The Future of Your Business Could Be International Shipping
Posted by Mark McAlister on Thu, Jun 24, 2010 @ 03:33 PM
Recently we have seen China come out and say that
they will "further reform the RMB exchange
rate
regime and enhance the RMB exchange rate flexibility"
We all know that
CHINA has undervalued their currency for the greater part of the past
decade
where they have been the hub of manufacturing for all developed
countries in
the world. The Chinese government has had the goal of their export
manufacturing being the engine for economic growth and job creation in
China
for the past 25 years. The strategy has largely worked, with China
putting up
better than 10% annual GDP growth for the past 30 years. By announcing
their
plans to reform their fixed-rate system, China is finally signaling a
willingness to allow supply and demand to determine the value of its
currency.
They are following in the vision implemented by Deng Xiao Peng over 20
years
ago when they opened up Shenzen and Guangzhou as their “experiment”
with FREE ENTERPRISE. Interesting that it came about the time the
Berlin wall was coming down and the whole world had seen not only that
communism doesn’t work, it is a destructive force with Tsunami power in
demolishing societies, as it tragically did with China from 1949 until
the
early ‘90’s when China started to wake up and smell the coffee brewing
over in West.
So now if you walk
down a major street in Shanghai, you will see at least 3 Starbucks
within one
block radius. You first have to pass a KFC, McDonalds and a few
Malls the size of a small town (underground up to 5 floors high) and you
would
swear you were in Manhattan.
Given China's
trade surplus and all of that foreign investment cash flowing into
China,
the consensus is that China's currency should appreciate quite a bit --
with
some experts suggesting that their exchange rate will strengthen to 4
or
5 RMB to the dollar rather than the current 6.8 RMB to the dollar , 25%
increase, coming soon !!!
So if you are an
average American that has a home filled with about 75% of goods made in
China,
or worse yet, your business is directly related to imports from China;
Importer, Wholesaler, Logistics, Transportation, retail, etc, you have
to see
the writing on the wall that the U.S. dollar is only going to get
weaker. Besides the China factor, history has proven that
recessions always follow with inflation.
So money will
continue to be tight, consumer costs will continue to rise, and let’s
not
forget about the hidden inflations ; TAXES,( thank you Democrats)
ILLEGAL
IMMIGRATION (Thank you Ted Kennedy ’64), INTEREST on our National debt,
soon 40% of tax revenue to the U.S, Treasury will go towards servicing
the
debt, and who really pays for this ? (Thank you Progressive movement),
the U.S.
Bogus system of calculating actual inflation, cooked books (Thank you
past Administrations
going back 20 years) and then we have the brand new one courtesy of Mr.
Obama,
the HEALTH CARE BILL. Health insurance will go up dramatically, forcing
employers to pay more in premiums and taxes which will be passed on in
the
rising costs of goods and services to the public and further increased
unemployment.
What we are left with
in the coming decade is among other more dire circumstances, which I
will not
delve into, but one of great significance. That is the U.S. will have to
become
an economy dependent upon exports. Not just of Cotton, Lumber, Scrap,
waste paper, Agriculture, Rawhide, etc, but actual consumer manufactured
goods.
Most people don’t
realize that with all the ballyhoo about our trade deficit with China
being so
huge, is that the U.S. economy is still at least 4- 5 times larger than
China’s
and our exports still outnumber those of China. It is mind boggling I
know, but now that you see our dollar destined for another WEIMAR
REPUBLIC, together with CHINA’s growing middle class (more than the population
of
the U.S.) with an RMB at 4 or 5 per USD, it doesn’t take a Rocket
Scientist to deduce that China as well as other healthy economies
(wherever
they are) can afford to buy goods made in the Good old YOO ESS OF AYE.
So if you are
wondering “ where is the future of my business”….now is a
good time to seriously evaluate how manufacturing and exports can fit
into the
picture.
I would also like to
add that it has become “In” and trendy in China to buy goods made
in the USA now. In fact the “Yuppies” of China are willing to
pay higher prices for higher end merchandise and anything that reflects
the
American way of life. The real truth is that people in China are in
love with America and want to emulate our lifestyles. This is the
future.
(that and our children better start learning mandarin)
Devin T. Burke
CEO, Universal Cargo