Markofucity & Everyone:
Mike Jones the football player is NOT Mike Jones with the China Commission.
They are two entirely different people.
One’s known for a history of economic development in the City & County and is Charlie Dooley’s right hand man; the other is retired from pro sports and is involved in real estate development. It’s not like Dan Dierdorf working for the CVC; these are two entirely different people.
SoulardX wrote:The product.....
I've asked this before and only gotten nebulous, non-specific, mostly non-sensical answer...probably because no one knows.
What goods/products are the Chinese going to be flying here?
What goods/products are we going to be flying to China?
I want specific goods. I don't want to read "time sensitive goods." I want real tangible things. For example: plastic vomit, computer components, pharmaceuticals, t-ravs, etc.
What goods/products are so important/profitable that they are flown to the middle of the country rather than just shipped via container to the West coast?
Backing up Grover’s points, I see the demands of the emerging Chinese middle and upper classes are for expensive & quasi-luxurious goods, ranging from the agricultural (steaks, wines, US-brand organics) to pharmaceutical (prescription drugs, from Lipitor to Viagra). We will want mass-produced consumer goods; the nature of air freight leads me to think of higher-end products that you don’t want to risk breaking on a freight yard.
Think of the US as being a nation of innovation and China as a center of production. Where we create and innovate products, they copy and innovate production lines with economies of scale and manufacturing efficiencies (usually created by outside consultants and expatriate Westerners). Where China has about 30,000 engineers graduating every year with advanced degrees, we have entrepreneurs and creatives. When you think on this light, you’ll see what will be exported to whom.
And, as more commerce is engaged by businesses & individuals on an immediate basis in China, there will be more needs for prompt deliveries. This includes everything from airmailing time-sensitive business & legal documents to shipping personal items bought on Ebay. Look to companies like FedEx and UPS (although not necessarily them) shipping many goods across the Pacific into Shanghai and Beijing.
As trade occurs, we can look to more development of the markets. The advantage to StL is that domestic producers of product wanted in China, including high-tech manufacturers, may look to establishing new operations in StL for proximities to Lambert & the Chinese markets. Herein lines increased development opportunities and a whole lot of new jobs.
Meanwhile, the NY Post reports a new delegation from China is going to be visiting the US, one that we may be happy to avoid:
NY POST
CHINESE TAKEOUT
By JOSH KOSMAN
May 7, 2009 --
The Chinese are about to embark on a shopping trip of epic proportions.
Hoping to take advantage of cheap prices on struggling American businesses, a group of 400 executives from state-owned and private Chinese companies will be visiting the US next month on the hunt for distressed assets.
China's Ministry of Commerce is behind the tour, and is planning visits to New York, Washington, Chicago and Salt Lake City. The trip also includes stops in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
Business sectors that are likely to get a look from the Chinese delegation include: automotive, petrochemical, energy, metal, media, furniture and consumer goods.
While it remains unclear which specific companies might be targeted, a US-based buyer of distressed assets who is currently selling a business to the Chinese said Chinese buyers tend to be careful about making acquisitions and are less interested in taking a company through bankruptcy or buying a firm that is in a bankruptcy proceeding.
News of the visit was originally reported in mergermarket, an M&A news service.
Any significant buying by Chinese companies would further bolster Beijing's presence in the US economy. Already, the Asian country is the biggest owner of Treasury debt totaling more than $1 trillion, and remains a major market for many US companies that want to tap into what has been a booming economy there.
The Chinese influence on the US economy was felt earlier this year when top officials in Beijing expressed worry that the federal government's efforts to revive its own economy might begin to devalue China's US Treasury holdings.
And in another sign of China's importance to the economy, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was forced to back off of allegations he had made earlier about the country manipulating its currency.
Already, the Chinese have begun making plays for US auto assets, hoping to take advantage of the carnage left by the recession.
Yesterday, news reports said Geely Automotive and Dongfeng Motor Group are thinking of making a bid for GM's Saab unit.
What's more, Kim Korth, the president of auto consultant IRN Inc., told The Post she knows there are several large groups with backing from Beijing that are looking to buy US-owned auto suppliers.
Meanwhile, in testimony this week during the Chrysler bankruptcy case, a Chrysler executive said he believed some groups from China were at its Michigan headquarters in January exploring the purchase of some car lines.
josh.kosman@nypost.com
Source:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05072009/bu ... 168038.htm
With the dollar differential, the Chinese are ready to acquire.
They also are ready to expand.
They're gonna need a way to get goods back and forth besides just taking the slow boat out to Shanghai.
I am rather optomistic.
EDIT: Consider Just-In-Time manufacturing, where raw materials are shipped to factories at the time of their usage. Such strategies are used to minimize reliance on maintained inventories and warehousing of parts. The strategy is planned to also best utilize line production. An air shipment hub would be great for incorporating into a JIT production facility, with US specialty parts leading the way as they innovate and mature their manufacturing prowesses. Should their interests in the US automotive sector materialize, including the US auto supplier subindustries, the necessity of specialty air deliveries increases exponentially.
. Thinking about it, though, Long Beach is losing Boeing's huge 717 production facility... that airport would be a natural fit for a large West Coast operation. Not sure the one main runway they have can land B747-400 or future A380's though.
