inbound
No matter how the economy is doing, material handling and logistics
companies give generously of their time, money, and products to non-
profit organizations. Here are just a few recent examples:
Good deeds
Mid-sized exporters
drop the ball on trade
compliance
PHOTOS COURTES Y MITSUBISHI CATERPILLAR FORKLIFT AMERICA INC. AND NACCO MATERIALS HANDLING GROUP INC.
▪ Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America
Inc. (MCFA) employees presented a program on
understanding, managing, and resolving conflict
to more than 250 students at Harmony Science
Academy in Katy, Texas. The presentation was
part of the school’s College Readiness and Leadership Program, which
is designed to spark students’ interest in science, math, and engineering.
▪ Toyota Material Handling U.S.A. Inc. (TMHU) sponsored free
inspections of child safety seats and booster seats in cooperation with
safety technicians and trained volunteers from SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.
and safety seat manufacturer Dorel Juvenile Group Inc. in Columbus,
Ind., the home of Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing ( TIEM).
▪ Crowley Maritime Corp. was honored by the State University of
New York (SUNY) Maritime College for its support of SUNY Maritime
students with scholarships, internship programs, and career opportunities. Since 1984, Crowley has provided more than a half-million dollars
in scholarships for students at maritime academies and other institutions. Crowley President, Chairman, and CEO Tom Crowley Jr. has
donated more than $2 million over the years to support educational
programs.
▪ NACCO Materials Handling Group Inc. (NMHG), in
cooperation with its local dealer, Papé Material Handling
Inc. of Portland, Ore., has donated one of its Hyster electric
reach trucks to the Portland Art Museum. The truck will be
used in the museum’s storage facility to transport works of
art displayed at the museum.
▪ FedEx Express delivered an orphaned sea otter from Alaska to its
new home at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The pup made the
journey from Anchorage to Pittsburgh on a FedEx Express MD11 aircraft, accompanied by representatives from the zoo’s marine mammal
staff and a veterinarian from the Alaska SeaLife Center.
▪ Cat Lift Trucks has awarded Houston-area high school student Jessica
Sheely a $5,000 scholarship for her education at the University of Texas at
Austin. The annual Cat Lift Trucks Scholarship program awards scholarships to deserving students based on their academic performance,
extracurricular activities, and community leadership and involvement.
▪ The supply chain consulting services firm enVista sent a group of
employees and a van full of donated supplies to Southern Indiana to
help with volunteer efforts after deadly tornadoes ripped through the
area in February and March. The group worked with Metro United
Way, clearing debris and salvaging wood at three disaster sites.
▪ Intelligrated engineers conducted a series of educational events at
the company’s St. Louis facility during National Robotics Week in April.
Students toured the company’s manufacturing operation and Alvey
Robotics Lab, a 5,000-square-foot research and development facility.
After the tour, students joined Intelligrated engineers for a luncheon
and a series of demonstrations. ;
The Obama administration is pushing
export growth as a way to rev up the economy and boost job creation. But if the
results of a recent survey are any indication, the small and mid-sized U.S. companies that stand to benefit most from
export growth need to educate themselves
about the applicable regulations before
they crank up their export engines.
The survey, conducted among mid-market companies by global trade management software provider Amber Road,
found that these companies are increasingly at risk for violating U.S. export
regulations. Of the 150 companies surveyed, 23 percent do not screen for
restricted parties prior to engaging with
trading partners and customers.
Of those survey respondents who do
perform restricted-party screening, 30
percent do so manually using spread-sheets or websites. Two-thirds (66 percent) use manual processes to classify
their products, opening the door to
errors and inconsistencies.
Just over one-third ( 35 percent) of
respondents have a management team
that is somewhat aware of the regulations but has no involvement in the compliance process. In fact, survey respondents say a lack of executive sponsorship
is largely to blame for their companies’
trade compliance deficiencies.
According to a March 2012 U.S.
Bureau of Economic Analysis report,
U.S. exports grew 7. 7 percent from
January 2011 to January 2012. That’s
good news, yet it also raises concerns.
“Mid-market companies in particular
are increasing revenues by accessing foreign markets,” said Scott Byrnes, Amber
Road’s vice president of marketing, in a
statement. “Unfortunately, it appears
that many mid-market companies aren’t
fully aware of the regulatory requirements governing global trade.” ;
