Meet our new home in the Southeast:
Our new distribution center is located just outside of Macon, GA in Dry Branch. The 90,000 square foot facility will service customers throughout the region, and joins our other strategically located distrubtion centers located in California, Texas, and at our headquarters here in Cleveland, OH.
In an effort to boost sagging natural rubber latex prices, Malaysia announced today that they, Indonesia, and Thailand will place further limit latex exports to control supply. The three nation’s represent the world’s largest rubber-producing countries.
This announcement is not the first attempt to stabilize prices. Back in December, IRCo, which represents producers in the three countries, announced plans to reduce production by 15% beginning this month.
Read more:
Malaysia to cut rubber exports
The volatility of the global economy has been especially hard for ocean carriers. Fuel prices produced record freight rates last summer. Demand evaporated in the fourth quarter, however, sending rates to all-time lows and leaving the fate of some carriers in doubt.
For importers, the lower freight rates are a mixed bag. For new orders, the lower rates mean lower costs. But because the downturn occurred so quickly, many suppliers are still struggling to shed inventories purchased during times of higher costs.
Read more:
Plunging freight rates have some ocean carriers in survival mode
With the Chinese New Year quickly approaching on January 26, glove suppliers are quickly working to finalize business with manufacturers. The national holiday is the most significant of the Chinese calendar, and results in shutdown of government offices and other businesses for several days.
The official holiday spans from January 25-31, but many businesses close much sooner and may remain closed into February to allow migrant workers to return home. When the economy is strong, some factories will remain open through the holiday. This year, however, with weakened global glove demand, expectations are that all factories will close, even if only for a brief period of time.
On January 26, new cargo security requirements on ocean cargo, referred to as “10+2″, will take effect in an effort to enhance US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) ability to identify high-risk cargo shipments. 10+2, under the direction of US Department of Homeland Security, will require an Importer Security Filing (ISF) prior to a vessel loading at foreign ports. This ISF will consist of 10 additional data elements from US importers plus 2 data set items required from carriers.
As you might expect, this ruling will impact the entire industry, as most protective gloves and clothing are now imported.
To learn more about 10+2, visit:
