Triple-wall Motorcycle Crate Boxes

Problem:
A manufacturer of performance motorcycles looking for an efficient method of packaging high end sport bikes struggles with the high cost of wood crating. 

Solution:
Ox Box designs a crate pallet that enables the product to be safely loaded and secured to the surface.  A triple-wall corrugated crate box is made to fit securely on the crate pallet.  The crate box is capable of safely stacking the motorcycles in storage as well as in transit. 

Benefits:
* Reduced cost of expensive wood crating.
* Time savings to package product.
* Safe product storage and transportation.
* Triple-wall corrugated crate box 100% recyclable.

Export Packaging ISPM 15 Participating Countries

Here is the updated list of countries participating in the ISPM 15 program:

North America	Africa
United States*	Egypt
Canada*	Kenya
Mexico	Nigeria
	Senegal
Latin America	Seychelles
Argentina	South Afirica
Brazil	Tanzania
Bolivia
Chile	Asia Pacific
Columbia	Australia
Costa Rica	China
Cuba	India
Dominican Republic	Indonesia
Ecuador	Israel
Guatamala	Japan
Honduras	Jordan
Jamaica	Lebanon
Nicaragua	Malaysia
Paraguay	New Zealand
Peru	Oman
Trinidad & Tobago	Philippines
Venezuela	South Korea
	Sri Lanka
Europe	Syria
European Union**	Taiwan
Norway	Thailand
Switzerland	Vietnam
Turkey
Ukraine Croatia

  

*The U.S. and Canada currently maintain a bilateral agreement allowing for the movement of WPM across each other's border without ISPM 15 marks.

**European Union - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

There are countries not on this list that are enforcing ISPM-15 without any published regulation. It is recommended to use ISPM-15 compliant wood packaging regardless of international destination.

Content coutesy of the NWPCA.

Choosing The Right Corrugated Box

Integral to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) are internationally recognized specifications, rules and requirements for the proper packaging of goods moving by motor carrier.

The packaging provisions in the NMFC fall into three basic categories:

1. General packaging definitions and specifications
2. Specifications for packages that have been approved expressly for the transportation of certain commodities
3. Performance-based packaging criteria

The general packaging definitions and specifications are for commonly used packages, such as bags, crates, drums and of course fibreboard boxes. These provisions are found in various rules within the NMFC and set requirements for the construction and integrity of the package. For instance, the Item 222 series of rules enumerates the requirements for fibreboard boxes, including size and weight limits, the strength of the fibreboard used, and the box manufacturer’s certificate that must appear on all conforming boxes.
The NMFC also provides specifications for literally hundreds of packages that are authorized expressly for the transportation of certain commodities. These are essentially exceptions to the general packaging definitions and specifications, and each is assigned a unique package number. Through laboratory testing and/or actual test shipments, these numbered packages have been proven to offer adequate protection in the motor carrier environment for the transport of particular commodities.

As an alternative to the provisions described above, the NMFC allows shippers the option of developing performance-based packaging. Performance testing criteria are detailed in two NMFC rules: Item 180, Performance Testing of Shipping Containers, and Item 181, Furniture Package Performance Testing. Both allow new package designs to be used immediately upon the successful completion of the stated laboratory tests. New packages can thus be put into service more quickly to solve chronic damage problems or otherwise address specific packaging needs. Only those package-testing laboratories registered with the Commodity Classification Standards Board (CCSB) are authorized to certify packages in accordance with Items 180 and 181.
Source: National Motor Freight Traffic Association

More Federal Wood Packaging Regulations

The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is once again restricting the movement of wood pallets and containers. The federal agency has announced new rules in Massachusetts and Tennessee despite the issuance of an APHIS risk assessment that said there is no evidence that wood packaging contributes to the spread of these pests in the United States.
There has been confusion in the industry as a result of inaccurate reporting that said APHIS would no longer be regulating wood packaging. Following is a brief description of the regulatory authority for restricting the movement of wood packaging:

• APHIS can regulate interstate movement of wood packaging. The agency can (and does) stop pallets and containers from a county (or entire state) from leaving that state.
• The agriculture departments in each state are responsible for intrastate movement of wood packaging. They can block wood packaging from traveling from one county in the state to another county in the same state.

APHIS continues to regulate wood packaging via quarantine order in a reactive way when pests reach critical mass. This piecemeal approach is creating an artificial competitive disadvantage for wood packaging companies in quarantine areas.

Source: National Wooden Pallet & Container Association

Growth in retail-ready-packaging offers significant opportunities for suppliers,

Growth in retail-ready-packaging offers significant opportunities for suppliers,: " Driven primarily by retailers' bottom-line targets, steady growth i..."

Manufacturing in USA

Manufacturing has to be done at the lowest possible cost, where ever that happens to be. Why? Because when a good, or service for that matter, is produced at a higher cost, it effectively reduces the buying power of the consumer and drags down the economy.

So does this imply that manufacturing must shift to China / India from developed countries? No. Not necessarily. The fact is that it is not cheaper to produce things in China or India. These are actually high cost economies but the problem is that the governments of these countries, especially China, have distorted reality by building in various subsidies and thus artificially lowering the cost of manufacturing in China. How else can the landed cost of a product from China be less than the cost of raw material in North America? Shipping costs have to be negative for this to happen!! Subsidies can be in the form of devalued currency, lax labour laws, lack of environment compliance, loans that need not be paid back to the banks, and direct subsidies for every dollar of exports. All these things are happening in China and could have 30% to 60% impact on the cost of the product. For example, it is estimated that the Chinese Yuan is undervalued by upto 40%. In other words, China is playing spoil sport and taking deliberate action to undermine the future of manufacturing in the rest of the world.

