March 2008 Economic Digest - Importing and Exportin

March 2008 Edition

TOURISM

 
Canada is threatening to haul China before the WTO for discriminating against Canada by refusing to negotiate a tourism agreement that could provide billions of dollars for Canadian tourism businesses. Canada believes it could attract at least 700,000 and perhaps a million Chinese tourists annually if it wins an agreement known as "Approved Destination Status (ADS) which Canada has been seeking since 1999. Without an ADS, Canada is banned from advertising itself as a tourist destination in China and Chinese tour groups are prohibited from going to Canada.

BUMBERSHOOT

This is another name for an umbrella. A new one should be able to tell Americans when to prepare for rain. The device tracks the forecast for any of 150 U.S. locations. When rain is expected in the next few hours, the umbrella's handle illuminates. Patterns change to indicate rain, drizzle or thunderstorms.

SIZE

Panasonic recently introduced the "life screen," a TV set with a screen six feet high and 11 feet long. It enables viewers to watch everything in life size. The 227-kilogram set is expected to cost around $100,000. One drawback is that the life screen can only be watched comfortably from 30 feet away, making it unsuitable for most living rooms.

TAXES

A new theory hypothesizes that high taxes, not incomes, redistributes people. As proof it is noted that New York State, with maximum personal income tax rate of 10.5 per cent, lost more than 1.9 million people between 1997 and 2006. California with a maximum personal income tax rate of 10.3 per cent lost more than 1.3 million people. In contrast, Florida and Texas, both with a zero tax personal income tax rate, gained more than 1.6 million and 769,000 people respectively.

PIPELINE

The new 1,200 kilometre pipeline being constructed between Vyborg, Russia under the Baltic Sea to Greifswald in Northern Germany is both controversial and a huge technical and logistical challenge. Once construction is completed at the end of 2010, the pipeline will supply Russian natural gas to customers all over Europe. The long-term goal is to supply up to 55-billion cubic metres of gas each year. The project is expected to cost US$7.4-billion, but due to delays could cost much more.

TALENT

Last November, the International Baccalaureate exam, one of the world's most challenging tests of academic proficiency, was taken by 5,500 students from 125 countries. Twenty of them scored the maximum of 45 points and almost half of them were from a single school, the independent Anglo-Chinese school in Singapore. A score of 40 qualifies a student for admission to an Ivy League university in the U.S. or to Oxford in the U.K.

TASTE

Marmalade companies in the U.K are to launch a new form of the orange spread to appeal to youngsters in the hope of halting slumping sales. This market was worth about US$100-million but fell by two per cent in value over the past year because of a drop in demand. One company which has launched an orange spread has also developed apricot and carrot varieties which combine jam and marmalade properties.

DISASTERS

From winter storms in Europe, flooding in Britain and wildfires in the U.S., losses to natural disasters nearly doubled in 2007 to just below US$30-billion globally after an unusually quiet 2006.One large insurer warns that climate change could mean a growing number of weather-related catastrophes in coming years.

VEHICLES

GM executives claim that cars that drive themselves, even parking at their destination, could be ready for sale within a decade. Much of the technology already exists for vehicles to drive themselves such as radar-based cruise control, motion sensors, lane-change warning devices, electronic stability control and satellite-based digital mapping. The most significant obstacles could be human rather than technical; government regulations, liability laws, privacy concerns and people's passion for the control of automobiles.

ELEVATORS

Mitsubishi in Japan has opened the world's tallest elevator testing tower, a 173 metre-high structure. It is worth US$50-million and will be used to conduct research into high-speed elevators to serve the next generation of super tall buildings. It will test new drives, gears, cables and other lift systems. The world's current tallest building is the Taipei 101 at 1,666 feet but it will soon be dwarfed by towers in Dubai, Shanghai, Moscow and Chicago. Even traditionally low-rise London will soon have a 1,017 foot building, the tallest skyscraper in Europe.

LIGHTS

A new type of super-efficient household light bulb is being developed which could spell the end of regular bulbs. Experts have found a way to make Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) brighter and use less power than energy efficient light bulbs currently on the market. The technology, used in gadgets such as mobile phones and computers, had previously not been powerful enough to be used for lighting.

JOBS

According to analysis of U.S. Labour Statistics, department stores have slashed 247,100 jobs since 2001. Economists believe that technology has played a significant role in the downsizing. The industry spends US$34.5-billion annually on all kinds of in-store and stockroom technology.

TRENDS

The number of Christmas cards sold in Britain has dropped by 20 million in the past two years. The fall has been blamed on the rise of the "eCard," an electronic greeting sent over the Internet or by mobile phone. This is increasingly popular with young people who say it is easier, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional cards. A new survey found that 40 per cent of 16 to 35-year-olds are happy to abandon traditional cards in favour of eCards.

PLASTIC

China is declaring war on "white pollution" choking its cities, farms and waterways and is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old, steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers. There is no estimate of the number of bags used in China or the savings in terms of petroleum used to produce them.

KNIVES

The iconic Swiss Army Knife fell out of favour when airlines banned pocket knives and mobile phones and MP3 players vied for pocket space. Still, the strong Swiss-made label and perceptions of quality have recently helped lift sales of the knife by five per cent in the past two years in the face of cheaper competition and imitations. The private company that makes them had sales of US$418-million in 2006 and has now diversified into products such as luggage, kitchen knives, clothing, watches and even a perfume.

WINE

European governments are to pay wine makers to tear out 175,000 hectares of vines yielding low-quality grapes and put quality over quantity in a push to make wines from Chianti to Bordeaux more competitive with "New World" producers. Mass produced wines from California, Australia and South Africa are flooding into Europe. The 27-nation EU bottles and drinks three-fifths of the world's wine.

MAINTENANCE

The value of the global industry for aircraft maintenance and overhaul (MRO) in 2007 was US$41-million. 37 per cent of the work was done in North America, one per cent in India, five per cent in the Middle East, six per cent in China and the balance spread around the world. The market is expected to grow by almost nine per cent a year for the next five years and by 2017 will be worth $62-billion annually with both India and the Middle East increasing their share of the market.

ADVERTISING

Eleven leading companies in the European food and beverage industry have voluntarily agreed to change their policies on advertising for children by the end of 2008, setting standards on nutritional content to encourage more healthful lifestyles. They have agreed not to advertise food and beverages on television programmes, web sites or in the print media where children under 12 could be considered target audience, except for products that meet specific nutrition criteria.

AFRICA

A 14-teraflop Blue Gene supercomputer capable of making 14-trillion floating point calculations per second and worth about $2-million is being donated by IBM to a Centre for High Performance Computing in Cape Town, South Africa. This will be the most powerful supercomputer on the African continent and will be available free of charge to any qualifying African institution for use on advanced scientific projects. The donation is to stimulate scientific and socio-economic progress in the region.

HEALTH

Walt Disney Co., which claims to employ more people in one place than any other company in the U.S., has announced plans to build a medical centre for its workers at its Florida theme park. The $6-million, 15,000-square-foot clinic, to be open nights and weekends, is scheduled to open in 2009.

EATING

Restaurant industry sales in the U.S. are expected to reach $558-billion in 2008. The industry is entering its 17th consecutive year of real sales growth this year. Sales at full-service restaurants are projected to reach $188-billion this year, an increase of 4.3 per cent over 2007. Expanded menu choices, meeting the demand of today's increasingly sophisticated and value conscious consumer and added off-premise options (takeout and delivery) will drive the growth.

FUNDS

Saudi Arabia plans to establish a sovereign wealth fund that is expected to dwarf Abu Dhabi's US$900-billion and become the largest in the world. The new fund will be a formidable rival for other government-owned investment funds in the Middle East and Asia which are playing an increasingly active role in channelling capital to western companies.

COMPETITION

Tesco is Britain's biggest supermarket group and the world's third largest retailer. The company now intends to build 50 Fresh & Easy stores in southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix by February 2009, and 200 more stores per year after that in these areas, becoming about a US$10-billion operation by 2015.

HAM

Pure Iberian ham is one of Spain's most famous and possibly its most expensive export. It can cost up to US$2,000 for a whole leg. Acorns, the staple diet of the thoroughbred pigs used to produce the ham, are in short supply due to the rapid spread of a fungus that has been linked to climate change. Fuelled by drought, the fungus is killing up to 190,000 trees, or 10,000 acres annually. Exports of ham to Europe alone are worth US$90-million a year to the Spanish economy.

RECYCLING

Mourners shivering in a chapel in the U.K. are to be kept warm by using heat generated from cremating their loved ones. The City Council says that the heat generated will be enough to power the boiler and light the chapel. They admit this is a sensitive issue and have promised to consult clergy and the wider community. One priest says that as a final act of generosity, it's a lovely way for the dead to provide comfort for the living at a difficult time.

