group spent $500,000 to place an ad in Time featuring scratch-and-win cards that awarded free trips to Houston for up to 33 lucky readers. Only one prize was claimed, and only 900 entries were submitted for a "second chance" drawing. Typically, says an industry observer, a national lottery draws 100,000 to 200,000 second responses.

NAMES

Brad's Drink: The original name of Pepsi Cola, which celebrates its centenary this year.
Ludus pilae mensalis: The Latin phrase for table tennis, according to the Vatican.

WILLS

In 1948, a prairie farmer used his pen knife to scratch a valid will on the fender of his tractor. He was trapped under the vehicle for 10 hours and died two days later in hospital. The farmer wrote: "In case I die in this mess, I leave all to the wife." In 1996, the fender was rescued from a courthouse and donated to the law library at the University of Saskatchewan.

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January 1998 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

January 1998 Edition

 EUROPE

Canadian companies could miss major export opportunities in what is becoming the world's biggest market because they pay too much attention to the U.S. and too little to Europe, according to the Conference Board of Canada. The EU already has a combined population of 376 million people and an economy worth $8.6 trillion (U.S.) a year. The U.S., Canada's largest trading partner, has a population of 263 million people and a $7.3 trillion economy. Last year, Canada ran a $7 billion trade deficit with the EU exporting only $15.7 billion worth of goods which represented six per cent of total Canadian exports.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT

In 1996, more than two-thirds of Canada's self-employed worked in the service sector. Together, trade, business services, and personal and household services accounted for half of all self-employment. In addition, about one-quarter worked in either agriculture or construction. The incidence of self-employment was high in business services. About 30% of workers in computing services were self-employed, while the proportion was 42% in accounting, 32% in legal service, 61% in consulting and 41% in advertising.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT

In 1996, more than two-thirds of Canada's self-employed worked in the service sector. Together, trade, business services, and personal and household services accounted for half of all self-employment. In addition, about one-quarter worked in either agriculture or construction. The incidence of self-employment was high in business services. About 30% of workers in computing services were self-employed, while the proportion was 42% in accounting, 32% in legal service, 61% in consulting and 41% in advertising.

MIR

Last month, two Russian cosmonauts used an Internet link from the Mir space station to go on a shopping spree in Manhattan's Virtual Emporium. They bought gifts including Barbie Dolls, Chicago Bulls sportswear, computers and an exercise machine. Meanwhile, the cash-strapped Russian space agency is considering an offer to put actors on Mir to make a movie. Cosmonauts have already done in-space commercials for Pepsi, Omega watches and Israeli milk.

MARKETS

The world economy will change fundamentally over the next 25 years as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Russia assume more central roles in the global market place according to the World Bank. The so-called "Big Five" developing economies, which currently account for less than a 10th of global output and trade, could double their share of the world market and surpass the European Union by 2020. These countries should grow at an average annual rate of between 5 and 6 per cent a year over the next 25 years.

PRODUCTIVITY

While the performance of the whole Canadian business sector has remained quite comparable with its U.S. counterpart since 1961, labour productivity of Canadian manufacturing started to lag behind the U.S. in 1986. However, Canada has performed better than the U.S. in the services sector as well as some goods producing industries (for example, construction and mining), which accounts for 75% of total production in the business sector. From 1961 to 1985, labour productivity in both the Canadian and the U.S. manufacturing sectors grew at much the same rate. Since then, a widening gap has emerged in favour of American manufacturing. Between 1986 and 1996, labour productivity grew on average 1.6% per year in Canada and 2.6% in the U.S.

ROYALTIES

Canadian companies licensing their trademark, copyrights and patents around the world are losing revenue because they are not collecting royalties according to the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse. It claims organizations are losing millions of dollars by not enforcing royalty agreements and suggests companies should make one person with authority responsible for all royalties, do an inventory of all licensing agreements and then set up a system to monitor constantly the flow of royalties.

HEALTH

A new Health Canada report states that losses to the economy due to illness, disability and premature death cost the country more than the direct costs of health care. The study estimates that the total burden of illness to the economy comes to $157 billion a year. The direct cost of care, including money spent on hospitals, physicians, drugs and research came to $72 billion. It is estimated that there were $85 billion in indirect costs in the form of lost productivity because of disability and premature death.

COAL

Western Europe's coal industry, which powered the Industrial Revolution, is dying because of cheaper imports, government spending cuts and alternative sources of fuel, such as natural gas. It is estimated that by 2010 the industry will be finished except for a few mines in England. The unexpected slowdown in Asia's economic growth and excess global supplies of coal are contributing to the problem. Right now, it costs about US$120 a tonne for Germany to produce coal, while imports from outside the EU cost about US$40 a tonne. South Africa mines some of the cheapest coal at US$30 a tonne before freight costs.

SHORTAGES

Modern Purchasing reports that a 20-state inspection by the U.S. government uncovered wide-spread short-filling and short-weighing by the American dairy and fruit juice industries. Out of 1,638 containers inspected at supermarkets, schools, dairies and packaging plants, 666 (41 per cent) were underfilled. Although packages were underfilled by between only one and 6 per cent, the dairy industry sells billions of cartons a year, and even a one per cent shortage represents hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal profits. Almost 46 per cent of milk and 23 per cent of juice containers inspected were underfilled.

INFORMATION

The Canadian government has launched a new on-line information product, Take a World View ... Export Your Services, to assist Canadian service firms in preparing to export to foreign markets. It may be found at http://strategies.ic.ca/twv or http://www.infoexport.gc.ca. It is a joint effort between the private sector, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Industry Canada, and is one of several initiatives of Team Canada Inc., formed specifically to promote the trade of Canadian products and services in the international marketplace. It is aimed at small and medium- sized firms in the knowledge-based service industries, including management consultants, architects, engineers, professional trainers and designers.

LOW-TECH

For a new consumer product, Freeplay doesn't seem to have a lot going for it. It's bulky, heavy and a lot pricier than similar products. It's a radio with batteries that will never go flat and doesn't use one watt of electricity. Freeplay is the first wind-up radio: Just 30 seconds of cranking and it pumps out 40 minutes of AM, FM or shortwave tunes. The size of a lunchbox, weighing 2.7 kilograms it costs $80. Until now, news of the radio spread by word-of-mouth among hikers and environmentalists but it is now being stocked by major stores in England and the U.S.

TOURISM

Last year, the most popular countries for international tourism were: France, 61 million, Spain, 45 million, the United States, 45 million, Italy, 29 million, China, 23 million, Britain, 22 million and Mexico, 19 million.

WASTE

According to the European Union's financial watchdog, the EU wasted about $7 billion in 1996 and another $5.5 billion is unaccounted for. The Luxembourg-based Court of Auditors said more than 5 per cent of the EU's $134 billion budget was paid out in error. Excessive agricultural subsidies accounted for the bulk of the excess spending.

COMPETITION

In an effort to lure film business away from B.C., Washington State has passed legislation giving film companies another break on sales tax. Film and TV producers spent $37 million in Washington in 1996 (down from $76 million in 1994). B.C. film and TV production totaled $537 million in 1996 (up from $400 million in 1994). 1,250 locations were used for filming in and around Vancouver in 1996, a 25 per cent increase over 1995.

SMART ABMs

A Canadian bank has set up eight "smart ABMs" in the Toronto area to test consumer reaction to a more advanced machine that can act as a kind of electronic variety store selling products such as movie and airline tickets. Besides its share of the ticket revenue, the bank makes money from ads carried on the machines. Pitches for soft drinks and hamburgers, among others, pop up as you wait for cash or movie tickets to print. Eventually, these ABMs could act as a personal financial adviser telling users, for example, about mortgage renewal options.

SHIPPING

An ocean-shipping cartel, which controls about 85 per cent of shipping capacity from Asia to the U.S., is going to try and force a 10 per cent rate increase on U.S. imports from Asia, the biggest increase in a decade. This would affect shipping rates on some $200 billion of goods a year. Any rate boost would be bad news for U.S. consumers because transportation costs, which account for about 5 to 10 per cent of the price of most goods, are usually tacked on to a product's price.

NUTRIA

Louisiana has begun a $2 million campaign to encourage people to eat nutria. This South American rodent, which looks like a cross between a beaver and a furry rat with yellow teeth, was brought to the state in the 1930s, in an attempt to establish a fur trade. About 50 animals escaped during a hurricane. There are now an estimated 20 million of these rodents in the wild, each of which contains about three pounds of low-fat meat.

CIDA

It is now easier to prepare proposals for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)'s Industrial Co-operation Program. The agency has introduced its Automated Proposal System (APS). Users of the APS software complete their proposals by responding to the software's structured set of questions about their projects. A handy help feature is available with each question to further define proposal requirements. The resulting proposal is organized in a standard format that contains all the essential information and can be processed automatically. Applicants avoid lengthy paperwork and get speedier responses to their applications.

BEES

By some estimates, 95 per cent of the wild honey bees in the U.S. have been wiped out by parasite mites in the past three years. Many farmers and fruit growers are having to pay commercial beekeepers to bring their insects to pollinate their crops.

GRASS

An ancient grass that has flourished in parts of Europe and Asia for thousands of years may be introduced to the Prairies. Researchers from Agriculture Canada say sainfoin appears to be an improvement over alfalfa, which causes bloat in livestock and is vulnerable to attack by the alfalfa weevil. Sainfoin also grows earlier in the spring than alfalfa, gives good forage yields and can be harvested in late July or early August.

NUMBERS

-More than 40 per cent of radio listeners in the U.S. listen to one of its 2,642 country-music stations.
-There are 191 member countries in FIFA, soccer's governing body, compared with 184 countries in the United Nations.
-Thirty per cent of the Earth's inhabitants have no access to any health care whatsoever; 50 per cent have no toilet to use.
-Around the world, 53,333 people are working for various United Nations offices. Three times as many work for McDonalds

LANGUAGE

The U.S. version of English grows by about 5,000 words a year. The new terms are mostly medical or technical.

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December 1997 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

December 1997 Edition

DRUG RESEARCH

Last year, pharmaceutical companies in Canada pumped $665 million into drug development research. Nearly $400 million of that money funded clinical trials, in which new drugs and therapies are tested on patients prior to their formal approval. There are now twice as many Canadians enrolled in clinical trials as there were seven years ago. Last year clinical trials involving nearly 35,000 patients investigated 140 drugs across Canada. But, increasingly, there are countries where it is more cost-effective to conduct clinical trials. Eastern Europe is now attracting clinical research dollars because of the much cheaper costs of running trials there.

CELL PHONES

Canada's cellular telephone industry continued to record strong growth in 1996. There were 3,420,318 cell phone subscribers in Canada on December 31, 1996, up 32.1 per cent over the 1995 year-end figure of 2,589,780. Cell phone service providers reported annual revenues of $2.84 billion in 1996, an increase of 24.5 per cent compared with 1995 revenues.

PORTUGAL

Trade between Portugal and Canada is undergoing a transformation. In the past two years, sales of Canadian goods and services to Portugal have increased by nearly 300 per cent. In 1996, Canadian exports to Portugal totaled $99 million, while imports from Portugal reached $179 million. A co-operation agreement was signed recently between the Industrial Association of Portugal (AIP) and the Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (AMEC). This agreement allows for much closer ties between these two major manufacturing associations and seeks to boost the competitiveness of their respective countries and to promote both exports and investment. Canadians can increasingly see Portugal as a gateway to the major European market. The Portuguese economy has the strongest growth rate of any European country in 1997, with GDP increasing by 2.5 per cent.

GROWTH

Since 1986, the home-computer market in the U.S. has grown from a $3-billion (U.S.) annual industry to more than $16-billion. Growth is fuelled by owners being accustomed to replacing their systems, on average, every 2.5 years. By contrast, people who buy a TV or VCR might not replace it for 11 years. It is suggested that adopting the economics of the personal-computer industry is the only way the consumer electronics industry can survive.

GENETICS

Two U.S. patents were granted recently for a process that puts vaccines directly into vegetables. But even before the patents were approved, the first clinical trials for edible vaccines received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Volunteers in Maryland will be fed raw potatoes that have been genetically engineered to trigger an immune reaction to the E. coli bacteria, a major cause of stomach upsets. A group in Mexico is putting the E. coli gene into bananas.

RETAIL

Despite increased consumer spending, a Consumer PulseCheck Survey states that Canadian retailers are losing sales because of high prices, out-of-stock items and slack service. While 32 per cent of consumers head out to a store with a specific purchase in mind, only 11 per cent actually find and buy what they want. Would-be buyers cite such hassles as high price (33 per cent of respondents), not finding the item (26 per cent), item not in stock, (16 per cent) and couldn't get service (7 per cent). A startling 20 per cent of consumers said they could not think of anything they liked about shopping.

RELAXATION

The Llama Therapeutic Group has opened North America's first llama retreat centre in B.C. Burnt-out business people are being invited to spend time without faxes, TVs or pagers. According to the founder, within 20 minutes of feeding, grooming and outfitting a llama for a trek, executive worry lines start to disappear, the tone of their voice changes and their breathing relaxes. Only $1,600 a time.

PROFITS

A new study by Gistics Inc. states that last year, 94 per cent of all CD-ROM publishers in the world failed to make a profit. The consulting firm gives two reasons: customers can't preview the expensive products before buying and the failure rate of CD-ROMs is high; Windows computers, it claims, have a 40 to 50 per cent failure rate when trying to run them.

INCOME

In 1996, spending from abroad on post-secondary education brought $1 billion into Canada in the form of tuition fees and living expenses. At the same time, spending by Canadian residents at universities and colleges abroad amounted to over $600 million. Sales abroad of legal services by law firms in Canada amounted to over $260 million including registration of patents and trademarks. The purchase of legal services from abroad approached $210 million. International management consulting produced some $215 million in revenues for Canadian providers. The estimate includes work funded by CIDA.

SITES

Two more sites are available on Strategis, Industry Canada's Web site, which are designed to give small businesses the tools they need to innovate, grow and create jobs. For growth-oriented firms, there's a page providing tips on how to get risk capital at strategis.ic.gc.ca/growth. Another specializes in steps to competitiveness and may be found at strategis.ic.gc.ca/steps.

LABOUR FORCE

So far this decade, there has been extraordinary growth in the number of Canadians who are self-employed. Between 1989 and 1996, the self-employed accounted for over three-quarters of job growth. The number of people who became their own boss surged 25% during this period, while the number of paid employees increased only 1%. As a result, the self-employed now account for 18% of all workers, up from 14% in 1989 and 12% in 1976. While the likelihood of being self-employed has grown considerably over the last 20 years for both sexes, the rate of growth has been stronger for women. While men represented about 74% of the self-employed in 1976, they now represent about two-thirds.

FACILITIES

In the U.S. national park at Delaware Gap, Pa., Washington has built a two-hole outhouse for $333,000 (U.S.). Although critics have attacked its cost, supporters note the state-of-the-art structure was the work of more than a dozen designers, architects and engineers and it is earthquake-proof.

STANDARDS

Canadian businesses can now check out thousands of Canadian and international standards on the Internet. The Standards Council of Canada has teamed up with the Open Text Corp of Waterloo, Ont., to provide quick on-line information such as manufacturing specifications for companies interested in exporting their products. Canadian businesses can also provide comment and recommendations on new standards. The council's Web site is www.scc.ca.

PROFITABILITY

Among Canada's larger enterprises, the most profitable goods producers in 1996 were firms engaged in the production of chemical fertilizers (excluding potash), and explosives. The median rate of return was 17.3%. In second place in the 1996 rankings were motor vehicle parts and accessories manufacturers (14.7%). The least profitable goods producers were pulp and paper manufacturers (0.9%) and fish and other seafood processors (1.9%). Among financial institutions, the most profitable in 1996 were independent investment dealers (26.5%) and investment dealers that are subsidiaries of banks (15.7%).

FEATHERS

A U.S. federal researcher, pondering new ways to use chicken feathers--a poultry rendering plant can process half a million pounds a week--has suggested using the absorbent material to make disposable diapers. Currently, ground-up chicken feathers are used to grow mushrooms or are fed back to chickens as a protein supplement.

WATER

U.S. companies selling bottled water may legally use the terms "Mountain fresh" and "Glacier pure" even if their product has been nowhere near a mountain or a glacier.

CLEAN-UP

Opportunities exist for Canadian companies in the area of environmental clean-up. The sharp resurgence in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activity has been accompanied by the challenge of disposing of a large number of less economically viable, older-generation wells. More than 3,000 platforms currently dot the U.S. federal waters in the Gulf, and the looming cost of removing the platforms, plugging and abandoning the wells and cleaning up the ocean floor has been estimated by the U.S. Department of Environment at about $US5 billion -- $US2.9 billion for platform renewal, US$1.4 billion for plugging and abandoning, and $US600 million for site clearance.

SMALL BUSINESS

According to the Business Development Bank of Canada, small businesses now employ half of Canada's private sector workers. They also generate almost 43 per cent of the private sector output and create 90 per cent of the new jobs.

HARDWARE

Canadian hardware manufacturers are highly export-oriented. In recent years, foreign shipments have been equivalent to as much as 73% of factory shipments. At the same time, imports of information technology products are substantially greater than domestic production. Canada incurred a trade deficit of $18.6 billion in these products in 1995. Few countries - not even the U.S. - consistently maintain a trade surplus in information technology products. Moreover, information technology imports reflect investment in cutting edge technologies by Canadian corporations to maintain their competitiveness in international markets.

TEACHING

Though retirements and burnout will open up new teaching jobs after the year 2000, there will be a lot of competition for these jobs according to a Statscan study. Teachers specializing in mathematics, the sciences and certain technical subjects have the best prospects, even in the current tight job market. Assuming a retirement age of 60, about 61 per cent of Canadian elementary and secondary school teachers--or 211,000 out of 347,000 teachers--will retire between now and 2015. There are currently more than 35,000 teachers available for full-time work.

FLOWERS

After the Princess of Wales died, Colombia's flower industry saw a 20 per cent leap in the sales of its blooms to Europe.

INFORMATION

Across North America, long-distance directory assistance is handing out bad information with increasing frequency. The problem, according to the Washington Post, is that as local phone companies begin to compete against long-distance carriers and each other, many are refusing to share updated lists of customers' phone numbers.

MEMORY

Researchers at British Telecom and MIT are working on "intelligent glasses." When confronted by a familiar but nameless face, the spectacles will automatically print the name above the person's head in a way only the wearer can see, or whisper it into an ear.

QUOTES

"Why, sir, there is every possibility that you will soon be able to tax it."--British scientist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) when asked by a politician about the usefulness of electricity.

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November 1997 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

November 1997 Edition

INNOVATION

 
Statscan reports that small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms are less likely to introduce new products and processes than large firms. While over 63% of large firms introduced a new product or process between 1989 and 1991, only 40% of small firms did so. In addition, of those firms that did innovate, smaller firms were less likely to introduce world-first changes and were relatively more likely to introduce Canadian-first innovations. Although innovation occurred somewhat less frequently in small firms, there were 10 times the number of small firms. Therefore, small firms produced a much larger number of innovations in total than did large firms.

HOPEFUL

A survey of 1,400 small and medium sized businesses across North America shows they are pretty optimistic about economic prospects in the next year. Half of both Canadian and U.S. businesses said they expect revenue growth, while a third on each side of the border expect to hire more employees. But Canadian companies rely more heavily on markets and suppliers outside their local areas or provincial borders. Twenty-seven per cent of those surveyed do business globally, compared with 19 per cent of their U.S. counterparts. And 47 per cent do business nationally, compared with 39 per cent in the U.S.

HELP

A new initiative, HorizonsPlus, was launched recently by Industry Canada and the Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada to increase the number of exporters and to help small businesses build sales abroad. HorizonsPlus matches companies seeking new overseas markets with young graduates who are trained and interested in careers in exporting. A Web site, www.the-alliance.org/horizonsplus, is available for those who need information.

