Tag Archives: Risk

Regulating Lithium Battery shipments as cargo and associated costs

Posted on February 5, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Jan 31, 2012) describes a change in regulations by the FAA that barred transport of lithium batteries by air, without appropriate packaging, following a fire and associated crash of a UPS plane carrying … Continue reading →

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Private Equity role in turning around manufacturing firms

Posted on February 5, 2012 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (Feb 2, 2012) by Armand Lauzon Jr describes his experience as a private equity company representative with manufacturing firms. Firth Rixson was a metals forging company that he led, and that doubled revenues, improved profitability, added … Continue reading →

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Climate change risks and disclosure rules

Posted on February 5, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (Feb 1, 2012) describes a requirement by California to require insurance companies to report on their plans to mitigate the impact of climate change. The data shows that by June 2011, the insurance claims … Continue reading →

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Bringing manufacturing back to the US — and associated profitability

Posted on February 5, 2012 by aviyer2010

An Accenture report titled “Manufacturing’s Secret Shift” reports a survey that shows that 49 % of respondents faced delivery time issues and 46 % faced quality issues associated with outsourced manufacturing.  In addition, 73 % faced material cost increases and … Continue reading →

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US Demographics in 2020 and supply chain trends

Posted on February 1, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal by Mills and Ottino (Jan 30, 2012) states that in 2020 the US population will be younger than China and Europe. They present three trends – computing power and its ubiquity, smart manufacturing … Continue reading →

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Mongolia’s rapid growth and logistics options

Posted on January 31, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (Jan 21, 2012) describes the rapid growth of Mongolia’s coal mining industry, with output expected to grow from 16 million tons in 2013 to 240 million tons by 2040. Worried about being too dependent on … Continue reading →

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Danish wind energy production surges and the cost of smoothing supply

Posted on January 27, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (Jan 22, 2012) describes the power surges due to high winds in Denmark and the payment to other countries to take the energy generated.  Surges in wind and the consequent energy generated are … Continue reading →

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Economies of scale vs risk in concentrating hard drive production in Thailand

Posted on January 27, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (Jan 20, 2012) describes the quandry faced by hard drive manufacturers in Thailand whose plants were deluged during the floods.  Slow recovery of manufacturing raises the benefit of concentration of this industry (40-45 … Continue reading →

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Using the GSP program with Egypt to import duty free to the US

Posted on January 11, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article covering a speech by US officials (http://thedailynewsegypt.com/trade/us-trade-officials-urge-egypt-to-utilize-gsp-program.html) describes Egypt’s GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) program with the US. Exporters can apply to have their products listed under GSP and thus export duty free to the US. Current duty … Continue reading →

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Global Apparel Sourcing Trends

Posted on January 11, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Sourcing online (http://www.sourcingjournalonline.com/wheres-and-whys-2012-apparel-sourcing-trends) describes rising labor costs in China and its impact. The article cites lead time, flexibility and variety as issues to consider in sourcing. Vietnam benefits from being close to mills in China, Bangladesh has … Continue reading →

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