Thank you for reading the A & A Economic News Digest. For more information visit our website www.aacb.com or contact A & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd. at strehler@aacb.com.

Past issues of the A&A Economic News Digest can be found at http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/index.asp

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February 2008 Economic Digest - Importing and Exportin

February 2008 Edition

SOFTWARE

 
Sales of software for the retail industry in the U.S. could hit US$10.4-billion by 2011, growing at an average rate of 7 per cent from sales last year of $7.3-billion. The market remains primed for growth as retailers seek to replace aging merchandising infrastructures, transform store shopping experiences for consumers and efficiently respond to changing demand and trends.

POCKETS

Increasingly, it is getting harder for men to buy shirts with pockets. Tailors say such a luxury ruins the lines of a shirt and as a result, they are selling fewer of them. One major retailer reports that 90 per cent of shirts sold 10 years ago had pockets, compared with 25 per cent last year.

TIPS

Magellan's, which sells a wide range of products for travellers has compiled a list that shows the going tipping rates for porters, valets, taxi drivers and restaurant staff in countries around the world. But in some countries, less is expected. In Morocco, the rule of thumb after a meal is to leave loose change for the restaurant staff. And there are countries like New Zealand and Japan whose service workers do not expect tips.

SATISFACTION

In past years, retailers have attempted to level the playing field in a competitive environment through better management of the supply chain. But many of today's customers are demanding quality, convenience and personalized service over price and retailers are responding. Researchers say that 61 per cent of 160 global retail executives and managers surveyed say they are focused on providing a high quality customer service strategy.

WINE

Last year was a record year for Australian wine exports which were up nine per cent over the previous 12-month period both in volume and value. In the 12 months to October 2007, Australia exported US$2.6-billion worth of wine, of which $880-million went to the U.K. Britain was the biggest market followed by the U.S., Canada, Germany and New Zealand. Ireland and the Netherlands were equal fifth biggest consumers.

SOUND

Canada's sound recording and music publishing industry turned a relatively healthy profit in 2005 despite the worldwide decline in record sales and increased competition from other forms of entertainment. In total the industry, which includes record production, music publishing and recording studios, reported operating revenues of C$942-million. Record production, by far the largest segment, accounted for almost 80 per cent of revenues and the other two segments roughly 10 per cent each.

TEA

A revolution is brewing in the U.K which could spell the end of the paper teabag. Supermarkets have begun stocking teabags made from nylon mesh, rather than the traditional perforated tissue paper. Although the nylon bags are four times more expensive than the paper versions, they are proving popular with consumers. This comes after research revealed that Britons consume some of the worst quality tea in the world.

HIGH FASHION

Retailers and brands are increasingly relying on the Internet to market $3,000 skirts and $5,000 suits to consumers who think nothing of spending that much on clothing. Luxury apparel sales online will approach US$1-billion this year. E-commerce is expected to grow by 21 per cent compared with last year and growth in luxury apparel sales is expected to exceed that.

PAY

Though a small minority in corporate boardrooms in the U.S., women directors typically earn more than men. Last year, female directors in corporate America earned median compensation of US$120,000 compared with $$104,375 for male board members. At the same time, women in corporate boardrooms are outnumbered eight to one.

SIZE

The US$800-million Independence of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship and would have dwarfed the Titanic. It has 18 decks, nearly 2,000 cabins, three swimming pools, surf simulator, ice-skating rink, wedding chapel, theatre, casino, a nine-hole golf course and 11 restaurants and bars. It will not be the largest for long as another cruise liner, 45 per cent bigger than the Independence, is already under construction.

ACCESS

About one third (an estimated 8.2 million) of adult Canadians accessed government information and services in 2005, making the Internet an important channel for government. A study found that men accounted for just over one half (53 per cent) of Government On-Line (GOL) users. Higher levels of personal income and education were also important factors. The most common reasons reported for connecting online with governments were searching for information (72%), accessing material on programs or services (60%) and downloading forms (50%).

JAPAN

Hitachi has already stopped making PCs for individual consumers but will still make some for corporate customers. Consumers in Japan are shunning PCs as millions download music directly to cell phones and many more use their handsets for online shopping and to play games. Digital cameras connect directly to printers and high-definition TVs for viewing photos, bypassing PCs all together. More than 50 per cent of Japanese send e-mail and browse the Internet from their cell phones.

DESSERT

New research shows that virtually everyone enjoys dessert from time to time. In a recent survey, the vast majority, 85 per cent, said that they eat dessert once a month or more. No respondents said that they "never" eat desserts. More than half of consumers, 57 per cent, reported eating desserts "very frequently" or "often" (at least once a week). Traditional desserts such as chocolate-chip cookies, a dish of vanilla ice cream or a slice of apple pie are still the most popular desserts.

SPAM

The U.S. relays more spam to the world's inbox than any other country. Despite the CAN-SPAM Act, nearly 30 per cent of all unsolicited e-mails between July and September of 2007 were sent via computers in the U.S. The next biggest spamming countries were, South Korea, China, Russia and Brazil.

GREEN

An innovative project is being tried out in South Africa. Four pairs of solar-powered traffic lights have been installed in one suburb. If the pilot is successful, many more such lights could be installed across South Africa within the next few years. The lights are powered by a 3.6m2 solar panel tilted at a 30 degree angle to ensure maximum efficiency in capturing the sun's rays. To prevent vandalism, the panel is located at the top of an 18-foot pole while the batteries are located in a thief-proof concrete casing.

ENERGY

Energy drinks are benefiting from burgeoning sales in the noncarbonated category. Sales are expected to grow at a yearly rate of 12 per cent in the U.S., exceeding sales of US$9-billion by 2011. Since 2002, when total sales were just $1.2-billion, the market for energy drinks has soared almost 440 per cent overall to an estimated $6.6-billion in 2007.

GROWTH

Concerned about high fuel costs and the impact of a slowing economy, several big U.S. airlines are putting the brakes on domestic growth for 2008. So far, airlines say the economic worries haven't slowed business travel. Planes are flying fuller than ever but airlines also have been curbing domestic growth in favour of more lucrative overseas expansion, where they face less competition and have more room to keep fares strong.

PHONES

After 129 years, AT&T Inc. plans to leave the pay phone business as more people use wireless handsets to make calls. The first pay phone, installed in 1878, had an attendant who took callers' money. The first coin-operated phone was installed in a bank in Hartford, Conn. in 1879. At their peak in 1998, there were 2.6 million pay phones in the U.S.

MARKETS

India and China are the twin titans of the developing world. With a combined population of 2.4 billion, they have more than a third of the world's population, and 15 per cent of world trade. That share of trade is expected to rise to 40 per cent within a generation. By then, China is forecast to be the world's biggest economy by purchasing power and India the third largest. China has been better at putting in place the infrastructure needed for development, a spider's web of new superhighways, rail and air links and port facilities, while India's rail, road and port systems are a mess. However, India's vibrant private sector has fostered an number of world-class companies.

TECHNOLOGY

A self-tuning guitar said to be the first that uses robot technology, has been launched. The US$2,500 Gibson Robot is able to tune itself using six presets which musicians can switch to by pushing a button as they play. It works by a device in the bridge monitoring the pitch of the strings and also retunes itself automatically within seconds after string changes.

BALLOONS

Helium is the talk of the party-balloon industry nowadays. The second-most plentiful element in the universe is suddenly in short supply on the planet because demand has taken off in industry and in scientific research. Some party wholesalers are no longer selling balloons any more because they cannot get helium.

MISSING

The missing section of a 17th century cabinet worth over C$2-million has been found outside the toilets of a pizza restaurant in Yorkshire, England. It had been feared that the stand, used to hold the intricate piece of furniture featuring scenes of Rome, had been lost for ever.

ASSETS

Canada's national wealth in fixed assets, as measured by the total value of all its non-residential buildings, engineering structures and machinery and equipment, increased by 22 per cent between 1997 and 2007. This was largely the result of strong investment by the nation's mining and oil and gas extraction industries. By the end of 2007, the net value of buildings, structures and equipment used to produce goods and services was C$1.6-trillion.

RESORTS

Europe is to get its own version of Las Vegas in a desert region of eastern Spain. Developers plan to build 32 hotel-casinos, two theme parks, a race course and stadium over the next decade. The project also calls for residential areas, an equestrian centre and a golf course. Developers expect that the complex will receive 25 million visitors per year when it is completed. Millions are being spent in the nearby city of Zaragoza to upgrade rail and air connections and expand its small airport to accommodate the visitors. After France. Spain is the most visited country in Europe.

