Industry Insights

A signing ceremony for the Suspension Agreement occurred on Thursday, September 19. That agreement takes effect upon signing by Commerce and the Signatories.  The suspension agreement imposes new procedures on tomatoes imported from Mexico. Tomatoes imported from signatories will not require the 17.56% antidumping duty deposit, however liquidation will still be suspended.   Here are 4 Things to Know About the Suspension Agreement: The signing triggers a 20 day window where interested parties may request the US International Trade Commission to review if the agreement completely eliminates the injurious effect of dumping. The review takes no more than 75 days. […]

By Karen Groff, President Roanoke Insurance Group Inc.   As part of a project to benchmark the safety of containers at sea, the National Cargo Bureau (NCB) recently completed a random inspection of 500 import and export ocean shipping containers and discovered that 55% had misdeclared, misplacarded and/or improperly secured cargo.   NCB inspects approximately 31,000 US export “haz-mat” containers per year on behalf of ocean carriers to ensure the safety of cargo being loaded on their ships; however, NCB does not typically inspect import containers arriving at US ports. Of the 500 containers included in this project, 49% of […]

LET THE EXPERTS HELP YOU SUCCEED! Learn key financial tools and resources Address your company’s needs with on-site consulting sessions Workshops on loan application process and CA SBA-funded STEP* program *California State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Registration is $40 and includes parking, a continental breakfast and lunch! What:    Global Financing Assistance for Exporters When:   October 23, 2019 8:00 AM – 12:15 PM (PDT) Where:  SBDC Lead Office, Irvine, CA Roanoke’s Amanda Barlow will be speaking on the topic of ATA Carnets. View full speaker lineup. This event is cosponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the District Export Council […]

  In recognition of Labor Day, our offices will close at 3pm on August 30th, remain closed on September 2nd and reopen for normal business hours on September 3rd. Have a safe weekend!

The Shipping Risks Making Supply Chain Logistics Vulnerable Everyone looks forward to a long holiday weekend, especially after a busy summer season. Labor Day is just around the corner and while you may be in vacation mode, it’s important that manufacturers and logistics service providers be prepared for the risks associated with the long weekend. Did you know that in Labor Day weekends between 2014 and 2018, the SensiGuard™ Supply Chain Intelligence Center (SCIC) recorded 2.4 thefts a day? This statistic is 14% higher than the industry average for any other time during the year.   Why is there so […]

Transportation and logistics service providers, and mostly all companies large and small, are suffering business disruptions due to cyberattacks. A single email sent by a hacker to an unsuspecting and trusting individual — if opened by mistake —  can compromise the operations of an entire company. Every company is vulnerable and it’s only smart to take precautions and make contingency plans against cyberattacks.   What is a Cyberattack? A cyberattack is a proactive targeting and attack of a company’s computer information systems, technology infrastructure, network or personal computers and devices. The attacker is a person or group with malicious intent […]