Tag Archives: Capacity

The potential impact of copper concentrate stockpiles in China on copper prices

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “China’s Stock and Ore for Copper Prices” (November 22,2013) describes the over two months of copper concentrate (crushed copper ore) in inventory at China’s new smelters as against the usual two to … Continue reading

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Making apparel in the USA and retail prices

An article in the New York Times titled “That ‘Made in the USA’ Premium (December 1,2013) describes the growth in US manufacturing of higher end apparel but the continued difficulty in domestic production of lower cost items. It cites production … Continue reading

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Burning wood with coal to comply with EPA emissions rules

An article in the New York Times titled “Power plants try burning wood with coal to cut carbon emissions” (November 4, 2013), describes the use of sawdust and wood chunks along with coal to reduce carbon emissions in US power … Continue reading

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The US govenment shutdown, US imports delays, and local production impact

An article in the New York Times titled “Shutdown’s quiet toll, from idled research to closed wallets” (October 11, 2013) describes how lack of EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) inspectors at ports has delayed goods at US ports. Chemicals held at … Continue reading

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The Nike vs New Balance disagreement regarding import tariffs for Shoes made in Vietnam

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Nike, new balance highlight thorny issues in trade talks” (October 7, 2013), describes the disagreement between Nike and New balance regarding the 10% US tariff on shoes made in Vietnam. The tariff … Continue reading

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Walmart ‘s Made in the USA goal and impact

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Pitching to Walmart – Made in the USA” (October 7,2013) describes plans by Walmart to increase their US sourcing by $5 billion each year. But the company wants to hold customer prices, … Continue reading

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Understanding and fixing the 244% inflation for onion prices in India

An article in the Financial Express titled “Dousing the vegetable fire” (October 11, 2013) describes the 244% price rise between between August 2012 and 2013. The authors highlight that 50% of the onion production in India is in two states … Continue reading

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The improving competitiveness of US toilet manufacturing

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “America’s Toilet Turnaround”(September 25, 2013) (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303983904579093463623447196.html) describes plans to add capacity to the Mansfield Plumbing Products plant in Perrysvlle, Ohio and Toto Ltd’s plans to increase its capacity in the Morrow, Georgia … Continue reading

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High Speed trains and productivity impact in China

An article in the New York Times, on September 23,2013, titled “Speedy Trains Transform China”, (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/business/global/high-speed-train-system-is-huge-success-for-china.html?_r=0) describes the impact of the trains that travel 186 miles/hour and connect 100 cities. For individual textile manufacturers, the fast access to customers enables … Continue reading

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How should data from smart meters be used to improve the power supply chain ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Utilities Try to Learn from Smart Meters (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324123004579055070644003780.html) describes the continuous flow of data from smart meters in consumers homes. That data, coupled with sensors in power generating equipment owned by utilities … Continue reading

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