On a level playing field, there is little doubt that North America can compete with China / India. Labour costs are a very small fraction (3% to 8% of the manufacturing costs, so that is really not an issue. Other costs of manufacturing abroad far outweigh the potential savings in labour costs - shipping, quality, long distance management, infrastructure bottle necks, corruption, etc. Of course there will be somethings that will always be produced outside North America but that is okay.

I was in India a few months ago and I found that products in India were much more expensive than Canada / US - clothes, shoes, house hold goods, electronics, almost everything. Services were cheap but products were very expensive. So how is it that they are able to ship products to North America and sell at a price that is lower than they sell in India. Go figure.

In other words, manufacturing is feasible in North America. It does not have to based on some ideolgoy. Just plain economic sense will suffice to justify manufacturing in North America. We just need a level playing field.

.
Source: Dinesh Chaudhari

U.S. Export Volume Growth to Strongly Outpace Imports

NEWARK, N.J., May 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. exports, driven by the weakened value of the U.S. dollar on global markets, will grow at nearly double the pace of imports this year, Mario O. Moreno, economist for The Journal of Commerce, said in an updated forecast of ocean shipping volume for 2011.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110531/NY11412 )

"Imports are being affected by the economy and the impact of rising prices on consumer demand, but the global rebound in manufacturing and the weak dollar are making this a very strong year for exports," said Moreno, working with ocean container shipping figures from PIERS, a sister company of The Journal of Commerce.

Moreno lowered his growth forecast for imports this year to 4.6 percent from the 6.7 percent he predicted three months ago. He raised his forecast for export growth to 10 percent from 8.3 percent.

The forecast was included in the annual Journal of Commerce Top 100 Importers and Exporters rankings and analysis for 2010 released in the May 30 edition of the publication.

Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, held its No. 1 position on the Top 100 Importers list, shipping nearly 700,000 20-foot-equivalent units of containerized cargo in 2010, outpacing Target — in the No. 2 spot with 455,500 TEUs — by more than 50 percent. Wal-Mart's low 1.8 percent year-over-year growth is partly due to supply chain innovation and packaging efficiency, reports the JOC, along with tighter inventory control.  

Wastepaper was at the forefront of exports as America Chung Nam held at No. 1, with a 16 percent jump to 300,800 TEUs, and International Paper jumped to No. 2. America Chung Nam also acts as an unofficial indicator of import demand due to its supply to sister company Nine Dragons Paper Industries, a high-volume supplier of containerboard for shipping to manufacturers in China.

The magazine's double issue features exclusive rankings of the Top 100 importers and exporters of containerized goods for 2010 along with market segment analysis, valuable economic insight and expert commentary.  

To view daily news visit http://www.joc.com/. For all media enquires, including article reprints, please contact Editorial Director Paul Page.

Since 1827, The Journal of Commerce has been the most trusted source of intelligence for international logistics executives to help them plan global supply chains and better manage day-to-day transportation of goods and commodities in the United States and internationally.

To become a member of The Journal of Commerce click here. JOC members have access to our weekly print and digital magazine and Web site, as well as a 10% discount on all JOC events and trade shows, UBM Global Trade Directories and select PIERS products. Authoritative editorial content in the form of daily news, weekly analysis and regular features ensure our members have the information and data necessary to understand the issues facing trucking, rail and maritime transportation. Members enjoy access to "By the Numbers," an exclusive weekly compilation of key industry statistics that provides detailed views of current market trends across all modes. Regular market intelligence reports -- utilizing PIERS trade data -- include Top 100 Imports and Exporters, quarterly Top 40 Container lines, Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic Maritime Forecasts and Top Container Ports and Terminals. Market-sector supplements, including Breakbulk, Cool Cargoes, 3PL, JOC Guide to Trucking and others, ensure all modes are comprehensively covered.  

About UBM Global Trade - UBM Global Trade is the leading provider of proprietary data, news, business intelligence and analytical content supporting commercial maritime, rail, trucking, warehousing and logistics industries worldwide. The company's portfolio of more than 100 online, print and interactive workflow business solutions includes The Journal of Commerce, Breakbulk, RailResource, PIERS and an array of international trade and transportation databases and directories. UBM Global Trade, a subsidiary of UBM plc, is headquartered in Newark, NJ, with offices throughout the United States. For more information, explore http://www.ubmglobaltrade.com/ or call 800-952-3839 (+1-973-776-8660 outside the U.S. or Canada).

SOURCE The Journal of Commerce

RELATED LINKS

http://prnewswire.122.2o7.net/b/ss/prnprnmobilesite,prnewswireglobal/4/REDIR/?gn=U.S. Export Volume Growth to Strongly Outpace Imports, According to The Journal of Commerce Report on Top 100&ch=News&c6=News&c2=U.S. Export Volume Growth to Strongly Outpace Imports, According to The Journal of Commerce Report on Top 100&c9=EN&c15=122889354&c26=05-31-2011&c36=photo&c46=http://www.joc.com&c50=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prnewswire.com%2Fnews-releases%2Fus-export-volume-growth-to-strongly-outpace-imports-according-to-the-journal-of-commerce-report-on-top-100-importers-and-exporters-122889354.html&pe=lnk_e&pev1=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%2Fnews-releases%2FgetNewsDetails.htm&pev2=RelatedLink&url=http://www.joc.com