CHEERS

To prepare for the Olympics, authorities in Beijing have launched a campaign to teach residents how to cheer in a disciplined and orderly way. Instructors are touring factories, community centres and even old people's homes to teach tens of thousands of people civilized sportsmanship which will include the polite noise of rhythmic clapping and drumming from 20 pre-approved chants.

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

January 2008 Economic Digest - Importing and Exportin

January 2008 Edition

Fedex

There can be as many as 280 Fedex planes in the air at any time. The company has 670 planes making it the second-largest airline behind American Airlines. Rival UPS has 277 planes. Fedex flies 238 million air miles each year and in the U.S. alone, its trucks drive 1.29 billion km a year. Fedex runs a fleet of 75,000 trucks worldwide. On December 18, 2006, Fedex moved a record 9.8 million packages through its global air and ground networks. This compares with just 186 parcels handled on Fedex's first night of operations, April 17, 1973.

Eating

Casual dining chains in the US have been having problems lately with sales softening as cash-strapped customers trade down. Middle class consumers have less spending money because of higher gasoline prices and the depressed housing market. Another problem is the resurgence of fast-food chains which is now known as "fast casual" which now have better, healthier products and better environments. Applebee's which was recently acquired by IHOP, and spends about $180 million a year on advertising, is changing its ad campaign to combat this.

Disparity

Of the 57,095 people in Canada in 2001 who held a doctorate in either science or engineering, some 45,670, or nearly 80 per cent were men. In contrast, women accounted for 47 per cent of employed Canadians and 57 per cent of university graduates. For every dollar earned by male doctorate holders, female doctorate holders earned 77 cents.

Convenience

The Kaneko Sangyo Co. of Japan has developed a new portable toilet for cars. It comes with a curtain large enough to conceal users and a plastic bag to collect waste. The product is small enough to fit into a suitcase and will come in handy during major disasters such as earthquakes or when caught in a traffic jam.

Size

In its first commercial flight, the A380 airbus recently touched down in Changi Airport in Singapore. The upgrades to Changi to accommodate the A380 began three years ago. The runways were widened because the A380 engines are far apart and the risk of debris ingestion had to be limited. Bridges over roads had to be strengthened, baggage belt carousels lengthened, 19 gates enlarged and seating added to departures lounges that will serve the A380. The cost of all this was US$40 million.

eBay

The world's largest online auctioneer has launched a website that allows people to invest in loans that lift people out of poverty. The site, called MicroPlace, acts as a broker between ordinary investors and microfinance organizations. For as little as $100, US investors will be able to help entrepreneurs in poor countries, be they coffee sellers in Cambodia or hairdressers in Ghana. Microfinance is the supply of small, usually unsecured loans to poor households and small businesses in developing countries. The investments offer investors returns of from 1.5 to 3.00 per cent.

GM

Recent figures show that the area planted to genetically modified crops in England has grown by 77 per cent since last year. In 2007, more than 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of GM maize was harvested. This is still a small fraction of the total farmed area of Europe and also tiny compared with the one million sq km under GM around the world, an expanse four times the size of Britain.

Beer

China has the world's largest thirst for beer, comfortably outstripping the U.S. which is in second place. China consumes 305 million hectolitres against the 235 million hectolitres consumed in the U.S. Germany is the third largest beer consumer followed by Brazil, Russia, Japan and Britain. Half the beer in the US is made by one company while the most popular brand in China commands only five per cent of the market.

Money

The UN's Fund for Agricultural Development estimates that over 150 million migrants send $301 billion to their families in 162 developing countries. Although Mexico and India receive the most cash, at around $24.5 billion each, this represents less than 3 per cent of GDP. By contrast Guinea-Bissau relies heavily on its migrants' money with remittances making up nearly half of GDP.

Income

Wages in China's cities rose by nearly 20 per cent in 2007, adding to fears that the economy is overheating. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the average salary was US$2,175. In recent years it has been the salaries at foreign-run multinationals that have caused most envy, but those in the state-owned enterprises are now catching up. Rising prices and inflation are putting pressure on the government to rein in the economy.

Teaching

Some 4,000 foreign teachers in Japan are without jobs and are owed significant back pay as Japan's largest school chain, Nova Corp. closed its 900 schools and declared bankruptcy. and failed to pay refunds to its 400,000 students. In 2002, the government estimated that there were 15,800 foreign teachers in Japan and about one million students at private language schools.

Green

Your "carbon footprint" is a rough calculation of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, either directly or indirectly, to support your lifestyle. If you get 30 per cent of your calories from meat, dairy and poultry, as most Americans do, your diet contributes more than 3,275 pounds of carbon dioxide to the environment each year. Replace red meat with fish, eggs and poultry and you save 950 pounds. A vegetarian would save 1,600 pounds.

Ink

Scientists have developed printer ink that vanishes after 24 hours. When a document is printed on reusable paper, the text initially appears similar to normal printed text, only a shade of dark purple rather than black. Eight hours later, the image has faded and after a day it is gone completely. The blank page can then be put back in the printer, saving waste paper.

Giving

Canadian taxfilers reported making charitable donations totalling C$8.5-billion in 2006, up 8.3 per cent over 2005. The amount of donations increased in all provinces and territories. In 2006, the median donation was $250. Donors in Nunavut led all provinces and territories in 2006 with a median donation of $450.

War

A report on armed conflict in Africa has shown that the cost to the continent's development over a fifteen year period was nearly US$300-billion, equal to the amount of aid received in the same period. Between 1990 and 2005, 23 African nations were involved in conflict, and on average this cost African economies US$18-billion a year.

Halloween

This past holiday season saw retailers in the US sell more than US$2.1-billion worth of candy. Chocolate and non-chocolate miniature candies generated more than a third (39 per cent) of Halloween candy sales. The average candy-buying household spent $74.68 during the year and purchased candy 19 times per year.

Resources

The characterization of Canada's resources sector as "hewers of wood and drawers of water" is outdated. The economy has rediscovered its resource base over the past five years thanks to a surge in commodity prices now in the midst of their longest and strongest upswing ever. Since 2002 there has been a large shift in the resource sector away from trees and water. Metals and energy products found underground now drive the growth of resources.

Wealth

China's booming stock markets are creating a new elite class of the superrich giving the country more billionaires than any country in the world, except the U.S. There are now 106 dollar-billionaires in China, up from 15 in 2006 and none the previous year. The two richest people in China are women.

Coffee

Sales of organic coffee are growing rapidly. US retail sales of organic coffee in 2006 increased 24 per cent to US$110-million. The industry states that this dramatic increase in organic coffee sales mirrors the continuing growth in the overall organic sector and reflects consumers' increasing awareness of these products, their high quality and the availability of these products.

Loss

Motorists are being forced to spend as much as $700 on replacement car keys because of increasingly sophisticated alarm systems. It is estimated that the total replacement bill for motorists in the UK that do not have replacement keys could be $200 million. It usually costs about $400 to design, program and make a new key but those used in some new cars cost significantly more.

Phones

Sixty three per cent of 1,531 Canadians polled in a recent survey say they will register with a Do Not Call registry when it comes into effect. It is estimated that nine million phone numbers could be on the Canadian registry by 2011.

Siberia

Russia is forging ahead with ambitious energy projects. Work has now begun on a 4,130km oil pipeline, the longest in the world's largest country. The plan is to feed the growing demand for oil in China and Russia's other energy-hungry East Asian neighbours. However, the indigenous Evank people are complaining that their age-old way of life is in danger as thousands of reindeer have been driven away because of construction, thus affecting their livelihoods.

Bookings

US travel produced double digit sales growth in 2006 but unlike other major e-commerce markets this one actually lost customers. A recent survey of more than 60,000 internet users in the US found that 9 per cent fewer people booked travel online in 2006 than in 2005. One expert claims that customers are tired of spending two to three hours trying to find the airline or hotel or vacation package that meets their needs.

Distributoin

Canada's film and video distributors reported revenues of C$1.7-billion in 2005, down 8.2 per cent from 2004, mainly as a result of a reduction in exports. Total expenses surged to $1.4-billion in the same period.

Wafers

IBM Corp. has developed a silicon wafer recycling system that may help ease the refined silicon shortage that has limited output of solar energy panels. Every day about 250,000 wafers are produced globally to make chips for products from cellphones to computers and to monitor and control manufacturing. IBM can remove intellectual property from discarded semiconductor wafers made out of silicon and then sell them to the solar industry.

Savings

The Sicilian town of Castelbuono has replaced its garbage trucks with donkeys and claims to be saving money as well as helping to beat global warming. Since February 2007, six donkeys have replaced the four garbage trucks in the town of 10,000 people. A donkey costs about $1,600 to buy plus about $4,000 a year for food and cleaning compared with $60,000 for a truck that needs about $15,000 in maintenance a year.

