The picture for Cuban manufacturing is mixed. On the positive side, the government’s decision to give private firms more autonomy to retain earnings and make investment decisions may spur a much-needed market for capital equipment, a crucial source of demand for a developing economy factory sector.
Livingston International, a customs broker and provider of trade-compliance services, has expanded its global trade management (GTM) offering in India and Brazil.
Tom Sanderson, CEO of Transplace, discusses the growing U.S.-Mexico freight market and how Transplace continues to strengthen its presence there. Sanderson also highlights border-crossing issues that continue to complicate U.S.-Mexico freight moves.
The MAPI Foundation's manufacturing production index for Latin America is expected to decline 0.9 percent in 2015, although this regional picture masks sizable differences across countries. The deeper than expected recession in Brazil, for instance, is offsetting the solid performance of Mexican factories. Argentina's manufacturers are also in recession, but it is milder than Brazil's.
For manufacturers, Mexico is heating up. According to a recent survey from AlixPartners, 41 percent of manufacturing and distribution executives globally believe that bringing production back from overseas – a strategy known as nearshoring – is an opportunity for their organizations, and 86 percent of that group report that they have nearshored or expect to within the next few years.