LOCATION

One of the latest trends for franchises is co-branding or cutting costs by sharing premises with a compatible business, says the International Franchise Association. Another way to promote growth is to move into non-traditional locations. For example, postal and package service provider Mail Boxes Etc., whose outlets are usually set up inside drug or grocery stores, has moved into hotels, convention centres, high-rise offices and college campuses to meet market demand.

ETHICS

Because it is voluntary, the federal government endorses but won't require its Crown operations to use a new code of international business practices and ethics drafted by a group of Canadian companies and associations with foreign operations. The government sponsored the discussions among business and human rights groups leading up to the code. Among the code's provisions are promises to: Promote human rights where companies have influence; Refrain from paying bribes; Protect worker health and safety; Shun child labour; Involve local communities in company activities and, Protect the environment.

ART

The art auction market continues to recover from the slump of the early 1990s. During the 1995-96 season, worldwide turnover topped $1.7 billion, the highest 12-month total since the peak of more than $4 billion in 1989-90. The U.S. was the busiest market with sales of $761 million followed by Britain with sales of $501 million.

ECONOMIES

Developing countries will double their share of global Gross Domestic Product, says the World Bank in its annual report, to account for nearly a third of global output by 2020. The big five developing countries, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and Russia, will grab an even larger chunk of exports, rising from 9% in 1992 to 22% in 2020. In East Asia, the Bank forecasts real GDP growth slowing to 7.6% over the next ten years from 9.2% in 1987-96.

INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY

Industries increased their use of capacity to 84.8% in the second quarter of 1997, just half a percentage point below the most recent peak of 85.3% recorded in the fourth quarter of 1994. This increase marks a full year of steadily rising rates. The upsurge in household spending and strong business investment in plant and equipment were the major contributing factors to increased production and the resulting rise in rates of capacity use in the second quarter. In response, industries in the manufacturing and construction sectors stepped up production. The strength in manufacturing is likely to continue, according to the latest Business Conditions Survey.

PENSION FUNDS

The total value of the world's pension assets grew by 58 per cent, from $5.4 trillion to $8.5 trillion, between 1991 and 1996, according to InterSec, a research company. The firm predicts a similar rise, to $13.5 trillion, by 2001. The fastest growing pension funds have been in Latin America. Last year they were worth $113 billion, almost four times as much as in 1991. Predictably, the U.S. has the largest stock of pension assets with $4.4 trillion-worth in 1996, almost two-thirds of it in private funds.

TRANSIT

Despite the emphasis on taking public transit, Canadians are using it less and less. In 1996, each Canadian took an average of about 46 trips on some form of urban transit, the lowest level since 1970 when the average fell to 43 trips per person. In contrast, Canadians were using mass transit at three times that rate at the end of the Second World War. The popularity of urban transportation plunged rapidly between 1950 and 1970 with the boom in automobiles and the growth of suburbs. It rebounded slightly during the 1980s when the energy crisis, the travel needs of persons without access to a car, and environmental awareness encouraged governments to turn more and more to mass transit.

CASH

A lack of cash in Russia has caused some unusual methods of payment. In January, some Siberian workers were paid off in coffins while workers at another Volgograd factory were paid in bras. A movie theatre in Altai, Siberia, allowed customers to pay two eggs for a ticket and when eggs ran short locally the price of entry was empty bottles. On a larger scale, officials say that in the fuel and energy sectors, only 20 per cent of transactions are settled in money. The balance comes, if at all, in barter. Faced with companies protesting a lack of cash to pay taxes, local governments are allowing factories to settle their debts with cans of paint and newly-assembled trucks.

WORTH

The average Canadian's worth advanced $2,100 in 1996, as national net worth rose almost 4% to $2.6 trillion. This was the combined result of an increase in national wealth and a small decline in Canada's net foreign indebtedness: what we owe to non-residents less what they owe to us. Net worth grew at a slightly faster pace than the previous year, reflecting the strength in domestic economic activity and the slowing in debt accumulation.

URBANIZATION

The World Watch Institute says that land use for grain production totalled 0.3 acres a person last year, down from 0.57 in 1950. The spread of roads, buildings and industrial parks eats up some of the most productive remaining land. At least 5 per cent of China's cropland was lost between 1950-1992 due in part to urban expansion and industrialization.

POLAND

Opportunities exist for Canadian environmental companies looking for new clients and potential partners in this dynamic market. Poland is a large environmental market given its high level of municipal and industrial pollution. Last year's spending in this sector exceeded US$1 billion. By the year 2000, Poland plans to spend over US$6 billion in order to meet European Union environmental standards.

SECURITY

New technology that identifies people using the eye is being developed for use with automated teller machines and for other electronic transactions. As a person walks up to an ATM, three standard video cameras zoom in. First they identify the approaching form as a person. From almost a metre away, they take an image of a person's eye and match the iris with an image already digitally encoded and kept in an electronic file. The system works even when the customer is wearing glasses, sunglasses or contact lenses and in many cases where the person is blind. There is no way to copy someone else's iris pattern using a contact lens.

CABLE

The Canadian cable television industry reported revenues of $2.7 billion in 1996, up 5.8 per cent over 1995. Total revenue from basic cable television operations increased by 3.1 per cent to $1.9 billion from $1.85 billion. Revenue from discretionary and other services advanced by 13 per cent to $775 million from $686 million. There were 7.9 million subscribers (direct and indirect) in 1996, 74 per cent of which subscribed to discretionary services compared with 71 per cent in 1995.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong's chief executive pledged to spend $11.4 billion (U.S.) over the next five years improving housing, infrastructure and services in the former British colony, now part of China. Also announced is a plan to build a science park.

SERVICE

A study of 10,000 Canadians by the National Quality Institute, funded by Industry Canada, reports that pharmacies are best and the government worst when it comes to customer service. Pharmacies received a 93 per cent customer service approval rating while the government got 40 per cent. Telephone companies, trust companies and credit unions were ranked as the most improved.

EL NINO

The warming effect of El Nino in the South Pacific could help business and consumers in Canada shave more than nine per cent off their gas bills this winter. In 1982-83 when the last El Nino occurred, gas prices fell 13.75 per cent from a year earlier. El Nino is a mass of warm water the size of Europe which usually remains in the Pacific but trade winds can change the current and the world's weather patterns.

PROGRESS

According to the New Scientist, a new digital video disk that self-destructs after two days could end the trek back to the video store to return videos. A U.S. consortium wants to replace the familiar videotape with its limited-life disks which would cost about $5. Because of movie industry fears about piracy, films would be scrambled and a special code needed to access them.