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

December 2007 Economic Digest - Importing and Exportin

December 2007 Edition

SCOTCH

Soaring sales in the Far East and emerging markets worldwide have led to an unprecedented boom in the Scotch whisky industry. Total export volumes for Scotch are expected to be up 17 per cent on last year, the equivalent of 71 million bottles, or US$190-million in shipment value. The most important period for the industry is typically the last two months of the year. Predictions are that the full-year exports could well be above $5-billion.

CARS

The average midsized sports utility vehicle has grown 25cm longer, 10cm in width and gained 215 kilograms weight in the past decade. Midsize and large sedans also weigh hundreds of pounds more. Auto makers say they are just catering to the desires of customers but boosting the size of vehicles helps foster brand loyalty as customers stick with the models they know and love.

EMISSIONS

Cement is a vary basic material with no obvious substitutes in terms of satisfying basic needs of housing and infrastructure all over the world. Building construction eats up concrete, and to make one tonne of cement, a key ingredient of concrete, 900kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) are released into the atmosphere. Production of cement causes twice as many carbon emissions as the world's airline industry currently does. Eighteen major cement manufacturers produce a combined one billion tonnes of cement a year, just under half the global output.

RECRUITING

The British spy agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) which is responsible for surveillance, hopes to attract computer-savvy recruits by embedding job advertisements in video games. The GCHQ, which employs about 5,000 people, says it hopes this will capture the imagination of people with a particular interest in Information Technology.

DIGITAL

The U.S. Library of Congress has announced a plan to digitalize a collection of the world's rare cultural materials, artifacts ranging from a photo collection of a 19th century Brazilian empress to a crackly recording of a 101-year-old grandson of a slave. The Library has signed an agreement with UNESCO in Paris to move ahead with their World Digital Library. The World Digital Library started two years ago with a US$3-million grant from Google.

WEDDINGS

In 1998, the last year for which Statistics Canada numbers could be found, Canada's wedding industry was worth an estimated C$4-billion a year. More recent figures from the U.S. put the value of the industry at US$50-billion a year. In 2005, 714,000 Japanese brides spent an average of US$70,000 per wedding and in India, estimates of the size of the wedding market range as high as $20-billion a year.

WASTE

The paperless office, predicted in an 1975 article called the Office of the Future, has proven to be greatly exaggerated. Although an estimated nine trillion pages a year are confined to computer screens, the number of printed pages stands at between 2.5 and 2.8 trillion pages worldwide, a figure that is expected to grow over the next 10 years. About one trillion of these sheets, churned out by office printers, are estimated to be thrown out within hours. Xerox found that office workers throw away 48 per cent of everything they print within a day.

RETAIL

A new PricewaterhouseCoopers study suggests that the retail industry will become more segmented and customer-driven by the year 2015. The study identifies 15 growth drivers and predicts 15 trends that will redefine the retail environment in 2015. Among shifting demographics, household downsizing and new marketing channels, the retail industry will face a variety of new challenges. Overall, the retail industry will need to adopt a more targeted approach in order to reach its customers.

RADIO

U.S. scientists have unveiled a detector thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair that can translate radio waves into sound. This is the first time a nano-sized detector has been demonstrated in a working radio system. Made of carbon nanotubes a few atoms across, it is almost 1,000 times smaller than current radio technology. Many companies are interested in the long-term potential of carbon nanotubes, tiny cylinders of carbon that measure just a few billionths of a metre across.

VIETNAM

Growth in Vietnamese shipments to the U.S. is outpacing overall export growth for the Asian nation, whose government is banking on the American market to help ease a widening trade deficit. Exports to the U.S., Vietnam's largest market, climbed 22 per cent to August of this year reaching US$6.69-billion. Vietnam has set a target of 20.5 per cent for overall exports to grow.

GAMING

Canada's video games firms have developed an international reputation for being among the best and most innovative developers with annual revenues reaching upwards of $2-billion. The Canadian video game industry comprises more than 260 firms and a combined 9,000 employees in nine provinces. About 20 per cent of the top selling games in North America are developed in Canadian studios. It is estimated that the worldwide market will top US$55-billion by 2009.

INDIA

The retail sector in India has sales of US$300-billion annually which is projected to rise to $560-billion by 2010. Some 95 per cent is accounted for by small, family-run stores but it is predicted that their share will have shrunk to about four-fifths by 2012 as bigger stores, such as Reliance Retail, start to lure shoppers. Reliance has opened more than 300 stores in the past year, including grocery stores.

TOYS

There are over 200 companies in Canada that manufacture toys and games. Annual retail sales of toys and games in Canada are worth C$1.4-billion. Since the massive recall of toys manufactured in China earlier in the year which saw 21 million toys recalled by Mattel Inc., some Canadian manufacturers have seen their sales increase by 10 per cent in Canada and 25 per cent internationally.

HOTELS

The most expensive five-star hotel rooms in the world may be found in New York, San Francisco and Nice. The cheapest are in Cape Town, Cairo and Warsaw.

COTTON

The US could face billions of dollars in trade sanctions for failing to scrap illegal subsidies paid to American cotton growers. The ruling by the World Trade Organization is a victory for Brazil's cotton industry and for West African countries which say the payments harm their producers. Brazil has reserved the right to impose annual sanctions of up to US$4-billion on the U.S. but would likely settle for less.

SIZE

PetroChina Co gained the most in five months in Hong Kong trading as oil rose to over $85 a barrel, vaulting the state-owned oil producer over General Electric to become the world's second largest company. The largest is still Exxon Mobil Corp. with a value of over $518-billion. PetroChina's stock has soared 14-fold since its 2000 public share sale.

DEVELOPMENT

The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have the most effective policies to help poor countries according to a Washington, DC think tank. The report grades 21 rich countries each year on how well they support development in poor countries. Each country is assessed on its policies in seven areas including aid, migration, investment and trade.

RAIL

Canada's railways collectively operate one of the largest railway systems in the world and are fully integrated with the U.S. rail system. According to industry figures, Canada's freight railways handle more than 65 per cent of surface traffic, more than 4.3 million carloads of freight and containers annually. Passenger railways move over 60.6 million commuters annually. Overall, Canada's railways directly employ 34,500 people and contribute approximately $10-billion to the Canadian economy.

MAFIA

Revenue from organized crime amounts to an estimated US$127-billion annually in Italy, making it the largest segment of the economy. The figure, representing about 7 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, is made from illicit activities such as extortion, drug trafficking, loan sharking and prostitution.

BEER

Trouble is predicted for small beer makers across North America as the price of hops and barley, two of the essential ingredients in brewing, continue to rise, as do the costs of shipping and transport. Ironically, some farmers abandoned the growing of hops and barley after a glut in the market. Because of lifestyle changes, it is estimated that for the next five years, sales of wine will increase 3.5 per cent. sales of spirits increase 2 per cent but beer sales only by 0.5 per cent.

CANS

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), in cooperation with a major supermarket chain, have rolled out a campaign to educate consumers on the nutritional and safety benefits of canned food. Research shows that canned foods are nutritionally comparable to their cooked fresh and frozen counterparts, and in some cases even more nutritious. The ASAI has 31 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers and 130 associate and affiliated member companies representing about 75 per cent of U.S. and North American steel capacity.

TECHNOLOGY

When the northern pygmies of Congo-Brazzaville go into the forest these days, besides their traditional bows and arrows, they are carrying hand-held satellite tracking systems. They use the GPS handsets to pinpoint sacred sites and hunting areas. They are protecting their livelihoods and habitats against the chainsaws and bulldozers of commercial logging.

OUTSOURCING

Smarties, the famous British candy, is to be produced in Germany after 70 years in England. Also, Black Magic is now manufactured in the Czech Republic and Dairy Box is manufactured in Spain. The Smarties move will cost about 650 jobs. About 73 million pounds of Smarties are sold annually.

SAFETY

An endangered species of whale is to get extra protection after a safe haven from shipping has been set aside off Nova Scotia in Canada. The voluntary restriction asks ships captains to avoid a 1,800-sq-km area. Collisions with container ships are seen as a key threat to some whales.

COAL

The coal that has powered China's economic growth is also choking its people. The country is home to 16 of the world's most polluted cities. Coal provides about 70 per cent of China's energy needs. The country consumed some 2.4 billion tons in 2006, more than the U.S., Japan and the United Kingdom combined. In 2000, China anticipated doubling its coal consumption by 2020. It is now expected to have done so by the end of 2007.

SUNSCREEN

New research shows that broccoli juice is better than conventional sunscreens when it comes to protecting against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. The extract reduced sunburn symptoms by up to 78 per cent.

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

November 2007 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

November 2007 Edition

LINGERIE

The first Russian retailer has just opened in Britain. Russia's biggest lingerie retailer, the Wild Orchid group, is trying to cash in on the booming sales of ladies underwear. Britain's fast growing lingerie market is forecast to grow from US$5-billion in 2006 to $6-billion by 2011. Women in the UK buy more underwear than any country in the European Union.

ENERGY

The sun remains largely untapped as a source of energy. The world's biggest solar farm, where more than 400,000 mirrors cover four square miles of California's Mojave desert, was built in the 1980s and still churns out 354 megawatts of electricity, enough for 900,000 homes. Until recently, no more large solar plants have been built, despite souring demand. A new plant went on line in June in Nevada which will generate 64 megawatts of power.

TRENDS

Despite the notion that bank machines and the Internet will replace the teller and the local bank branch, one Canadian bank is experimenting in selected branches in Toronto and Vancouver with opening on Sundays. Another major Canadian bank is adjusting its hours so as to be open 60 hours a week from its present 50 hours.

AIRLINES

A recent forecast states that the international airline sector could post a US$5.6-billion profit this year, finally recovering after being stuck in red ink since September 11, 2001. The forecast reflects robust consumer demand for flights and efficiency gains made by airlines operating with greater labour productivity and lower non-fuel costs.

MARKETS

China has now firmly eclipsed Canada as the No.1 seller of goods to the U.S., a shift in trade that reflects the Asian consumer goods juggernaut's ever deeper penetration of the U.S. market. Trade statistics show that in the year to July 31, 2007, China sold US$312-billion worth of merchandise while Canada shipped $$306-billion. The U.S. shipped $238-billion to Canada in the same 12-month period while it sold only $60-billion to China.

QUITTING

An international survey of more than 82,000 people in 11 countries sugggests that Canadians are more daring than workers in other countries when it comes to resigning their jobs to start all over again. Canadians were the least conservative with just 35 per cent taking a new job in the same sector and the most likely to jump to a new career in a new sector. Indians were the most conservative with 51 per cent who resigned staying in the same industry sector. Over nine per cent of Canadians leave to start their own business.

DRESS

Business casual is here to stay according to a survey of 1,182 executives in New York and London making more than $100,000 a year. 89 per cent said they prefer to wear business casual or outright casual attire for work. 62 per cent said they have made casual their standard office dress code. 22 per cent say their definition of casual attire could include jeans. The survey found that 39 per cent of executives said employees who are dressed casually are perceived to be creative.

LAND

The European Union has unveiled plans to make more land available for farming in a bid to curb soaring prices of cereals such as wheat. Under the proposal a requirement that farmers must leave 10 per cent of their land fallow would be abolished for one year. The changes would bring about 10 million tonnes of grain onto the markets. The rule about fallow land was introduced in the early 1990s to cut Europe's crop surplus and appease exporters such as Australia.

ENVIRONMENT

China's environmental problems are mounting. Water pollution and water scarcity are burdening the economy, rising levels of air pollution are endangering the health of millions of Chinese, and much of the country's land is rapidly turning into desert. China has become the world's leader in air and water pollution and land degradation and a top contributor to some of the world's most vexing global environmental problems, such as the illegal timber trade, marine pollution and climate change. All of these pose risks to the economy, public health and social stability.

GOVERNORS

The highest pay for a governor in the U.S. is $206,500 (Governor Schwarzenegger turns his salary back). The lowest gubernatorial salary is $70,000 in Maine which has kept the status quo for 20 years. The governors of New Jersey and Tennessee only accept $1 a year. The average salary for all 50 governors is $124,398.

GROOMING

In a society obsessed with beauty and celebrity, two-thirds of U.S. consumers agree that the pressure to look good is much greater now than ever before. U.S. consumers reported spending the most of their grooming dollars on hair care followed by skin care and facial treatments. The fewest dollars are spent on hair removal and tanning. If money wasn't a concern, U.S. consumers would spend the most on body massages, teeth whitening, hair care, facial treatments and manicures.

FREEDOM

The Fraser Institute, a Canadian think-tank publishes a list annually of countries according to how much they encourage free trade, both internally and with other territories. Countries with fewer taxes, strong property rights, low regulation and sound money score best. Hong Kong retains its top position. Britain, the U.S. and Canada tie for fifth position. Germany is ranked 18th, on a par with El Salvador. France and Italy are outside the top 50.

GUM

Easy-to-remove chewing gum is to become a reality, thanks to a breakthrough by scientists at a British university that could save Britain the estimated $300-million spent annually on removing discarded gum. The British start-up company that announced the non-stick, degradable gum hopes to take a bite out of the global market worth about US$10-billion of which Britons alone spend about $750-million annually.

ACCESS

Despite the potential of the Internet as a tool to overcome distance, living in rural and small town Canada continues to be a factor associated with lower rates of Internet use. Last year, in a survey of 30,466 Canadians, only 58 per cent of residents living in rural and small town areas accessed the Internet, well below the national average.The gap between rural and urban areas may reflect the interaction of other socio-economic indicators, or the availability of broadband.

MIGRATION

The godwit is a small bird that has been shown to make the longest non-stop migratory flight in the world. Recently, a satellite-tagged bar-tailed godwit, a female known as E7, landed in New Zealand after taking a week to fly 11,500 kilometres from Alaska. Unlike sea birds which feed and rest on long journeys, godwits just keep going. E7 set her first record on the way north when she flew 10,200km non-stop from New Zealand to Yalu Jiang in China before flying a further 5,000km to Alaska.

POWER

Fuel derived from cotton and a shrub said to relieve constipation could soon power mobile networks across India. The crops will be used to generate biodiesel to fuel mobile stations in unconnected rural areas without access to electricity. One third of Indian homes are not connected to the power grid and demand for mobile phones is growing rapidly.

HEALTH

According to a new survey of 2,000 U.S. companies, health care insurance costs have jumped 6.1 per cent this year, the slowest health care premium growth since 1999. The bad news is that it is still more than double the rate of inflation and continues to outpace wage increases.

METRIC

Europe's Industry Commissioner is ending the decades-old battle to get Britain to ban using imperial measurements such as pints, pounds and miles. The country has long sought to keep its traditional units that date back to the Middle Ages. Britain had been due to go completely metric by 2010.

SERVICES

Statistics canada reports that in 2006, Canada's services trade deficit increased by C$3.0-billion to reach $15.2-billion,the largest deficit ever. Record deficits were registered for travel and transportation services. In 2005, the most recent year with complete detailed information, services were largely in deficit with the U.S., and in lesser measure with Europe and Asia.

SIZE

The world's largest casino recently opened in Macau. Costing US$2.4--billion, more than Macau's entire public works budget for the past five years. The building is Asia's largest and required 20,000 construction workers and used three million sheet of gold leaf. Running it takes 16,000 employees. It uses enough power for 300,00 homes and the casino has 870 tables and 3.400 slot machines in the world's largest gambling hall which is encircled by 350 shops.

SMILE

The Cyper-shot T is a new compact camera from Sony that is said to automatically weed out pictures where a person isn't smiling. It can automatically detect a smile and immediately drop the shutter. The photographer can program the camera to detect which type of facial expression to look for, be it a faint smile or a tooth-baring grin. The user can turn off the function and use it as a normal camera.

PROTECTION

British police are testing a DNA for property aimed at tackling burglars. Homes are being given enigmaTag, a system that uses microparticles to mark valuable possessions. Each 5-millimetre bottle, similar to a nail polish container, has a unique coded solution registered to each home. A tiny amount is applied to every item and the solution can be identified only by special hand-held readers.

HEADACHES

A new global health survey of 26,486 Internet users around the world by the Nielson Co indicates that headaches, colds, sleeping problems and back aches are the most common ailments of the world's consumers and when it comes to their treatment in an estimated US$70-billion industry, consumers are loyal and habitual purchasers of over-the-counter (OTC) self-medication products. Headaches are the top complaint for consumers with the result that analgesics are the largest category in the OTC market.

PORTS

Australia, the world's biggest exporter of coal, risks losing as much as C$7-billion in export revenue in the next decade if port and rail congestion aren't resolved, government figures show. The development of coal transport infrastructure is currently lagging the demand for exports. About a third of Australia's coal export capacity is at the port of Newcastle where, in late summer, the line of ships waiting load cargoes was a record 79.

ROADS

Bangladesh and Burma have signed a deal to construct the first major road between the two countries. Officials hope that the road, most of which will be inside Burma, will form part of an Asian super highway to boost trade.

TV

An Austrian TV channel in Salzburg is screening The Sound of Music non-stop 24 hours a day. The film was shot in Austria.

