Your Coffee’s Costing More My daily coffee has been steadily increasing in cost in recent years (even if I brew it at home). As climate events such as droughts continue to wreak havoc on production of arabica beans in Brazil and Vietnam, even instant coffee is now being affected. The price of Robusta beans, which…
What Happens When We’ve Mined Everything on Earth? A deepwater port and road project has been given the greenlight in the Nunavut (northern region of Canada). This project would create the first “road” linking Canada to the Arctic. Why? The Canadian Arctic is rich with minerals and rare earth metals but hasn’t been mined yet…
Canada Planning Tariffs on Chinese EVs Last week, we wrote about tariffs. Now, Canada looks set to slap on tariffs on Chinese-made EV’s aligning with what the US is doing. While the details are yet to be confirmed and finalized, the tariffs are believed to be similar to the US, which could be upwards of…
Do Tariffs Really Work? Small businesses are getting caught in the crossfire in the trade wars between the US and China. Tariffs imposed on products from Chinese manufacturers are borne by the US-based business importing the goods, meaning businesses are seeing their cost of goods increase approximately 25% just from tariffs. The US is not…
Port of Baltimore Set to Reopen After having a container ship crash into and pretty much demolish the bridge and block the important shipping channel, the Port of Baltimore shipping channel is set to reopen after a LOT of hard work to remove the debris. US Customs Crack Down on Brokers of Cheap Online Orders…
First Cocoa, Now Oranges Hit New Price Highs If you’re finding it getting far too expensive to have fresh orange juice with your breakfast, blame it on the weather again. Just like cocoa prices and crops, weather events are causing poor harvests of oranges in Florida and Brazil resulting in orange prices being double what…
How Can Technology Help Manage Supply Chain Shocks The last few years has thrown a lot of obstacles at supply chains. From a global pandemic, Houthi rebels, bridge collapses and climate events. Here’s a look at how technology such as AI and the access to data (analytics) can help manage and mitigate supply chain crises….
IMF Chides US for Not Playing Nicely U.S. President Biden has been on a tariff spree targeting Chinese goods. Prompting IMF spokeswoman, Julie Kozack to comment: “Our view is that the US would be better served by maintaining open trade policies that have been vital to its economic performance…” Clearly, the U.S.’ aggressive tariffs are…
Beloved sriracha brand suffers more supply shocks The beloved sriracha brand, Huy Fong Foods, has experienced supply problems over the last few years with supply of their chilli peppers. Now, the spicy sauce company has announced it is halting production due to a poor harvest of their red chilli peppers, stating the harvest is too…
Canada Sees Trade Deficit in March Canada saw its largest trade deficit in nine months last March with a trade deficit of $2.28 billion. Total exports feel 5.3% whereas economists expected a trade surplus of $1.5 billion. (I guess the business for forecasting is still not an accurate thing.) US Government Procurement Stats There’s good…