Viewpoint: Take a long-term global view

If you’re one of the more than 70,000 shippers who are getting their daily logistics and freight transportation news on logisticsmgmt.com, you’re well aware of the number of new trade agreements being inked that will make it easier for U.S. organizations to not only source product from emerging markets, but also open the door to deliver goods into quickly growing consumer bases.

For example, the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will soon be making headlines as President Obama will be looking to push it through Congress this spring. The TPP, which could go down as one of the biggest trade deals in history, would have an impact on a swath of the globe that ranges from South America to Japan—an area that includes more than 40 percent of the global economy.

Smaller, yet similar agreements to TPP are opening up golden opportunities for global shippers in new regions while simultaneously adding a layer of logistics complexity. With that in mind, this month’s issue has a global theme designed to shed light on new areas of growth and offer insight on how to successfully transition your logistics operations into these regions.

We explore the opportunities and infrastructure challenges that exist in the often-overlooked, yet rapidly growing ASEAN market; dig into the current state of global trade management (GTM) software and how it’s helping savvy shippers manage new trade lanes; offer advice on how to develop and maintain a network of global 3PLs; and give shippers the latest update on the various ocean carrier alliances that are changing how freight movement is managed on the high seas.

In this month’s cover story, Executive Editor Patrick Burnson aims to open our eyes to a new trade frontier, one comprised of the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “The numbers are astounding,” he says. “When rolled up, the ASEAN countries represent a collective GDP expansion exceeding 300 percent since 2001 and have outpaced the global growth average for the past 10 years.”

The region—lead by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand—has a current GDP of $2.4 trillion and is home to a consumer base of 626 million people. “It has a growing, young middle class that’s eager to spend, and the region is starting to see the infrastructure investment it needs to make those desires a reality,” adds Burnson.

U.S. companies have invested more than $190 billion in the ASEAN nations—more than the U.S. has sunk into Brazil, Russian, India, and China combined—in preparation of the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is scheduled to happen by the end of this year. The kick-off of the AEC will create one of the largest single market economies in the world. However, Burnson reports that these numbers and hopeful forecasts don’t come without a catch.

“While the excitement around the ASEAN puts early U.S. investors in a great position for the future, they need to exercise caution at this stage,” he says. “Our sources are insistent that a seamless, Europe-style, cross-border experience is a decade away. So, for those now commandeering the new frontier, finding established logistics partners who know the region is an imperative.”

With global trade projected to tick up another 4 percent this year, U.S. shippers should consider the moves that need to be made both today and in the long term.