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

October 2007 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

October 2007 Edition

SIZE

 
Houses in the U.S. keep growing. One in five American homes had at least four bedrooms in 2005, up from one in six in 1990, despite shrinking families and increasing costs for construction and energy. Houses with five or more bedrooms were the fastest growing type in that time. Utah leads the nation with 40 per cent of homes having at least four bedrooms. This was followed by Maryland, Virginia, Colorado and Minnisota. Arkansas had the smallest share at 12.6 per cent.

TUNGSTEN

Canada's planned ban on incandescent light bulbs will have no impact on Canada's resurgent tungsten mining business, experts say, because lighting makes up such a small proportion of the overall demand for the heavy metal. In fact, tungsten mining and exploration in Canada and around the world is enjoying a boom caused by significantly higher prices for the metal. More than half of tungsten production goes into superhard alloys of steel, which are used to make cutting tools and saw blades.

WINE

Consumer tastes for wine are becoming more upscale in the U.S. driving sales of premium-priced rose wines up 45 per cent in the past year. In the year to March 2007, rose table wine accounted for more than US$9-million in sales in food, drug and liquor stores. Twenty-eight new brands of premium rose wine were introduced in 2006, nearly twice as many as the 15 brands launched in 2005.

COINS

Because of a surge in the price of copper, the U.S. Mint decided 25 years ago to manufacture the U.S. penny almost entirely from zinc, save for the coating on which Abraham Lincoln's profile is engraved. Now, the fate of the penny is up in the air once again. With the price of zinc soaring it costs the government almost 2 cents to make each 1-cent-coin.

CAMP

In a country where credit is king, this summer, U.S. parents have been sending their kids to "money camps" designed to teach the value of saving and the pitfalls of massive debt.

SUDS

U.S. soap and detergent makers say they are being hurt by a double whammy of federal subsidies and mandates that has reduced the supply and pushed up the costs of a key ingredient, beef tallow. The steeply rising price of corn, driven by federal requirements to use more ethanol, has pushed up corn prices, making animal feed more expensive and prompting farmers to blend the less expensive tallow and other fats into their feeds. In the past year, tallow fats have doubled.

TOYS

India is struggling to prevent millions of condoms from being made into toys or sold as balloons. The contraceptives were distributed free to control the country's population and restrict the AIDS virus. However, they are being used to strengthen roads, provide extra waterproofing for houses and to carry water. Millions were melted down for their latex and made into toys. Others were dyed and sold as balloons.

DATA

The UK National Archives is warning that there is a growing problem of accessing old digital file formats which it describes as a "ticking time bomb." There is a possibility that we may lose years of critical knowledge because modern PCs cannot always open old formats. The National Archives holds 900 years of written material and has more than 580 terabytes of data, the equivalent of 580,000 encyclopaedias in older file formats that are no longer commercially available.

CITIES

Most of humanity will be living in cities by next year, raising the threat of increased poverty and religious extremism unless the needs of the growing urban populations are met, according to the United Nations. Some 3.3-billion people will live in cities by 2008 and by 2030, the number of city dwellers is expected to climb to 5-billion.

READING

Britons, particularly women, are spending more time reading than 30 years ago. The average time women spent reading a book jumped from two minutes a day in 1975 to eight minutes in 2000. Men's reading rose from three minutes to five minutes a day. The number of people reading books in Britain also rose over the same period, from a low of only 13 per cent to 17 per cent.

INDIA

Part of India's economic boom has been the growing emancipation of women. This trend is being watched carefully by Indian and global companies hoping to sell to the country's fast-growing middle class. It is predicted that the rising incomes and consumption of women could add US$35-billion to India's gross domestic product over the next five years, lifting consumer demand by 10 per cent.

LAND

Some charities are attacking the drive to grow more biofuels which are being heavily promoted by the U.S. and Europe as a solution to climate change. The UN says basic food prices for poor countries are being pushed up by competition for land from biofuels. A new report says governments and biofuel firms in developing countries are collaborating to push hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and peasant communities off their land

POST-PRODUCTION

Total revenues in the Canadian film, television and video post-production has been increasing, but a large increase in expenses have eaten into profits. The industry recorded total revenues of C$844-million in 2005, an 8 per cent increase over the previous year while expenses rose 10 per cent. Profits totalled $47-million. Ontario and Quebec companies accounted for 90 per cent of total operating post-production revenue.

MACHINES

When the first cash machine appeared at a bank in the UK in 1967, plastic cards had not been invented. so the machine used cheques that were impregnated with carbon 14, a mildly radioactive substance. The machine detected it and then matched it against a PIN number. The first machine paid out a maximum of ten pounds. There are now more than 1.6-million cash machines worldwide.

FUEL

U.S. scientists say that the sugar found in fruit such as apples and oranges can be converted into a new type of low-carbon fuel for cars. The fuel, made from fructose, contains far more energy than ethanol. In a separate report on biofuels, UK scientists say all types of waste products, including plastic bags can be used to make biodiesel fuel.

GIVING

Americans set a new record for charitable giving in 2006, donating nearly US$300-billion for a one per cent increase over 2005. Individuals gave a combined 75.6 per cent of the total, with 32.8 per cent of that going to religious organizations, followed by 13.9 per cent going to educational causes.

AFRICA

There is more trade going on today between China and Africa than ever before. In the late 1980s, trade between the country and the continent was US$12-million. Last year, according to official Chinese figures, it reached a record $55-billion. The backbone of China's blossoming relationship with the continent is raw materials. China, with its rapid economic and industrial growth, needs them and Africa has them in abundance. Some 30 per cent of China's oil imports now come from Africa.

LOCAL

Food safety issues and America's growing health and wellness segment are two key factors driving a surge in locally grown food sales, which could jump to US$5-billion this year and reach $7-billion by 2011. Restaurants, drug stores, convenience stores and even academic foodservice venues are turning to the fresh and local consciousness which is becoming so popular in America.

RAILWAYS

Nobody likes the rising price of oil better than the U.S. railroads. As the cost of crude soars, rail is gaining a competitive edge after losing ground to trucks for half a century. Even as automotive plants closings and reduced U.S. housing starts have contributed to a 4.4 per cent drop in train shipments this year, serious investors are flocking to railroad shares, betting that higher oil prices and surging Asian imports along with congested highways will boost long-term demand.

SERVICE

Time-starved shoppers are more likely to patronize retailers that enable them to take care of their own business through self-service devices according to a new North American study. Among the top three locations where the 633 U.S. and Canadian consumers surveyed would like to see this kind of convenience were grocery stores, chosen by 55 per cent. Only airports and malls ranked higher at 70 and 65 per cent respectively. However, a significant number still say they prefer person-to-person interaction.

KRILL

A food oil is being manufactured from Antarctic krill, a species of tiny shrimp-like zooplankton that thrive in the Antarctic Ocean. The oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. The oil shows considerable promise in treating a variety of human ailments from osteoarthritis to high cholesterol. It is being marketed in North America, Asia and Europe as a dietary supplement.

POWER

China is now building two power stations every week. and a Dutch think tank reports that China has now overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest emitter of CO2. Much of China's emission growth is being driven by consumers in the West buying Chinese goods. China's emissions per person are still well below those of rich nations.

SOAP

A team of U.S. scientists has conducted the first known comprehensive analysis of whether anti-bacterial soap works better than plain soap. Their conclusion is that expensive anti-bacterial washes are no better at cleaning hands than ordinary soap and may actually encourage superbugs.

GROWTH

Since the inception of the Web, online commerce has enjoyed hypergrowth with annual overall sales increasing more than 25 per cent, and far more rapidly in some sectors. But last year, growth slowed sharply in major categories like books, tickets and office supplies. Online sales also dropped in diverse categories such as health and beauty products, computer peripherals and pet supplies.. However, sales on the internet are expected to reach US$116-billion this year, or five per cent of all retail sales.

HOURS

One in five, or more than 600-million people worldwide work excessively long hours with Peruvians topping the list and British employers the worst among rich nations. This comes from an International Labour Organization report on working trends in 50 countries. Progress towards a maximum 48-hour week is still uneven nearly 100 years after the standard was agreed by ILO members.

GAMBLING

Canadians gambled away C$14.5-billion last year playing slot machines, buying lottery tickets and betting at the racetrack. The industry took in more than $15-billion in revenue including $700-million on non-gambling activities such as food and drinks. Profits were massive, pegged at $10.6 billion, including commissions and taxes, with roughly $7.4-billion enriching provincial coffers and $3.2-billion going to charities.

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

September 2007 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

September 2007 Edition  

LOCATION


A new emerging-markets index says that the most attractive location for manufacturing is now Vietnam, not China. Also, the United Arab Emirates beats India as a location for service-sector activities. The index assesses 20 prominent emerging-market locations on the basis of "reward" factor, including production costs, size of market, taxes, transport costs and tariffs and "risk" factors. It finds that Russia, Brazil, India and China do not come top as locations for either manufacturing or services.