PEACE

Technical engineers at Chiltern Railways in Britain have developed a train window covered in metallic microfilm that mobile-phone signals cannot penetrate. The aim is to offer commuters "no-phoning" rail cars, similar to "non-smoking" cars.

TECHNOLOGY

After years of planning, a "virtual record shop" will open shortly in London. The promoters claim Cerberus will eventually be able to stock every piece of music ever made. If the plan succeeds, music lovers will no longer need to buy albums. If they have computers, they will simply download songs; if they don't, they will visit computerized kiosks to choose their own compilations, which will be pressed into CDs while they wait.

GAMES

To stop American public servants playing at work, Congress is considering legislation to outlaw games on computers used by federal agencies.

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October 1997 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

October 1997 Edition

 
GLOBAL ECONOMY

 
The most recent forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), states that Canada will lead the industrial world in growth both this year and next. The current boom in the global economy is being powered by Canada, the U.S. and Britain. This boom will likely continue into the next decade with projected growth of 4 per cent continuing until at least 2002. But while North American and European economies surge, Asian economies are faltering. On the eve of what has been dubbed the Pacific Century, several of Asia's best economic hopes are mired in stagnation and financial crisis. Only China remains a bright hope among Asian nations.

INDIA

Of India's 100 top companies, 70 are family businesses, and until recently they controlled about 15 per cent of the economy. This changed in 1991 when, in the face of financial crisis, the government opened up the economy to competition and foreign investment. The reforms sparked a consumer boom and surge in private investment. They also exposed just how bloated, inefficient and consumer-hostile many of India's top companies had become. For most of India's independence, socialist governments controlled the private sector with licences that told companies what they could produce, how much and when. This resulted in shortages and high prices for uncompetitive junk, as well as slow economic growth.

AGRICULTURE

Canada's agricultural and agrifood sector has reached a goal in export sales four years ahead of schedule. Agriculture Canada says export sales in 1996 reached $20 billion, a figure the federal government had hoped to see by the year 2000. The $20 billion represents a 50 per cent increase from exports in 1993, the year the target was set by the industry.

CUBES AND CAVES

In office design, open plan offices are called cubes, whereas an enclosed office is referred to as a cave. According to surveys by the International Facility Management Association, the cubist ranks are growing. An estimated 40 million Americans, nearly 60 per cent of the white-collar workforce, now work in cubes. And offices of all kinds are shrinking. Research shows that personal work space has shrunk 25- to 50 per cent over the last decade at 72 big, trend-setting companies studied.

CHINA

To help its attempts to become a member of the World Trade Organisation, China is cutting tariff rates by an average of six percentage points, from 23% to 17%, on nearly 5,000 items.

TUNNELS

Engineers are preparing to build the world's first floating tunnel, a 1.6 kilometre concrete tube moored 25 metres below the surface and 120 metres above the seabed, near Stavanger, Norway. It will contain two traffic lanes and a bicycle path. If the structure is successful, tunnels through the middle of lakes, fjords and estuaries are likely to be built in other countries. Proponents say floating tunnels are cheaper than bridges, or tunnels through the earth, and are more environmentally friendly.

EARNINGS

The number of women who earned more than their male partners increased in 1995, resuming a long-standing upward trend after a decline in 1994. In 1995, 983,000 females earned more than their male partners, up from 916,000 in 1994. Since 1967, this number has increased almost sevenfold, from 143,000.

NEW POWER

Daimler-Benz, maker of Mercedes cars, and Ballard Power Systems, a Canadian company developing fuel-cell technology, have launched a joint venture to develop an alternative to the internal-combustion engine. Together the companies are investing over $300 million to develop vehicles powered by fuel-cell engines. A bus, running on hydrogen and with zero exhaust emissions, is being tested on the streets of Chicago and Vancouver, and a specimen fuel-cell car was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Mass marketing of such cars could begin within eight years.

LATIN AMERICA

The majority of Latin American countries have made progress in the fight against inflation during the past two years. Since 1995, only three countries in the region have had a rate of inflation above 25 per cent. The most striking change was in Brazil where, following the introduction of a new currency in 1994, inflation tumbled from 277 per cent to 4.8 per cent in July of this year. Chile's inflation has remained in single digits and has declined from 8.2 per cent in 1995 to 5.6 per cent this year. Argentina's inflation has been the lowest, even experiencing slight deflation.

MILLENNIUM

Australia's Prime Minister has announced that his country will celebrate the new millennium beginning Jan, 1, 2001--a year after the rest of the world, but mathematically correct.

HOUSES

According to an international study conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Home Builders, Canadians have the best housing in the world by nearly any measure. The study, which compared Canadian and U.S. houses with those in other industrialized countries, showed that, based on the average number of persons per home, Canadians have the least crowded housing. On top of that, Canadian homes are only slightly smaller, on average, than U.S. houses which are the biggest in the world. The average Canadian home is 122 square metres while the U.S. average is 125 square metres. In the condominium category however, Canada is tops in size. The average apartment\townhome is 102 square metres compared to a U.S. average of 79 square metres.

EUROPE

Taxes and social-security contributions consumed a record 42.4% of the European Union's GDP last year, said the EU's statistical agency, Eurostat. Three Nordic countries imposed the heaviest burdens on their economies, with Sweden taking 55.2%. Ireland, Spain and Britain taxed less than 36%.

SPEED

Teraflops is a computer at the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. It gets its quasi-acronym name because last year it hit a speed of 1.8 trillion calculations a second. It is 10,000 times faster than a Pentium MMX system. Somebody operating a hand-held computer would need about 57,000 years to calculate a problem that Teraflops could calculate in one second.

FRANCHISES

A new franchised business opens somewhere in the U.S. every eight minutes, according to the International Franchise Association. While restaurants such as McDonalds are the most visible examples, there are 65 categories of industry offering franchises. Nearly 600,000 franchised businesses operate in the U.S., generating sales of almost $1.4 trillion each year--close to half of all retail sales. Franchises are more likely to thrive than are independently owned businesses, with 92 per cent surviving after five years compared with 23 per cent of independents, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

COMPLAINTS

According to a survey of 10,600 by the International Facility Management Association, the biggest complaint people have about the place where they work is that it's too cold. The second biggest complaint? It's too hot. Other complaints in the top five included not enough conference rooms, poor janitorial services and not enough storage space.

SCAMS

The Washington-based National Consumers League is posting Web pages warning Internet users of the top on-line scams. League officials say the most common signs of fraud are: extravagant promises of profit, guarantees of credit regardless of bad credit history, suspiciously low prices, or prizes that require up-front payments. They may be checked out at http://www.fraud.org/ifw.

