Posts Tagged ‘transportation’

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Transport Company Drives U.S. Service Exports

May 23, 2014

Doug Barry is a Senior International Trade Specialist in the International Trade Administration’s Global Knowledge Center.

U.S. exports of services topped $682 billion in 2013, up $50 billion from 2012. As we explained in a recent blog post, service exports come from a number of industries, from medicine to law.

One other important contributor is transportation services, like those provided by Virginia-based MV Global Transport, which organizes bus and other kinds of transportation for some of the most exciting events you’ve seen around the world.

The company got into global business with help from the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) Commercial Service, and now relies on international sales for 100 percent of its revenue.

Brad Kurtz, the company’s president, recently shared his company’s story with Doug Barry of ITA’s Global Knowledge Center.

Barry: You have some pretty impressive clients.

Kurtz: We provide special event transportation for large events all around the world. We have been fortunate enough to support the Olympics – in Salt Lake, Vancouver, as well as in London.

Barry: How did you get into international business?

Kurtz: We got in through the U.S. Commercial Service. They assisted us with work in Doha (Qatar) for the Asian games in 2006 and then also down in South Africa for the World Cup with introductions through their office there.

Barry: How did they do the introduction?

Kurtz: We were invited to a number of networking functions. They brought in the South African Football Delegation into Washington, D.C., and we had the opportunity to meet with them. From there they helped us further along our negotiations and assisted us while we were in South Africa.

Barry: How important has exporting been to your bottom line?

Kurtz: It’s the only way we have survived. Being a service industry, it’s difficult. You have the emerging markets, you have new markets. How do you know where to find the business? With the expertise and industry knowledge of the U.S. government, it’s been instrumental in helping us.

Barry: What percentage of your revenues is international now?

Kurtz: Currently, it’s 100 percent. I would have to say that the U.S. Commercial Service has helped us with about 80-plus percent of that.

Barry: Any new projects coming up?

Kurtz: We just opened up an office in Brazil, as well as in Qatar. So we are working already on the World Cup coming up in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.

Barry: Any advice for U.S. companies that are thinking about exporting or expanding their international markets?

Kurtz: Enjoy the Gold Key program offered by the Department of Commerce. It’s very beneficial and definitely will help curb any concerns you may have in entering an international market.

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NextGen Solutions Vendors Guide Brings State-of-the-Art Air Traffic Management to Global Clients

September 11, 2013

Jonathan Alvear, an international trade specialist with the Office of Transportation and Machinery in the International Trade Administration, is the author of The NextGen Solutions Vendors Guide.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration has launched a new tool connecting U.S. providers of air traffic management technologies and related services to potential clients across the globe.

The NextGen Solutions Vendors Guide directs users to U.S. manufacturers of Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) technologies that meet the requirements laid out by the United Nations’ International Aviation Organization (ICAO) as well as to related knowledge and service providers.

The Guide:

  • is a web-based resource that addresses current and expected needs regarding air traffic management, airspace capacity, flight path efficiency, enhanced communications and data exchanges, and operational improvements to the airport environment
  • is based primarily on the four Aviation System Block Upgrade (ASBU) performance improvement areas of airport operations, globally interoperable systems and data, optimum capacity and flexible flights, and efficient flight paths
  • also features the knowledge and service providers who can help implement these NextGen solutions and/or provide services and expertise that complement these upgrades.

Because the NextGen Solutions Vendors Guide is mapped to the ASBU requirements, users will have access to a comprehensive listing of the upgrades that ICAO will be formally endorsing this fall matched with links to the websites of the U.S. companies that can help customers fulfill those requirements.

Partnership and Cooperation

The NextGen Solutions Vendors Guide was created in cooperation with Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and companies such as:

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Transportation: Helping the Economy Move Forward

August 7, 2012

Francisco Sánchez serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. Follow him on Twitter @UnderSecSanchez.

Healthy economic development depends on a healthy transportation system.  That’s because people depend on everything from boats to trains to get to work, move their products, and help customers shop at their stores.

Across the globe, as economies push for more growth and development, there is increasing demand for transportation-related products and services, presenting an incredible opportunity for U.S. businesses.

Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez during a ceremony formalizing a partnership to promote exports between ITA and the American Association of Port Authorities.

Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez during a ceremony formalizing a partnership to promote exports between ITA and the American Association of Port Authorities.

For that exact reason, a major focus of our work at the International Trade Administration is on the transportation sector.  As you’ll see in this issue of International Trade Update, we’ve been working to help U.S. businesses in this field succeed in a number of ways.

For example, I was proud to participate in the Farnborough International Air Show, the world’s largest aerospace trade exhibition of 2012. Every other year, the global aerospace industry descends on England to exhibit their latest products and initiate partnerships. This year, $47 billion worth — that’s billion with a ‘b,’ — of orders were announced during the show.

As the largest aerospace industry in the world, this one sector contributed more than $89 billion in export sales to the U.S. economy in 2011, a 9 percent increase over the previous year. Furthermore, according to a study by the Economic and Statistics Administration of the Department of Commerce, aerospace directly supported more jobs through exports — 488,000 —than any other industry in 2011.

Other promising transportation sectors that achieved significant export shipments last year include motor vehicles ($63.4 billion), motor vehicle parts ($53.2 billion) and ships and boats ($2.4 billion).  Behind all these numbers is a significant story. Every time a business makes a sale abroad, that impacts bottom lines, jobs, communities and futures here at home.

Clearly, there are significant possibilities in this space. And the good news is that in the first five months of 2012, transportation equipment accounted for nearly $101 billion of U.S. exports, up 17.2 percent from the same months of 2011.

ITA is committed to keeping this momentum going. We continue to hold trade missions focused on transportation, including some later this year to South Africa, Zambia and Turkey.

We support the President’s recent announcement to help modernize and expand 5 major ports in the United States, thereby helping American businesses reach overseas markets more efficiently.

ITA is committed to keeping this momentum going.  We continue to raise a lot of awareness for our programs and will work hard to promote international trade, open foreign markets, and create jobs and opportunities for the American people.

Together, we can help the world meet its transportations needs far into the future, while strengthening businesses on our shores.

Related

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Trains, Planes and Automobiles…And so Much More

July 3, 2012

Tyler Voorhees is working in the Office of Public Affairs at the International Trade Administration for the summer. He is a junior at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

Summer is finally here, the time when most Americans take time off from their busy work schedules and plan out a vacation or two. We either pack up the car for a family road trip, book flights to distant parts of the country or even load up the Recreational Vehicle (RV) and hit the road with no particular plans.

Shaking hands over a Harley-Davidson Softail are China’s Minister of Commerce, Chen Deming (right), and former Secretary of Commerce, current U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke (center) (Photo Commerce)

Shaking hands over a Harley-Davidson Softail are China’s Minister of Commerce, Chen Deming (right), and former Secretary of Commerce, current U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke (center) (Photo Commerce)

Given how much Americans love to travel, it is no wonder that we’ve developed one of the most sophisticated and competitive transportation industries, and by that we don’t just mean the iconic Detroit 3 or aerospace giant Boeing. America still manufactures a wide array of products that we lump together as “transportation.” This includes everything from recreational boats like kayaks, paddle boats and motorboats to the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is truly a global effort with components manufactured all over the world.

Not only is domestic demand for these goods strong, there is also strong demand for our transportation goods abroad. Did you know that in 2011 the U.S. aerospace industry alone contributed more than $87 billion to U.S. exports sales? U.S. aerospace exports are expected to grow thanks to the largest aerospace show in 2012, the Farnborough Airshow in England. Boeing has decided to demonstrate its new 787 Dreamliner for foreign buyers and expects strong sales this year as airlines prepare to increase their fleet size in preparation for the air travel boom sparked by an expected increase in international travel and tourism.

Also, what may be even more surprising is that China is expected to be a huge market for many recreational transportation goods, including pleasure boats, motorcycles and RVs. Harley-Davidson, for example, already has eight full-service dealerships in China, and it plans to open even more in the coming years.  Also, the RV market in China is about to take off, according to industry experts.  ‘RVs have a long and glorious history in the West,’ says one Chinese entrepreneur in Beijing.  ‘Chinese are the same; we love the outdoors.  So we’re learning the American and Western RV culture.’