ELECTRONICS

The growing popularity of hi-tech devices in the UK, such as flat-screen TVs and digital radios is threatening to undermine efforts to save energy. UK consumers spend US$25-billion a year on electronics and by 2020 it is estimated that gadgets will account for about 45 per cent of electricity used in UK households. The equivalent of 14 power stations will be needed by 2020 just to power consumer electronics.

OIL

A U.S. based company has developed a way to turn oil-based plastics back into the oil from which they were made. By zapping such materials with a finely tuned microwave, they are reduced back to oil and combustible gas. Running 9.1 kilograms of ground-up tires through a machine produces 4 litres of diesel oil, one and a half cubic metres of combustible gas, one kilogram of steel and three kilograms of carbon black.

PLANES

The chairman of Emirates Airlines has grand ambitions and a bankroll to match. He has US $82-billion from his government, the airline and other financiers and has ordered 55 super jumbo A380s to create the largest fleet of these double-decker planes in the world. He wants to make Dubai, a sheikhdom by the sea, the busiest airline hub in the world, overtaking London, New York and Singapore. In 1985, starting with $10-million, Emirates was a two-plane operation. It now has 105 planes.

INDIA

Indian software and services exports are expected to earn about US$40-billion in the year to March 2008. It is estimated that this sector will achieve $60-billion in export revenue by 2009\2010. A large pool of English-speaking and well-educated workers have helped to win outsourcing contracts from firms in the U.S. and Europe. The industry contributes 5.2 per cent to the Indian economy.

SHIPS

Britain's merchant navy once ruled the waves. Since 1975, the number of UK-owned and registered vessels with a capacity of 500 gross tons or more has slumped from 1,600 to less than 300, while the number of British seamen serving on them has dropped from 90,000 to just 16,000. Some experts fear that the decline of the service will weaken Britain strategically and economically by forcing it to become dependent on foreign shipping. Britain's maritime industry is worth US$20-billion a year.

IMPORTS

According to Statistics Canada, the top foods in volume Canada imported from China in 2006 in millions of kilograms were: Mandarins, clementines and similar citrus hybrids, fresh and dried, (33.9); Frozen fish fillets, (24.4); Fresh pears and quinces, (13.6); Raw peanuts, (10.6); Frozen shrimp and prawns, (10.4); Pasta, (10.3); Mushrooms, (8.9); Other citrus fruits, (8.8) and Shrimps and prawns, prepared or preserved, (7.3).

TRAVEL

The U.S. has lost billions of dollars and an immeasurable amount of good will since the September 2001 terrorist attacks because of a decline in foreign tourists. Visits to the U.S. from countries outside Canada and Mexico totalled 21.7 million in 2006, down 17 per cent from a peak of 26 million in 2000. In the same period, cross-border travel around the world was up 20 per cent. Visits from Britain, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea and Australia have dropped 15 per cent while travel from those countries to other countries was up 39 per cent.

COPPER

South African copper exports are booming but there is little rejoicing. The trade is being fuelled by theft of copper cables that carry electricity, regularly plunging whole suburbs into darkness, stranding thousands of train passengers and wreaking havoc with the national economy. Nationally, it costs an estimated US$70-million to replace stolen cables every year and $350-million in further losses, including the impact of power outages. The Western Cape province which has no copper mines reported exports last year of $11-million.

CORN

U.S. farmers planted 92.9 million acres of corn in 2007, the largest amount of acreage since 1944 and 19 per cent more than was planted last year. Iowa continues to lead all states in total corn acres and state records were set in Illinois, Indiana, Minnisota and North Dakota. These increases are attributed to favourable prices, growing ethanol demand and strong export sales.

TRADE

The U.S. and South Korea have signed a free trade agreement, the biggest such deal for the U.S. in 15 years, though it is not certain that Congress will approve the deal. The pact eliminates nearly 95 per cent of tariffs on bilateral trade in consumer and industrial goods within three years and almost two-thirds of U.S. farm exports will be immediately duty free when the FTA is implemented. This is the biggest U.S. free trade deal since the NAFTA. However, some are concerned that the automobile provisions don't go far enough.

VENDING

Two Scottish entrepreneurs have come up with an invention that battles the humidity to keep hair straight during a night on the town. The coin-activated "Straight Up" vending machines will provide 90 seconds of hair straightening time for about the same price as a coat check at a night club. They launched the first machine in 2005 and now have more than 800 units in bars, clubs, gyms and offices.

GREEN

As part of an eco-initiative by one of Britain's largest retailers, they are now selling trousers made from 14 mineral water bottles. They are made in factories in Indonesia from recycled clear plastic bottles that have been spun into polyester in Taiwan. The trousers cost about C$40.00 and come in charcoal and navy and the crease-resistant trousers are machine washable. If they sell successfully the line could be extended to women's clothes.

COMMUTING

Seventy-seven per cent of workers in the U.S., more than 102-million people, drive alone to and from work, up from 1990. This has happened despite the fact that retail gasoline prices rose by 60 cents per gallon in the same 15-year period, adjusted for inflation. Biking is showing no gains and carpooling is also on a downward trend.

BRANDING

The Canadian Brand Index ranks the country's most recognizable brands by total value and overall strength. Topping the list is Cirque de Soleil with a brand value of C$880-million. Second is Ski-Doo, ($293-million); CBC, ($283-million); Roots, ($134-million); Toronto Maple Leafs, ($95-million) and Montreal Canadians, ($87-million).

TEENS

The market for products bought by and for the 25.6-million-member teen market in the U.S. will experience a growth spurt, increasing from US$189.7-billion in 2006 to $208.7-billion in 2011, despite an estimated three per cent decline in the 12-to 17-year-old population in the same period. Teen spending money, accumulated through paying jobs, allowances from parents and monetary gifts will increase an estimated 3.5 per cent annually.

POTASH

Global interest in biofuels has helped push prices for potash, a mineral-based fertilizer to record levels and those prices will increase further through the balance of the year. Worldwide, the three crops using the most potash per hectare planted are sugar cane, palm oil and corn. This has stepped up fertilizer use in Asia, Brazil and North America.

SEAFOOD

Overall seafood consumption in the U.S. was 16.5 pounds per person last year, up from 16.2 pounds in 2005 and 14.8 pounds in 2001. Shrimp continues to lead seafood consumption followed by Canned Tuna, Salmon and Pollock. Tilapia, a mild-tasting white fish, is now in fifth position replacing catfish which is sixth.

TEA

The hottest investment in China today is in the shape of a small, compressed cake that smells earthy and is wrapped in paper. Pu'er tea, a strong aromatic brew from Yunnan has long been prized in China for medicinal qualities. Now, instead of drinking it, millions of Chinese are hoarding it after the price jumped 50 per cent last year. Like fine wine, Pu'er tea is considered to improve with age and it is now six times more expensive than gold.

MATCHBOX

These miniature die-cast toys were a favourite of children in the 1950s and 1960s. The range of toys that flowed from it were sold in over 140 countries. At one point, Matchbox was selling two million models every week, outpacing rivals like Meccano's Dinky range by adding two new models each month. Eventually their popularity waned to be replaced by Mattel's models with friction wheels which meant they ran further and faster.

DOWNLOADS

Sales of CDs in the UK fell by 10 per cent in the first half of the year. The decline was much greater in the U.S., the world's largest music market, where sales dropped by 20 per cent. However, this decline was partially offset by the growth in digital downloads to two million units in the U.S. which left overall sales down by 9 per cent.

VACCINES

The dream of cheap, easy-to-store, needle-free vaccines is now closer to reality. Japanese researchers have created a strain of rice that protects against cholera. Edible rice vaccines could also be developed to protect against diseases such as HIV-AIDS, SARS and influenza. These rice-based mucosal vaccines offer a highly practical and cost effective strategy for orally vaccinating large populations.

TRENDS

London is to rip out more than 2,000 coin parking machines, as with rates of nearly $10.00 an hour, it is unreasonable to expect motorists to carry fistsfull of coins. Motorists will use credit or debit cards for parking. Those with a cell phone will be able to do so by text after setting up an account, with their card and car registration details. Drivers will have to text in the parking space number and the amount of time for which they wish to pay. They will be sent a text warning shortly before the time is up.

SPICES

Emerging ethnic cuisines are giving Americans a taste for bold spices from all over the globe. Spices are finding their way onto menus and specialty food products attracting new customers and even adding health promises. A key reason for the new interest in exotic spices is the shifting cultural makeup of the nation. Beyond salt and pepper, the spice market has now reached US$1.2-billion.

SPORRANS

Because of new EU regulations brought in to protect wild animals, anyone who has bought a sporran since 1994 may have to obtain a licence for them because otters and badgers, from which sporrans are made, are now protected.