WHOLESALERS

According to Statscan, the wholesaling industry is in constant transformation. Increased competition has pushed wholesalers to diversify in order to remain competitive. In addition to their main activity of selling to retailers, industrial clients and farmers, wholesalers provide services such as supply management, provision of information on new technologies and bulk breaking. They also sell a certain proportion of their products directly to household consumers. Sales to households by wholesalers are estimated to be about $1 billion a month, approximately 4% of total wholesale sales. Half of the sales made directly to households by wholesalers are coming from building materials (40%) and computers and packaged software (10%).

E-MAIL

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. says it is breaking new ground by introducing an electronic flyer that will allow consumers to receive selective promotional information at their individual E-mail address. The electronic flyers will not replace the regular flyers that are dropped off at homes but will allow people to request information on deals in selective categories and avoid having to get material about categories they are not interested in. The company claims this marketing scheme will help them better predict high-demand merchandise and which products to stock in the stores. However, consumers will not be able to purchase products directly on-line.

2000

A U.S. retailer is bringing the world's first lawsuit over the millennium timebomb--a problem in which computers are unable to work with dates after the turn of the century. The Michigan supermarket is taking the supplier of its cash registers to court for the equipment's failure to recognize the year 2000 as an expiry date for credit cards. Whenever a card with the 2000 expiry date is swiped at the supermarket, it brings up an "invalid date" warning, quickly followed by the shutdown of the entire network. The case has been hailed as the beginning of a deluge which will occur over the next few years.

FINANCING

Industry Canada has launched an Internet site that will help small businesses and entrepreneurs find financing. Sources of Financing will provide owners with a broad range of Canadian sources of capital. It is available at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sources.

JOB SHARING

About 171,000 individuals, or 8% of all part-time paid workers, shared a job with someone in 1995, according to first-time national data on job sharing. Compared with regular part-time employees, people who shared jobs were more likely to be women, to be college- or university-educated, to hold professional occupations and to have children at home. The 1995 Survey of Work Arrangements (sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada) revealed that women held 72% of part-time jobs. But they occupied an even larger majority of shared jobs (84%). Almost 1 in 10 women working part time shared a job, compared with just 1 in 20 men who worked part time.

EMUS

The market for emus has collapsed in Louisiana reports the Associated Press. Pairs of breeding birds that sold for $50,000 in 1993 now change hands for $100 or less. The headache of unwanted emus is so acute that some people have set their birds free, causing traffic hazards and other problems.

QUALITY

A poll of international travel writers concluded that England and Russia tied for having the worst toilet paper in the world.

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September 1997 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

September 1997 Edition

 TEXTILES

The Clinton administration has issued a report which says that, since the NAFTA came into effect in 1994, it has prompted a shift in the growth of textile and apparel trade from Asia to the NAFTA countries. U.S. imports of all textile products from Asia's four biggest suppliers declined in quantity by 13 per cent while equivalent imports from Canada and Mexico more than doubled. For U.S. fabric producers, imports from Mexico are also job-savers since nearly two-thirds of these shipments are made out of U.S.-supplied yarns.

RENOVATIONS

Canadian homeowners spent $11.9 billion repairing and renovating their dwellings in 1996, an amount virtually unchanged from the previous year. However, the average expenditure for this type of work reached its lowest level since 1987, when the data were first collected. On average, homeowners spent approximately $1,600 to improve and maintain their homes. This figure is considerably below the peak of approximately $2,200 that homeowners spent on average in 1989.

MOONLIGHTING

Growth in moonlighting over the past two decades has been much stronger than the increase in employment in general. Between 1976 and 1996, the number of workers holding a second job more than tripled, from 208,000 to 699,000, compared with overall employment growth of 40%. In 1996, 1 in 20 workers, or 5%, held more than one job. Twenty years ago the rate was 1 in 50. On the whole, moonlighting means more work hours. While the average work week for all workers in 1996 was 37.1 hours, the average for moonlighters was 46.2.

MALAYSIA

This country boasts an eight per cent annual economic growth, a strong industrial base, a rising middle class, shopping malls and skyscrapers. Just as it emulated Japan to move beyond rubber and palm oil production into cars and electronic components, its new strategy is to jump into software, high-speed networks and digital entertainment. The centrepiece is a giant project costing $8- to $15 billion (U.S.) of public and private money and named the Multimedia Super Corridor. A 1.6 kilometre by 48 kilometre tract, it will be a multibillion dollar test-bed, wired with the latest technology where Malaysians and foreigners can try out new ideas. Also under construction is a new government centre, with a paperless bureaucracy designed to usher in an era of electronic government.

MINING

This is B.C.'s second biggest resource industry and provides its almost 10,000 employees with wages averaging $73,000 a year. But profits have been steadily eroding over the past 10 years to the point that even though mining generated $3.87 billion in revenues, its net income in 1996 was only $208 million--a 59 per cent decline from 1995. Mining ranks third in terms of economic value to the province, behind forestry and tourism.

TRENDS

In 1992, 32 million Americans, 12 per cent of the population, lived in gated communities, condominiums, elderly only communities and residential country clubs that are privately owned and have their own security guards. Today there are 50 million.

DIET

Per capita meat consumption fell to its lowest level in 20 years in 1996 as Canadians continued a long-term trend of including more low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, poultry, rice and nuts in their diet. Canadians have shifted away from red meat, whole milk and alcoholic beverages. Last year each Canadian ate less than 90 kilograms of meat - beef, pork and poultry - down 2 kilograms per person from five years ago. While per capita cheese consumption has held more or less steady over the past five years, the 10.7 kg consumed per person in 1996 was 56% higher than two decades ago.

GIFTWARE

Industry Canada estimates that the giftware industry in Canada is worth $600 million and employs 45,000 manufacturers, artists and artisans. Currently, export sales for the industry are up 22 per cent, with most shipments being sent to the United States, Western Europe and Japan.

HONG KONG

This territory is the fourth-largest source of foreign investment in the world. The gross domestic product, with 6.3 million people, comes to more than 20 per cent of China's total GDP based on a population of 1.2 billion and more than 60 per cent of external investment in China comes from Hong Kong.

TRANSFERS

Proximity to family is playing a greater role in an employee's decision to relocate and remains the No. 1 reason for declining a transfer. Seventy-five per cent of employees who rejected transfers last year did so because of a desire to remain near their families. The Atlas Van Lines annual survey of 165 U.S. and Canadian companies found that spousal employment has also become a major consideration for employees considering changing cities for their job, moving ahead of living costs as the No. 2 determinant.

FLOWERS

With total annual sales of more than $1 billion, the Ontario floriculture industry is growing at 4 per cent a year, faster than the Canadian economy.

