Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
A global marketplace with potentially hundreds of millions of people entering the middle class should mean unprecedented opportunities for U.S. exporters.
Yet only 1 percent of the nation's 30 million businesses engage in exporting, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Of those companies that do, about 58 percent export to just one destination, the agency said. Those data points have not budged for years.
Based on U.S. Census Bureau data through 2010, small and mid-sized companies—firms with 500 or fewer employees—accounted for 98 percent of the 293,100 U.S. companies that exported that year. Still, many smaller companies that might like to jump in the global pool remain reluctant to do so. Nearly 70 percent of 500 small to mid-size U.S. exporters surveyed in April by Livingston International, a Chicago-based customs broker and international compliance firm, said the complexities of international trade make it difficult for them to consider entering new markets.
The Livingston survey showed that those smaller businesses that are exporting have trouble fully understanding both the rules and the costs of the game. More than 30 percent of the survey's respondents said they simply ignore a nation's regulations, thus risking hefty fines and sanctions for noncompliance, just to continue exporting. About 28 percent said they had little or no idea of the cost associated with their goods clearing international borders.
Returns Nightmares
Eugene L. Laney, vice president, international trade affairs for delivery giant DHL Express, said that for many U.S. exporters the complexity of regulatory compliance is felt most keenly in the area of product returns. Businesses already struggling with the confusing labyrinth of government regulations on the "forward" move then face another swath of compliance issues if the product needs to be returned, Laney said.
The baffling regulations governing international product returns often compel many active exporters to withdraw from international markets, Laney said. The same issue also keeps prospective exporters from dipping their toe in the water, he said.
Another problem, said Laney, is that many countries outside the U.S. require documentation on import shipments valued as low as $50. Because the cost and administrative burdens of compliance may exceed the shipment's value, a foreign exporter may walk away from a market even if it identifies strong potential demand for products, he said.
While small to mid-sized businesses dominate U.S. exporting, the situation is different abroad. A World Bank study conducted between 2003 and 2009 and released in late May found that big companies dominate the export landscape. The Bank surveyed companies from 45 developed and developing countries and found that the top 1 percent of businesses—a group essentially comprised of a handful of very large firms—controlled between half to 80 percent of all exports.
Based on the Bank's data, the problem seems to be less about getting into the game than just staying in it. During the study's time frame, about 57 percent of newcomers to exporting quit within one year of starting up.
A Little Help
Some in private industry are working with U.S. government officials to make export and import regulations less complex. Laney said DHL Express is part of an industry consortium that has lobbied Congress to persuade foreign governments to harmonize, at higher levels, the value of goods that can enter a country without paperwork. In Australia, for example, a product valued at up to $1,000 can clear that country's customs without any paperwork requirements.
To further help move the export needle, the Commerce Department has partnered with various companies, including those in the transportation field. These companies supply the agency with customers whom they think would benefit from its services. Commerce then offers to provide these potential exporters with market research that will match businesses with specific opportunities. The agency will also connect businesses with officials at U.S. embassies and consulates, as well as the Export-Import Bank, to arrange contacts and financing.
DHL Express was the latest company to partner with Commerce under a joint announcement made in early May. Rival UPS Inc. has been involved with the agency in a similar project for several years.
The program, which UPS terms its "Beyond One" initiative, has been a boon to UPS' customers and to the company, according to Susan L. Rosenberg, a company spokeswoman. Rosenberg said UPS customers that had been exporting to just one market when they joined the program tendered nearly three times more exports to UPS once they expanded into multiple countries.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
The global air cargo market’s hot summer of double-digit demand growth continued in August with average spot rates showing their largest year-on-year jump with a 24% increase, according to the latest weekly analysis by Xeneta.
Xeneta cited two reasons to explain the increase. First, Global average air cargo spot rates reached $2.68 per kg in August due to continuing supply and demand imbalance. That came as August's global cargo supply grew at its slowest ratio in 2024 to-date at 2% year-on-year, while global cargo demand continued its double-digit growth, rising +11%.
