2011 Ocean Rates
March 30, 2011 by Splatty
Filed under Seafreight
The first round of carrier negotiations are in the books for my company and as usual carrier rates are all over the board. With all of my responses in, the average difference between the lowest offering and the highest is roughly $700 to $800 per 40′ out of China base ports to the US. Needless to say, those on the high end were quickly eliminated. In looking at the most competitive offers this year, it appears that my overall cost per 40′ container will dip slightly from last year’s rates even with the recent increase in BAF. I would be curious to know if your ocean rates increased, decreased, or remained constant. Drop us a line and let us know.
Live from TPM!
March 7, 2011 by 3plwire
Filed under Seafreight
Check out our live twitter feeds from the 2011 TPM conference via our Twitter page.
Link updated.
Ocean freight rates on the decline?
January 17, 2011 by Splatty
Filed under Seafreight
Anyone else notice that ocean freight rates are declining? I was recently approached by an NVO with rates out of China to the U.S. that are approximately $100 to $200 lower than what was offered back in November. Even with the carriers implementing a pre-Chinese New Year peak, rates appear to be headed in a downward trend. I would be curious to see what others are seeing in the market.
2011 Freest Economies: Heritage Foundation Report
January 14, 2011 by Splatty
Filed under Seafreight, Trade Data
The Heritage Foundation has recently released their 2011 Index of Economic Freedom report which details the world’s freest economies. The report covers 183 countries across 10 specific freedoms such as trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom, and property rights.
For the 17th year in a row, Hong Kong assumed the top spot in the rankings.
According to the report, economic freedom is described as “the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property”. The report gives each country a ranking of 1-100 where a score of 100 represents the greatest amount of freedom. The rankings are based upon the following criteria:
1. Business Freedom
2. Trade Freedom
3. Fiscal Freedom
4. Government Spending
5. Monetary Freedom
6. Investment Freedom
7. Financial Freedom
8. Property Rights
9. Freedom from Corruption
10. Labor Freedom
2011 Top Ten Rankings
1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. Switzerland
6. Canada
7. Ireland
8. Denmark
9. United States
10. Bahrain
The United States lowest ranking came in the form of government spending at 54.6.
In the most recent year, total government expenditures, including consumption and transfer payments, equaled 38.9 percent of GDP. Spending increases totaled well over $1 trillion in 2009 alone, an increase of more than 20 percent over 2008. Stimulus spending has hurt the fiscal balance and placed federal debt on an unsustainable trajectory. Gross government debt exceeded 90 percent of GDP in 2010.
The bottom five countries in order:
175. Venezuela
176. Eritrea
177. Cuba
178. Zimbabwe
179. North Korea