AIRLINES

Air Canada is winning the battle for airline business between Canada and the U.S. despite competition from some of the largest and most aggressive airlines in the world. Air Canada continues to expand while heavyweights such as American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta are pulling back following the open skies treaty of February 1995. Air Canada is flying 88,000 seats to and from the U.S. every week this summer compared with Canadian Airline's 26,000. American Airlines has 36,000 seats, followed by Northwest and Delta with 30,000 each.

INVESTMENT

Canadian business and government plan to invest a record $110.9 billion in plant and equipment in 1997, an 11% increase from 1996. This is the fourth consecutive gain and the largest annual increase in investment since 1993. The growth is evident in many sectors of the economy, most notably the service producing industries which account for 54% of the increase. This latest survey shows much stronger investment for 1997 with an increase of $6.6 billion from what was originally planned earlier this year. Revised spending intentions are based on a sample survey of 23,000 businesses, governments and institutions which had a 77 per cent response rate.

ASSETS

By the end of 1997, there will be $1.8 trillion in structures and equipment being used to produce goods and services in the economy. This amounts to more than $125,000 of capital resources per person at work. This capital endowment of employees has increased by about 60% since the mid-1970s. The strong increase in assets has been especially notable in machinery and equipment, indicating that the economy has been incorporating the latest technological innovations at a rapid rate. The drive by industries to become more productive and competitive in the global economy lies behind this rapid build-up of assets.

TREASURE

Prospectors have moored a barge in the Ottawa River at the end of a sewer pipe hoping to salvage gold and silver in the mud from the Royal Canadian Mint. They are hoping to scoop one million ounces of gold, which at current prices would be worth around $420 million. Stories about flushed minerals began in the early 1900s. With a waste rate of 2 or 3 per cent, compared with less than one per cent today, a lot of gold went out of the pipes at the mint into about 25 metres of water in the bay.

LAWNS

5.5 million power mowers are sold annually in the U.S. But the hot product this summer has been the push-powered lawn mower. Apparently, fit-conscious, noise-conscious and environmentally conscious people are anxious to get back to basics. The American Lawn Mower Co. sold 250,000 of them last year, up nearly 150 per cent over five years ago. Sales are predicted to hit 300,00 this year and keep climbing at 20 per cent to 30 per cent annually. They are selling faster now than they did during the 1940s and 1950s when there were no alternatives.

SIZE

Two American car makers became the world's biggest companies in 1996 (ranked by sales), displacing the three Japanese trading giants that had topped the list for the previous two years. General Motors tops the Fortune 500 list with sales of $168 billion. Ford came second at $147 billion. Of the world's 15 biggest companies, the only one that was neither Japanese nor American was Royal Dutch Shell, a European oil company.

GREEN

A growing demand in China for organically grown foods will shortly be worth $2.5 billion a year. According to a recent survey, more than 70 per cent of Shanghai residents are dissatisfied with current availability and variety and the city is one of the first areas to produce green food.

FOOTWEAR

Canadian manufacturers produced 4,811,354 pairs of footwear in the second quarter of 1997, an increase of 12.5% from the 4,275,303 pairs produced in the same quarter a year earlier. Year-to-date production totalled 8,716,155 (revised) pairs of footwear, up 4.7% from the 8,323,801 pairs produced during the same period in 1996.

RUBBER

According to Fortune magazine, plantations along the South China Sea are the source of 93 per cent of the world's natural rubber. If the South American leaf blight somehow crossed the Pacific, it could wipe them out. At least a third of the rubber in every tire comes from a tree. Without natural rubber, airplanes could not land safely and the trucking industry would be crippled. Doctors and hospital administrators have also learned that they depend on natural rubber for a host of crucial products.

WEATHER

Newly analyzed data from 5,400 weather stations around the world indicates global warming is happening mostly at night and mostly in winter at high latitudes. Warmer evenings could mean longer growing seasons, between frosts, in Canada and Siberia. At the same time, fewer hard midwinter freezes might allow more soil-dwelling agricultural pests to survive the cold months. No one is yet certain if farmers would come out ahead or not.

GAS

Surging natural gas demand is set to make Asia the biggest global energy user by 2010. Huge projects with a combined price tag of $60 billion (U.S.) are moving ahead. Gas consumption in Asia will more than double in the next 13 years as its share in overall energy use, now only 6 per cent, rises closer to the 30 per cent share that gas holds in U.S. consumption. Japan forecasts that total Asian energy demand will reach 3.3 billion tons of oil equivalent in 2010, 10 per cent more than in North America, today's top-ranking energy consumer.

JAPAN

-Japanese comic books are $1 billion dollar industry that account for a third of the country's publishing output.
-When the Fukui Chamber of Commerce in Japan did a survey to discover what people considered to be a long line-up, the average answer was 274 people.
-Japan's squid fleet is so huge that when it switches on all its lights in the North Pacific at night to draw squid to its nets, it can be seen by orbiting astronauts.

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August 1997 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

August 1997 Edition

BRAINS

In 1975, more than a fifth of the 10 million people in the labour force had no high school education. Today, barely 750,000 of Canada's more than 15 million workers have such little education and their numbers are shrinking. Almost as startling is the increase in workers with university degrees or other postsecondary certificates or diplomas. There were only 2 million in 1975; these people now number 7.3 million, nearly half the labour force.

CONNECTED

Canada's small businesses are quickly embracing the Internet. A new study shows that about a quarter of the country's 2.3 million self-employed workers are using the information highway. The survey of 6,761 members of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that the proportion of Internet users among these small and medium-sized business in the first quarter of 1997 was almost double the level from a year earlier. The largest concentration is in B.C. where 43 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses are on-line.

BUSINESS PLANS

A new Internet-based planning tool will take entrepreneurs through the step-by-step preparation of a bank-ready business plan. The Interactive Business Planner (www.sb.gov.bc.ca), is the Canada\British Columbia Business Service Centre's newest Web tool and is designed to make number crunching easier. When the financial data is entered, the IBP automatically generates an income statement, cash-flow statements and balance sheet. The planner is linked to other information sources on the Internet.

WORRIES

In a new survey of 725 Canadian small businesses, with annual sales under $10 million, 35 per cent put higher sales at the top of their list of worries. Only four per cent see lack of skilled labour as a problem. A weak economy was mentioned by 19 per cent; taxes by 18 per cent; controlling costs, 16 per cent and finding equity, 13 per cent. The search for equity was more of a concern for female owners than males.

COUPONS

Canadian consumers redeemed three million more coupons last year than in 1995. This growth reverses the trend in the U.S. where coupon use has dropped. Canadian manufacturers distributed directly to consumers 3.3 billion coupons, eight per cent more than in 1995. Shoppers using cents-off coupons and grocery and personal care products produced savings of $100 million in 1996 which does not include those issued by fast-food chains and other retailers. Canadians also benefited from higher coupon values which rose to a record 70 cents each on average from 68 cents a year earlier.