The second reason for higher rates was an ocean-to-air shift in freight volumes due to Red Sea disruptions and e-commerce demand.
Those factors could soon be amplified as e-commerce shows continued strong growth approaching the hotly anticipated winter peak season. E-commerce and low-value goods exports from China in the first seven months of 2024 increased 30% year-on-year, including shipments to Europe and the US rising 38% and 30% growth respectively, Xeneta said.
“Typically, air cargo market performance in August tends to follow the July trend. But another month of double-digit demand growth and the strongest rate growths of the year means there was definitely no summer slack season in 2024,” Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said in a release.
“Rates we saw bottoming out in late July started picking up again in mid-August. This is too short a period to call a season. This has been a busy summer, and now we’re at the threshold of Q4, it will be interesting to see what will happen and if all the anticipation of a red-hot peak season materializes,” van de Wouw said.
The report cites data showing that there are approximately 1.7 million workers missing from the post-pandemic workforce and that 38% of small firms are unable to fill open positions. At the same time, the “skills gap” in the workforce is accelerating as automation and AI create significant shifts in how work is performed.
That information comes from the “2024 Labor Day Report” released by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm.
“We continue to see a labor shortage and an urgent need to upskill the current workforce to adapt to the new world of work,” said Michael Lotito, Littler shareholder and co-chair of WPI. “As corporate executives and business leaders look to the future, they are focused on realizing the many benefits of AI to streamline operations and guide strategic decision-making, while cultivating a talent pipeline that can support this growth.”
But while the need is clear, solutions may be complicated by public policy changes such as the upcoming U.S. general election and the proliferation of employment-related legislation at the state and local levels amid Congressional gridlock.
“We are heading into a contentious election that has already proven to be unpredictable and is poised to create even more uncertainty for employers, no matter the outcome,” Shannon Meade, WPI’s executive director, said in a release. “At the same time, the growing patchwork of state and local requirements across the U.S. is exacerbating compliance challenges for companies. That, coupled with looming changes following several Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to upend rulemaking, gives C-suite executives much to contend with in planning their workforce-related strategies.”
Stax Engineering, the venture-backed startup that provides smokestack emissions reduction services for maritime ships, will service all vessels from Toyota Motor North America Inc. visiting the Toyota Berth at the Port of Long Beach, according to a new five-year deal announced today.
Beginning in 2025 to coincide with new California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, STAX will become the first and only emissions control provider to service roll-on/roll-off (ro-ros) vessels in the state of California, the company said.
Stax has rapidly grown since its launch in the first quarter of this year, supported in part by a $40 million funding round from investors, announced in July. It now holds exclusive service agreements at California ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Benicia, Richmond, and Oakland. The firm has also partnered with individual companies like NYK Line, Hyundai GLOVIS, Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US (Shell), and now Toyota.
Stax says it offers an alternative to shore power with land- and barge-based, mobile emissions capture and control technology for shipping terminal and fleet operators without the need for retrofits.
In the case of this latest deal, the Toyota Long Beach Vehicle Distribution Center imports about 200,000 vehicles each year on ro-ro vessels. Stax will keep those ships green with its flexible exhaust capture system, which attaches to all vessel classes without modification to remove 99% of emitted particulate matter (PM) and 95% of emitted oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Over the lifetime of this new agreement with Toyota, Stax estimated the service will account for approximately 3,700 hours and more than 47 tons of emissions controlled.
“We set out to provide an emissions capture and control solution that was reliable, easily accessible, and cost-effective. As we begin to service Toyota, we’re confident that we can meet the needs of the full breadth of the maritime industry, furthering our impact on the local air quality, public health, and environment,” Mike Walker, CEO of Stax, said in a release. “Continuing to establish strong partnerships will help build momentum for and trust in our technology as we expand beyond the state of California.”