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

August 2007 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

August 2007 Edition

POLLUTING

 
New research shows that computers generate an estimated 35 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. Globally the IT industry accounts for around two per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, much the same as aviation. It takes around 1.8 tons of chemicals, fossil fuels and water to produce a PC and its operation generates 0.1 tons of carbon dioxide in a typical year. They last, on average, three years and once junked most are buried in landfill where the soil can become polluted with cadmium and mercury.

WATER

The fastest growing bottled water brands are flavoured and enhanced waters, waters with a splash of fruit or vitamins or electrolytes. One new brand even contains fibre which claims to help maintain healthy intestinal regularity and glucose levels.

FRAUD

The online auction giant eBay is trying to clean up its site. It recently announced a significant shift in its philosophy towards protecting eBay members from fraud. The company has reported a 60 per cent decline in the number of complaints from luxury goods makers that counterfeits of their products are being sold on the site. It also claims that it has banished tens of thousands of sellers from its auction marketplace who do not meet new, elevated standards.

SAUCE

It was invented by the British from an Indian recipe over 175 years ago and has been exported across the world as a vital cooking ingredient. Now, Worcestershire Sauce has been named as the UK's most important contribution to world cuisine. In a major survey of food lovers, over 71 per cent named the sauce as the greatest culinary ingredient, beating the likes of Cheddar Cheese, Clotted Cream and English Mustard.

COGNAC

The cognac industry of south-west France is reporting record exports, thanks to an explosion of sales to Russia and China. Overseas sales grew by 9.7 per cent in the year to April, to reach 157 million bottles. This is the highest figure since 1990, before a long period of decline led to the destruction of 8 per cent of cognac vineyards. The biggest increases in sales were in Russia, up by 55 per cent, and China, up 49 per cent. The U.S. remains the biggest importer of cognac.

PIZZA

It is estimated that the pizza quick-service restaurant (QSR) segment in Canada generated sales in 2005 of about C$2.5-billion with around $1.2-billion made in Ontario. In 2004, the pizza QSR segment represented 18 per cent of the total QSR segment. Most of this segment is served by branded chains which account for two-thirds of sales. The top four chains by sales are: Boston Pizza, $513-million; Pizza Pizza, $341-million; Pizza Hut, $300-million and Domino's, $123-million.

SEEDS

Scientists are worried that many plant species will not be able to adjust to climate change. With more than 100 partners worldwide, the Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP) in Britain is acting as a repository for all the world's wild plant seeds. So far, MSBP has banked about 18,000 species from 126 countries. On track to meet its goal of banking 10 per cent of the world's flora by 2010, it hopes to bank another 45,000 by 2020.

STRESS

Mainland Chinese business leaders are the most stressed in the world, with 84 per cent reporting an increase in stress levels over last year, followed by Taiwan, 82 per cent, India, 79 per cent and Russia, 76 per cent. The report, covering the opinions of 7,200 privately owned companies in 32 countries, found that 56 per cent of business leaders worldwide feel their stress levels have increased in the past year. In contrast, business leaders in Europe are the least stressed.

COWS

It may soon be possible to produce skimmed milk straight from the cow in a development that could revolutionize the dairy industry. Scientists in New Zealand have discovered that some cows have genes which give them a natural ability to deliver skimmed milk. They plan to exploit their find to breed herds of cows to meet the rising demands of health conscious consumers.

TOYS

The Chinese consumer watchdog has warned that more than 20 per cent of Chinese-made toys and baby clothes are below standard. Industrial waste, including dirty carpet fluff, paper and used instant noodle packaging has been found in some toys. And some baby clothes contain harmful chemicals. China is the world's largest exporter of toys.

CHEMICALS

Legislation requiring the safety testing of tens of thousands of chemicals, many in everyday use, has come into effect in the European Union. For the first time, it will be up to the industry, rather than the regulatory authorities to prove that chemicals are safe. About 30,000 chemicals are covered by the new rules, from paints to flame retardants to fragrances in shampoos.

ART

Sotheby's set a record total for a contemporary art auction raising US$255-million in one night earlier this year, including the highest amounts ever paid for 15 individual artists. But within 24 hours, the figure was smashed by Christie's, its rival, with a $385-million buying spree, including 26 artist records.

EXPENDITURE

The U.S. Food Marketing Institute is always interested in how shoppers spend their money. Their research shows that on a $100 expenditure, roughly half the money spent by customers goes towards perishable items, such as meats, produce and dairy products.and about eight per cent is used for nonfood grocery products, such as soap, detergent, and paper goods.

REAL ESTATE

A 1,400 sq. ft., one -bedroom apartment in Eaton Place, London, one of the most desirable addresses in the world, which has a 125 year lease, is on the market for US$6-million. At least 10 other apartments in the same street are for sale for a similar price, but they have either two, three or four bedrooms.

AGING

Women looking for more natural alternatives are driving makeup sales in the U.S. which hit $6-billion in 2006. Recently, the anti-aging lines have expanded considerably tripling their sales, growing from $22-million to $61-million in the past two years. More than 200 new products in this segment have debuted in the U.S. in the past year. More than one fifth of global organic and natural new product launches have come from the U.S. alone.

OFFENSE

Civic officials in the Devon, UK, community of Totnes are considering re-covering all their furniture with plastic instead of leather in case leather offends vegetarians.

SCRAPBOOKS

A scrapbook is essentially a photograph album with decorations. Ribbons, stickers and stamps are the basic kit in the scrapbook arsenal. According to the Craft and Hobby Association, sales of decorations and other scrapbooking supplies reached US$2.6-billion in 2006 and they claim that it is the most popular craft in the U.S. with 12 per cent of homes having a scrapbooker on the premises, almost all of whom are women.

DEMAND

A growing demand for energy, coupled with an increase in prices, has led to consistent growth in Canada's oil and gas sector during the past ten years. In 2006, the contribution of the oil and gas sector to Canada's gross domestic product exceeded C$40-billion. Total employment in all oil and gas industries was about 298,000, a 22 per cent increase from 1997. Workers in this sector earned on average about C$30.36 an hour compared with $16.73 for the labour market as a whole.

GRAFFITI

In the U.S., the cleaning up of graffiti is estimated to cost about $10-billion a year. Now, a new hi-tech system is being used that analyses and tracks graffiti and its perpetrators. Rather than simply obliterate the graffiti, the system keeps a permanent record of it which allows police to compile a database of similar daubings. Keeping a database of known graffiti means offenders, when caught, can be charged with multiple counts of vandalism.

BAROMETERS

Britain's traditional barometer makers and restorers are facing closure after the EU voted to uphold a ban on the use of mercury. The decision effectively consigns more than 350 years of unique British tradition and craft to history. After a two-year phase-out period, production of thermometers and barometers containing mercury will be banned.

TECHNOLOGY

Eight gigabytes of data are produced after each race by one Formula One team. Each F1 car contains a minimum of 120 sensors to either transmit or collect During a race, engineers and technicians in Britain, Germany or France, along with people in the pits, are watching the endless streams of real-time data pouring in from the sensors.

PATENTS

The U.S. government wants to overhaul the U.S. patent system by requiring better information from inventors and allowing public scrutiny of applications. Improving the quality of patents should curb the rising wave of disputes and lawsuits.

TRADE

Canada recently signed its first free trade deal in six years. A number of other bilateral deals are in the works. The new agreement is with the European Free Trade Association, which includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. The Swiss are the fifth-largest investor in Canada and together the four countries engage in C$11-billion in two-way trade each year. The last free trade deal Canada signed was with Costa Rica.

LOANS

More than 100,000 people in rural India have benefitted from a innovative loan scheme that helps families buy home solar power systems. The US$1.5-million project led by the UN Environment Programme, supports Indian bankers who offer finance to people who want to purchase a unit. The sunlight-powered systems are used to light homes and shops instead of expensive and polluting lamps. A system capable of powering two to four small appliances costs about $400.

ASPARAGUS

A new variety of purple asparagus that is so tender that it can be eaten raw without getting stuck in your teeth has been grown commercially in Britain for the first time. The Pacific Purple strain contains only tiny amounts of lignin, the fibre that makes normal green asparagus spears stringy.

INSPECTIONS

Last year, Food and Drug Administration officers in the U.S. sampled just 20,662 shipments out of more than 8.9 million that arrived at American ports. Last year, the FDA visually inspected over 115,000 shipments in addition to sending 20,000 shipments to a laboratory for inspection. China, which in one decade has become the third-largest exporter of food, by value, to the U.S. sent 199,000 shipments of which less than two per cent were sampled.

QUALIFICATIONS

A Chinese court has jailed two officials who allowed a blind contractor to build a bridge which collapsed during construction injuring 12 people.

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