TENDERIZING

A researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that explosives can be used to tenderize meat. If done right, the meat doesn't fall apart or lose its colour. The technique involves vacuum-packing beef, lamb, pork or poultry in a plastic bag and putting it into a 280-gallon tank of water. An explosion is generated using a small quantity of high explosives in the water at a precise distance from the meat resulting in instant tenderness without exposure to chemical additives. The idea was suggested by a retired nuclear-weapons specialist.

DVD

By the end of the year, the music industry expects to produce the final specification for an audio version of the digital versatile disc (DVD) which could become as popular as cassette tapes and compact discs. A video version of the new disc, which looks like a standard compact disc but has much higher capacity, is already available in North America and Asia. Initial sales of DVD video hardware and software have been strong. Record companies hope DVD audio will revitalize the music market as the launch of CD's did in the 1980s. Global retail sales of recorded music were static in 1996 at US$39.8 billion.

DOCUMENTS

While the percentage of documents stored on paper is shrinking, the total number of documents organizations are generating is increasing at a much faster rate. Paper usage is increasing by 15 per cent a year in the U.S. and Canadian figures are probably comparable. It is estimated that around 15 per cent of a company's revenue is devoted to publishing activity. Companies now spend around 10 per cent of their revenue handling paper documents and office workers spend up to 60 per cent of their time preparing, filing, copying and faxing documents.

QUALITY

A survey by Canadian Foreign Affairs and International Trade of more than 5,000 people in 20 countries attempted to gauge what the rest of the world thinks about Canada. The country is still perceived as a source of natural resource products but there is a growing awareness of the country as a producer of high-quality goods and services. A majority of people from Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Ukraine, Israel and South Africa say that Canadian products and services are better than those from other developed countries.

WASHING MACHINES

Europeans are fanatical about their washing machines which load from the front claiming they wash better and are far superior to American ones which are traditionally loaded from the top. Front loaders only account for two per cent of the U.S. home market. A key reason is price: European models sell for as much as $3,000 against $500 for the average U.S. top-loader. They cost more to build because their doors must be watertight and need more sensitive suspensions to balance their loads spinning horizontally. Now Maytag is about to introduce European-style front loaders which they say clean better, use less water, detergent and energy, and even slash drying time by whirling more water from a wash load. The price should come in around $1,000 and some California utilities will be offering rebates of $250 to buyers to encourage conservation.

MICROWAVES

Microwaves can be used to fix potholes according to scientists at the Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee. They have developed a technique that heats the area around a pothole and uses the surrounding asphalt to fill the gap. The repairs are seamless and smoother to drive over and are expected to create a stronger patch than the traditional method of compacting hot asphalt into the hole. Repairs can also be made year round.

COPYRIGHT

Corporate Canada could soon face millions of dollars in new copyright fees under a plan by Canada's copyright collective. Cancopy has served notice to the legal and banking industries that it wants them to pay a new license fee for routine photocopying. A similar fee is already being paid by educational institutions and some pharmaceutical, steel and media monitoring companies.

STANDARDS

The European Union has reached deals with Canada and the U.S. on mutual recognition of safety standards covering $45 billion (U.S.) a year in trade. Products tested and approved for sale in Europe will be considered ready for sale in Canada and the U.S. without having to go through certification procedures. Canadian and American products will have the same advantages entering the 15-country EU. The agreement is meant to reduce the time and expense of trade and paves the way for the eventual harmonization of North American and EU standards.It is hoped the treaty will come into effect in January 1998.

TECHNOLOGY

It is reported that Canada Post and the U.S. Postal Service will install wireless technology to measure the flow of mail to and from Europe. The hardware, which fits inside an ordinary letter-size envelope, is used to track how long an international letter spends in a particular country and to divide up the $5.5 billion (U.S.) in annual international stamp revenues. Eighteen European countries already use this technology to measure cross-border mail flows.

CYBERTAX

A high-profile group of business leaders has warned that governments must negotiate global treaties to cover electronic commerce or risk seeing their tax revenues vanish into cyberspace. National laws are no longer adequate to govern transactions made in the electronic ether, where it is difficult to determine where buyer and seller reside or even where the sale took place. They expect merchandising on the Internet to grow from about $500 million (U.S.) today to about $5 billion by 2000. Taxing data transfers, the so-called bit tax, has been rejected as it would slow the growth of electronic commerce and would be difficult to apply.

DUTY-FREE

Duty-free was an Irish invention that began in the late 1940s at Shannon Airport in Ireland where transatlantic flights had to stop for fuel. It is now a global industry worth more than $20 billion (U.S.), half of which takes place in Europe. But the European business will be massively reduced if the European Union goes ahead with plans to end duty-free shopping for people travelling among the 15 member states as of July 1, 1999. The thinking behind the EU decision is that there is no role for duty-free in a single European market, where borders are evaporating and where tax rates are supposed to be harmonized

INSURANCE

World insurance premiums have broken through the $2 trillion (U.S.) mark for the first time according to Swiss Reinsurance Co. of Switzerland. In 1995, premium volume was $2.14 trillion, up 3.7 per cent from the previous year. Life insurance counted for $1.24 trillion of the total, reaching record highs in Japan, South Korea and South Africa.

ISRAEL

The Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement saw bilateral trade grow by 38 per cent in the first quarter of 1997. Canadian exports to Israel rose nearly 40 per cent with four industries leading the way--processed foods, chemical products, machinery and electronic equipment and paper products. Exports from Israel to Canada increased 36 per cent with plastics, precious stones and metals, and machinery and electrical equipment leading the way.

SHIPPING

July 1, 1998 is the implementation date for the International Safety management code. While the U.S. says non-compliant vessels will be barred from its ports, Canada has yet to make a decision. Global shipowners have been apathetic in adopting the code and it is estimated that less than 10 per cent of the global fleet has achieved compliance so far. The International Maritime Organization has said there will be no deferral of the target date for enforcing compliance. Shipping executives do not expect the code to be met but maintain that the world fleet will continue operating.

EAST ASIA

This area represents 25 per cent of global economic output, about the same as North America. But over the next decade it will account for half to two-thirds of world economic growth. Canadian exports to Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have dropped over the past year but increased to China, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The World Bank predicts East Asian GDP growth rates of 7 per cent through to 2005 with imports growing by 11 per cent annually. It is estimated that over the next decade, the Asian members of APEC will have to spend $1.5 trillion on transportation systems, electricity plants, water distribution and telecommunications.

ROYALTIES

The Prudential Insurance Co. of America paid $69 million for an issue of Bowie Bonds, based on the future royalties of rock star David Bowie.

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