railroad and the only one that hasnвЂ™t expressly adopted that model, has still made staff cuts to improve efficiency and remain competitive.вЂќ вЂњMore than 22% of the jobs at railroads Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern have been eliminated since 2017, when CSX implemented a cost-cutting system called Precision Scheduled Railroading that most other U.S. This on that last point from an AP story: Meanwhile in the U.S., railroads have been cutting costs and reducing headcount. Third,В the shipping business over the past decade has not been very profitable - вЂќa fricking nightmareвЂќ my source called it - until now (see below), which meant there was little investment in new ships. Example: If Pottery Barn needs 50 couches from China, the company orders it, and two weeks later or three weeks later, the couches are on the West Coast of the United States.

companies and allows consumers unprecedented immediate gratification from a global cornucopia of goods. That makes for lower inventories, which reduces costs for U.S. Second,В companies and consumers increasingly count on just-in-time inventory systems to order goods. 1 exporting nation to the U.S., but Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam are also on the top 10 list. Our imports from Asia across the board are up. Flash forward to today, in August of this year, our imports from China totaled nearly $43 billion. Example: In January 1985 (as far back as data went), we imported $293 million of goods from China (and had a positive trade balance). Over the past two decades, a number of trends have shaped the business.ДЇirst,В when it comes to the United States, we have been increasing our outsourcing and reliance on imported goods.

First understand that 90% of the world's global trade is shipped by sea, with 70% in containers. LetвЂ™s start at the very beginning, (as Maria von Trapp might say). 'Containergeddon,вЂќ is what Steve Ferreira of shipping consultancy Ocean Audit calls it, according to Reuters. вЂњI don't think anyone's ever seen anything like this in their careers, anyone who's alive,вЂќ says a board member of a large shipping company whose family has been in the business for decades. What we are witnessing is a massive, unprecedented traffic jam of humankind's largest sea vessels that is at the very core of the conundrum. That was true and still is the case in Vietnam, for instance. Initially this was because factories in Asia (for example) had to close for weeks or even months because workers were sick with the coronavirus. No doubt youвЂ™ve heard how the worldвЂ™s supply chain is being stressed like never before, resulting in shortages and delays in everything from semiconductors, to cars, sneakers, exercise equipment, and Rolexes.

Crazy shipping center in china