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As 2015 is shaping up as a robust year for retailers, supply chains are scrambling to find new ways to stay on top of moving those goods as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Lower gas prices, better employment numbers and bolstered consumer confidence are expected to be reflected in a nearly 5 percent rise in retail sales, a significant portion of our country’s gross domestic product.
On the manufacturing side, the outlook is beginning to brighte
n as companies expand — think JCB and Gulfstream locally — and supply chains work to feed the just-in-time demand for components and other inventory.
No wonder the seventh annual Georgia Logistics Summit is selling out fast.
The only industry-driven, state-led event of its kind and size in the country, the summit is set for March 31 and April 1 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
Last year’s summit drew about 2,200 attendees from 38 states and 11 nations, making it one of the largest logistics events in the world. Attendees tout the unique opportunity to network with peers, connect with customers and learn from industry experts.
“This unique event has established a reputation for delivering the highest quality speakers and networking environment,” said Jannine Miller, director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics.
This year will be no exception.
The 2015 summit will have something for everyone including panel discussions on international logistics and the logistics of manufacturing as well as opportunity sessions on e-commerce, perishables and intermodal.
The keynote speaker will be Craig Menear, president and CEO of The Home Depot, who will talk about how his team works to create a seamless interconnected retail experience and offer insight into how he helped execute one of the most dramatic supply chain transformations in history.
Individual registration is $50 and can be done online at georgialogistics.com.
Going global
One reason logistics has become big business in Georgia comes from the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies working to promote sound public policy and a thriving U.S. economy:
“With more than 95 percent of the world’s population and 80 percent of the world’s purchasing power outside the United States, future economic growth and jobs for Georgia and America increasingly depend on expanding U.S. trade and investment opportunities in the global marketplace.”
According to Business Roundtable research, U.S. government data and other sources:
• International trade, including exports and imports, supports 1.2 million Georgia jobs — more than 1 in 5. These trade-related jobs grew 4.5 times faster than total employment from 2004 to 2013 and are at large and small companies, on farms, in factories and at the headquarters of Georgia’s globally engaged firms.
• Georgia exported $37.4 billion in goods and $21.0 billion in services in 2013, including aerospace products and parts, pulp and paperboard products, motor vehicles and travel services.
• Of Georgia’s 14,869 exporters, 89 percent are small and medium-sized companies with fewer than 500 workers.
• Imports lower prices and increase choices for Georgia companies and families. Lower raw material and input costs help Georgia companies stay competitive in global markets, while families can stretch paychecks further as trade agreements reduce the cost of products by eliminating costly barriers to trade.
• Free trade agreements have helped fuel rapid export growth from Georgia to partner countries. In 2013, $14.2 billion of Georgia’s goods exports, or 38 percent, went to free trade partners. This represents a 102 percent increase since 2003.
• Foreign-owned companies invest and build facilities and employ 196,300 workers in Georgia.
West Coast fallout
The recent cargo congestion on the other side of the country appears to have solidified many shippers’ plans to divert cargo to other ports, the Journal of Commerce reported Thursday.
According to a recent JOC.com survey, 65 percent of 138 shippers surveyed this week said they plan to ship less cargo through U.S. West Coast ports this year and in 2016 after suffering from congestion delays.
The percentage of shippers planning to permanently reroute some cargo away from the Pacific coast ports is nearly identical to the 66 percent of shippers who said the same thing when they were surveyed by JOC.com in mid-December.
“I challenge if things will really return to normal,” one shipping executive told the JOC, adding that he felt issues with chassis, larger vessels and union inflexibility would continue to plague the ports and create port terminal congestion.
Other shippers have no choice but to remain with West Coast ports, regardless of delays.
“The only reason I’m not rerouting cargo is because I’m an agricultural shipper,” one exporter told the journal. “I can’t move my hazelnut orchards or grass seed fields. We are stuck with the West Coast ports — for better or worse.”
The survey is another sign the West Coast port congestion — exacerbated by alleged ILWU slowdowns that waterfront employers said only ended after they reached a tentative labor agreement with the union on Feb. 20 — could cause a noticeable shift of cargo away from the coast as happened after 2002 disruptions, said Mark Szakonyi, Journal of Commerce associate managing editor.
At that time, the West Coast employers’ decision to lock out ILWU workers for 10 days spurred shippers to permanently shift imports to the East and Gulf coasts. Congestion “will happen again to the (West Coast) ports. Obviously, we did not learn anything from the 2002 lockout,” another shipper told the JOC..
U.S. East Coast ports are poised to be the biggest beneficiaries of the surveyed shippers’ frustration with West Coast congestion, as 38.8 percent of those planning to reroute cargo say they will send the freight to the opposing coast. Nearly 23 percent of the shippers planning to reroute cargo said the majority of their freight would head to U.S southeast ports, which have experienced virtually no congestion over the past year.
Senior business writer Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for Savannah Morning News and Savannahnow. Reach her at 912-652-0324 or mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GPA and are subject to change.
TERMINAL VESSEL ETA
GCT MAERSK CHICAGO Today
GCT MSC MAUREEN Today
GCT MAERSK KLEVEN Today
GCT ISLANDIA Today
GCT UASC ZAMZAM Today
GCT OCTAVIA Today
GCT YM ETERNITY Today
GCT MSC BRIANNA Today
GCT BERLIN EXPRESS Today
OT TARAGO Today
OT EGS TIDE Today
GCT NORTHERN JUBILEE Saturday
GCT SINGAPORE EXPRESS Saturday
GCT ASPHALT SUMMER Saturday
GCT AKINADA BRIDGE Saturday
GCT ZIM ALABAMA Sunday
GCT DUZGIT DIGNITY Sunday
OT SHANGHAI BULKER Sunday
OT AVONBORG Sunday
GCT MAERSK KARLSKRONA Monday
GCT MAERSK ATLANTA Monday
GCT ZIM CHICAGO Monday
GCT CMA CGM DON GIOVANNI Monday
GCT MAERSK SEVILLE Monday
GCT NYK FURANO Monday
GCT EVER CHARMING Monday
GCT APL CORAL Monday
GCT WASHINGTON EXPRESS Monday
GCT OOCL TAIPEI Monday
OT GRANDE GUINEA Monday
GCT ZIM QINGDAO Tuesday
GCT XIN TAI CANG Tuesday
GCT SEOUL EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT VIRGINIA BRIDGE Tuesday
GCT JONNI RITSCHER Tuesday
GCT CHEM AMSTERDAM Tuesday
OT PARSIFAL Tuesday
GCT MSC FLAMINIA Wednesday
GCT CONRAD S Wednesday
GCT HANJIN MILANO Wednesday
GCT AL FARAHIDI Wednesday
OT TYSLA Wednesday
GCT ZIM BEIJING Thursday
GCT APL TOURMALINE Thursday
GCT MSC SAO PAULO Thursday
GCT ZIM ONTARIO Thursday
GCT HANSA ARENDAL Thursday
GCT MOL MAXIM Thursday
GCT MAERSK WINNIPEG Thursday
GCT YM ENHANCER Thursday