Monthly Archives: October 2011

Federal response to vital Medicine shortages in US hospitals

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

A New York Times article (Oct 31, 2011) describes Federal attempts to ease shoratges of sterile injectables that constutue 74 % of drug shortages.  The government blames market concentration – 90 % of the medicines are bought by five hospital … Continue reading →

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Defense support for biofuels for aircraft and impact

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

A Bloombergbusinessweek article (oct 31-Nov 6, pg 44-45) decsribes plans by the navy and Marines to shift 50 % of their fuel to renewbale sources by 2020, the Army 25 % by 2025. Sources include camelina (an oil bearing plant), … Continue reading →

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Barnes & Noble swapping book space for e-readers

Posted on October 29, 2011 by

A Wall Street Journal article (Oct 29, 2011) describes a plan by Barnes & Noble to double the square feet devoted to e-readers to 2000 sq ft in a 26,000 Sq ft store. The space will be freed up by … Continue reading →

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Restructuring the global supply chain at Whirlpool

Posted on October 29, 2011 by

A Wall Street Journal article (Oct 29, 2011) describes the extra capacity held by appliance makers anticipating a demand rebound from 25 % low in the US and a 15 % drop in Europe compared to past levels. But continued … Continue reading →

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Now Thai floods and Japanese auto supply chain impact

Posted on October 29, 2011 by

A Wall Street Journal article (Oct 29, 2011) describes the impact of flooding in Thailand, which has resulted in two Sony plants deluged, Toyota suppliers impacted, a Honda plant impacted for six months etc. Given the disruption caused by the … Continue reading →

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Global Trade Financing Squeeze and Supply Chain Impact

Posted on October 29, 2011 by

An article in the Wall Street Jounral (Oct 29, 2011) describes the increase in the margins fior trade finance by a factor of thirty since 2008.  Trade finance provides letters of credit, export loans etc that finance global trade given … Continue reading →

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The Details in Free Trade Agreements with South Korea

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

An article in BloombergBusinessweek (Oct24-20, 2011, page 30/31) describes details in the free trade agreement with South Korea that define a US made product. For instant hot chocolate, a US made definition requires at least 65 % of the sugar … Continue reading →

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Apple’s use of supply chain as a strategic weapon

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

A New York Times article (24 Oct 2011) describes Apple’s low price strategy – iPhone 4GS priced at $199, iPads at $499 etc, with competitors barely managing to match prices for similar or lower specification products. The article suggests that … Continue reading →

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Increased restructuring and manufacturing’s future

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

An article in the Wall Street journal ( Oct 24, 2011) states that while close to 70% of S&P companies beat earnings,  significant number are focused on restructuring operations. The size of this spend varies from $100 million at Danaher, … Continue reading →

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Estimating the firm level impact of China Imports

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

An article in the Economist (Oct 15, 2011) describes attempts to understand the impact of imports from China on US jobs.  One study suggests that regions where manufacturers had a greater impact of Chinese imports showed greater job loss and … Continue reading →

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