The transportation industry is also at the forefront of development in the sustainable economy. Many people don’t know that several U.S. automotive plants produce no waste, remanufacturing drastically reduces the material, energy, and water usage of the U.S. service parts industry, and that more than 95 percent of U.S. automobiles are recycled. Combined with the ongoing investments in vehicle efficiency technologies such as advanced combustion engines, hybrid and electric vehicles, the U.S. automotive industry is the very epitome of the mantra “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”

For all of the reasons above, we’ve decided to spend the month of July highlighting the successes the transportation industry has enjoyed abroad and all that we do here at the International Trade Administration (ITA) to help American businesses abroad.

We will be highlighting innovative work that shows the unconventional ways that businesses can find customers abroad, grow their businesses and create good-paying jobs here in America during the process. Make sure to check our blog for new articles and follow us on Twitter at @TradeGov for interesting facts as the month goes on.

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Formation of Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness

November 4, 2011

David Long is the Director of the Office of Service Industries, part of ITA’s Manufacturing and Services Unit.

It is my pleasure to announce the formation of the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, published in the Federal Register on 3 November 2011.

The deadline for applications is 14 December 2011. Full details appear in the Federal Register notice: 76 Fed. Reg. 68,159.

As described in the notice, the Committee will advise the Secretary of Commerce on the development and administration of programs and policies to expand the competitiveness of U.S. supply chains, including programs and policies to expand U.S. exports of goods, services, and technology related to supply chain in accordance with applicable United States regulations.

In this effort we will continue to work very closely with our colleagues at the Department of Transportation and other Federal agencies, as we have over the past three years.

This advisory group is possible due to the sustained interest and willingness to participate that has been demonstrated from the beginning in May 2009 at the joint Department of Commerce – Department of Transportation national conference, “Game Changers in the Supply Chain Infrastructure: Are We Ready to Play,” held in Washington and carried on through informal regional outreach discussions on freight policy and competitiveness issues in Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, Kansas City, and New Orleans.

I hope that you will consider applying for this advisory committee. For more information and details on how to apply, please consult the Federal Register notice.

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DOC and DOT Connected to Address Supply Chain Issues

May 13, 2009

Bruce Harsh is responsible for Commerce’s Distribution and Supply Chain unit and has been with the Department about 24 years.

America’s economy depends on the health of our country’s supply chain infrastructure. Problems with the supply chain are not readily noticeable until you don’t get the part you need to keep your supply chain in operation, or the gift you were looking for at a store during the holiday season. Not only do supply chain problems make America’s producers and consumers mad, they are clearly linked to our economic recovery and long-term economic growth.

Supply chains don’t just move products and goods, they also support jobs. One recent report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggests that approximately 110 million U.S. jobs or nearly 80 percent of the entire workforce is critically dependent on our supply chain and transportation infrastructure.

This past Monday, leading supply chain stakeholders met in Washington, DC at the joint Department of Commerce-Department of Transportation conference titled, “Game Changers in the Supply Chain Infrastructure: Are We Ready to Play?” to hold a frank discussion with decision-makers on how to deal with current problems that minimize their ability get those products and services to consumers in a timely, safe, and environmentally-friendly manner and to develop a world-class network to reduce the chance of “game changers” thwarting these goals in the future.

The discussion stirred up lots of suggestions and comments. Panelists and audience participants emphasized that restoring America’s manufacturing jobs depends on not just fixing one part of the supply chain infrastructure but to look at these issues from the start at the manufacturer’s factory floor , or field, to the consumer’s house or company facility. They encouraged governmental agencies to come together to develop a holistic, comprehensive national freight policy that promotes the supply chains and assures America’s competitive advantage in the 21st century.

These suggestions were heard and many participants appreciated seeing two secretaries, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, stand together to say they were going to have their agencies work together to meet these goals. Many participants also appreciated hearing leading experts share how they would minimize those “game changers” that produce constraints and chokepoints, and offer ways for the government to encourage innovative information technologies, improve security and resilience, and do all of this in an environmentally sound manner to restore America’s world-class transportation network.

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