If you’re looking for reliable, insightful, and digestible economic, political, and business intelligence, you should check out Armada Executive Intelligence. Their Black Owl Report executive briefing system is a must-have for any business leader wanting to stay current on global news and events that could impact your supply chain. Shown below is an excerpt from the Wednesday 19, April 2017 Black Owl Report briefing with news and comments regarding the latest IMF (International Monetary Fund) World Outlook Update. The IMF projects the world economy to grow at a pace of 3.5 percent in 2017, up from 3.1 percent last year, and 3.6 percent in 2018. Acceleration will be broad based across advanced, emerging, and low-income economies, building on gains it has seen in both manufacturing and trade.
World Growth to Accelerate According to IMF. The IMF has released its latest World Outlook update, and it bumped up global growth from 3.4% to 3.5%. It left most of its 2018 outlook unchanged – primarily because of Brexit and a few unknowns that could affect global growth. To pull a few highlights out of the report, here are the items that caught our eye:
From a geopolitical perspective, it would seem that Russia has less to worry about (economically speaking). The IMF sees the country growing finally at 1.4% in 2017 and 2018. That changes the negotiating perspective between Russia and the rest of the world. If it can grow despite economic sanctions imposed on it, then it has flexibility and the ability to maneuver. The global community could always ratchet up global sanctions, but it would take a lot more to get the world to move. Otherwise, unilateral action is likely to have less impact in the future (and therefore becomes a lesser deterrent).
Emerging markets in general will see growth of 4.5% this year, compared to 4.1% last year.
China outlook has improved slightly, but the IMF still believes that it will see growth behind its 2016 performance.
India will see growth accelerate further, growing at 7.2% in 2016 vs. 6.8% in 2016. India ranks 7th among the largest economies in the world, but had just $2.2 trillion in output in 2016 (compared to China’s $11 trillion or the US’ $18 trillion).
Growth in most of Europe was also lifted by .1 percentage point in 2017, but remained unchanged in 2018. The uncertainty of Brexit (as mentioned) is the greatest factor limiting the IMF from hiking growth expectations in 2018.
Closer to home, Canada growth was left unchanged at 1.9% for 2017, which is still improved from the 1.4% growth rate experienced in 2016. Mexican growth was also left unchanged at 1.7%, down from the 2.3% posted last year. Uncertainty over NAFTA negotiations, weaker oil prices, and an unexpected sluggishness in global automotive demand has weakened the outlook.
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Need help managing your global supply chain? Logistics Plus has that part covered. Contact us for more information.
This is the eighth in a 10-part series of extended interview videos with Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus. The remaining two segments will be shared over the next couple of days. The original interview was conducted in August 2016 as part of the company’s 20th Anniversary celebration. In this video Jim discusses karma and how that has parlayed into the company’s culture.
This is the seven in a 10-part series of extended interview videos with Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus. The remaining three segments will be shared over the next few days. The original interview was conducted in August 2016 as part of the company’s 20th Anniversary celebration. In this video Jim discusses some of the global cargo projects handled by the Logistics Plus team.
This is the sixth in a 10-part series of extended interview videos with Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus. The remaining four segments will be shared later this week. The original interview was conducted in August 2016 as part of the company’s 20th Anniversary celebration. In this video Jim discusses a little known story about how Logistics Plus helped GE during 911.
This is the fifth in a 10-part series of extended interview videos with Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus. The remaining five segments will be shared next week. The original interview was conducted in August 2016 as part of the company’s 20th Anniversary celebration. In this video Jim discusses the purchase and renovation of the historic Union Station in Erie, PA – the home of Logistics Plus global headquarters.
The folks at Inbound Logistics magazine published their 13th annual Global Logistics Guide in the March 2017 issue. You can also read the full report online. As part of the report, Inbound Logistics ranks major foreign countries according to the following criteria:
Transportation infrastructure (T)
IT competency (I);
Business culture (B); and
Intangibles (X).
For your benefit, we have summarized the Inbound Logistics rankings below (10 is the highest score and 3 is the lowest):
Region
Country
Overall
T
I
B
X
Europe
Netherlands
10
4
3
3
0
Europe
Germany
9
4
3
2
0
ME/Africa
UAE
9
4
2
2
1
SE Asia/India
Singapore
9
4
3
2
0
Europe
Switzerland
8
3
3
2
0
Asia
Hong Kong
8
3
3
2
0
Asia
Japan
8
3
3
2
0
Americas
Canada
7
2
3
3
-1
Americas
Panama
7
3
1
2
1
Europe
France
7
3
2
2
0
Europe
Belgium
7
3
2
2
0
SE Asia/India
Malaysia
7
3
2
2
0
SE Asia/India
India
7
2
1
2
2
SE Asia/India
Taiwan
7
3
3
2
-1
Asia
South Korea
7
3
3
2
-1
Americas
Chile
6
2
2
2
0
Europe
Poland
6
2
1
2
1
Asia
China
6
3
1
2
0
Americas
Colombia
5
2
1
2
0
Americas
Mexico
4
2
1
2
-1
Europe
Russia
4
2
1
1
0
SE Asia/India
Indonesia
4
2
1
1
0
SE Asia/India
Thailand
4
2
1
1
0
Asia
Vietnam
4
2
1
1
0
Americas
Brazil
3
2
1
1
-1
Europe
Turkey
3
2
1
1
-1
ME/Africa
South Africa
3
2
1
1
-1
The good news is that if you are exporting to, or importing from, any of these countries, Logistics Plus has local offices or reliable agents in almost every one of these countries. So we can help you with affordable import/export transportation rates and customs clearance fees; we can help you with warehousing and distribution solutions if they’re needed; and we can help you address virtually any global trade compliance issue that might apply. If you do business in any of these countries, we invite you to contact us to learn more.