New Articles

Damco Opens New Warehouse in Vietnam

Damco Opens New Warehouse in Vietnam

Madison, NJ – Third-party logistics provider Damco and Vietnamese warehouse owner HTM (Construction and Mechanic HTM, JSC) have opened a new warehouse in northern Vietnam to support key fashion/retail customers whose sourcing patterns are centered there.

The new 24,000 square foot warehouse “will enable Damco to play a dual role as a warehousing & distribution hub as well as a gateway to attract customers who are actively trading to/from South China via this corridor – a key focus for Damco’s future development in the North of Vietnam,” the company said.

The warehouse was constructed to C-TPAT standards and is strategically located in Haiphong, Vietnam’s third largest city and one of the country’s most important seaports.

The warehouse offers a total combined space of 24,000 square feet. It is built to very high international and C-TPAT standards, is well positioned to support increased volumes, and offers modern safety, security and fire-fighting systems.

A key focus during construction and operation is the reduction of carbon emissions in accordance with the company’s long-standing environmental policy.

The long-term HTM – Damco partnership is expected to lead to the eventual development of more than 60,000 square feet of warehousing space in Vietnam over the next three years.

Damco, part of the Denmark-based Maersk Group, is a pioneer in the logistics sector in Vietnam with more than 500 employees there and has been operating and investing in the country for more than 20 years.

06/09/2014

 

US Trade Deficit Surges to Two-Year High

Washington, DC – The volume of US imports surged and exports declined in April, pushing the US trade deficit to a two-year high of $47.2 billion, according to the latest figures released by the US Department of Commerce.

The trade deficit for the month climbed by 6.9 percent from an upwardly revised March deficit of $44.2 billion with imports growing by 1.2 percent to an all-time high of $240.6 billion and exports falling for the fourth month in a row by a rate of 0.2 percent to $195.4 billion.

In 2013, the trade deficit declined by 11.4 percent to $476.4 billion. Some analysts feel the decline in exports can be pegged on the extreme cold weather in the eastern and southern US coupling with the continuing drought in California’s agricultural Central Valley to impact the country’s manufacturing capability and, at the same time, increase the volume of imported foodstuffs.

The same analysts, though, are guardedly forecasting a bounce back with economic growth reaching around 3 percent in the second half of the year as a boom in the nation’s energy sector could well narrow the trade gap. Stronger domestic petroleum production cut oil imports by 10.9 percent during the first quarter of the year, while oil imports in April fell 2.2 percent to $29.8 billion, while conditional US petroleum exports rose 3.1 percent to $11.8 billion.

The US trade deficit with the 28-member European Union hit a monthly record of $14 billion in April as imports from that region hit an all-time high, while the trade gap with China, the largest the US has with any trading partner, jumped 33.7 percent to $27.3 billion in April, the largest gap since January.

The US-China trade relationship has come under scrutiny on Capitol Hill with some lawmakers charging that Beijing is manipulating its currency to keep it undervalued against the dollar. That manipulation, they have said, makes imported Chinese goods cheaper in the US and American-made products more expensive in China.

06/09/2014

US SecCom on Major Philippine Trade Mission

Washington, DC – US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker is leading a major business delegation to the Philippines this week.

The mission is seen as “a concrete sign that the United States is ready to engage Manila in further market access and trade negotiations” that “reaffirms Washington’s commitment to the Philippines and the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region,” said the US Embassy in Manila.

The 12-person, “CEO-level” mission consists of representatives of companies in the services, energy, consumer goods, communications, electronics and mining sectors.

Part of Secretary Pritzker’s itinerary reportedly includes meetings with President Benigno Aquino, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and other key Philippine government officials.

Pritzker has served as Secretary of Commerce for the past two years as a member of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board which formulated and evaluated economic policy.

US goods and services trade with the Philippines totaled $24 billion in 2012, according to the latest trade data available from the US Trade Representative. Exports totaled $10.6 billion; Imports totaled $13.3 billion.

In 2013, US companies invested $1.3 billion in the country, while the US ranked as the Philippines’ third largest trading partner and second largest global export market.

06/05/2014