Automated Shipping and the future of Imports/Exports

Automated Shipping and the future of Imports/Exports

The Upside of Automated Shipping

automated shippingA.I. is beneficial to the trade of international shipping. The primary competitor for A.I. is people, and they are more error prone. Where a human might make a shipping mistake or order the wrong amount, a machine can make that mistake once and learn never to do that ever again. This leads to a tremendous upside for automated shipping services.

The upside of shipping automation means that you will have more accurate orders in a shorter period. This is because you are removing the element of human error and placing bots with very minimal margins of error.

The Downside of Automated Shipping

With this in mind, many people are going to be losing their job because of being replaced with bots. Of these people who are losing their job, a small percentage can be brought on as consultants or engineers to help the bot become even more successful.

Many jobs such in warehouses and manifest managers might be out of work, but the consensus is that freight forwarders won’t lose the work.

How are Freight Forwarders affected?

Freight ForwarderContrary to other jobs which are immediately prone to automation due to the repetitive nature of their situation, freight forwarders have unique traits that A.I can’t replicate yet. Freight Forwarders revolve around networking and maintaining trade relationships and A.I. haven’t convincingly replicated that.

While A.I. can target and replace certain industry type jobs, they are not (yet) able to replace the human connection that revolves around most trade in our current free market.

A1WWL

A1WWL has been in the business of freight forwarding for many years, and when we read about how the Panama canal has grown, we get excited for the future of our profession. If you would like to learn more about the canal or freight forwarding, please give us a call today!


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NAFTA isn’t going anywhere

NAFTA isn’t going anywhere

Why is NAFTA under Attack Right Now?

Since his entry to the administration, the president has admonished NAFTA extensively. Through this period, there has been talks of reworking NAFTA and making it more fair to the United States. Additionally, recently there has been talks of scrapping NAFTA altogether.

However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that NAFTA isn’t going anywhere and additionally, that reworking the deal might make things worse for the United States.

Why it’s not Going Anywhere

nafta under attack The NAFTA, like the presence of the E.U; is great for commerce across the nations involved. Most of our information for the following section comes from the extensive study performed by Investopedia.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/north-american-free-trade-agreement.asp

From 1993 to 2015, NAFTA positively affected each country by 39%, 40%, and 24% for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico respectively. This shows a tangible climb for every member to benefit from this agreement mutually.

The only point of debate for NAFTA being detrimental for Americans is the concept of it affecting American Jobs. While manufacturing jobs have tanked in America, jobs in trade, retail, and positions such as customs brokers and freight forwarders have skyrocketed.

Additionally, on the note of manufacturing jobs, it’s difficult to determine if it is directly linked to NAFTA since more manufacturing jobs have sprouted in Asian countries as well.

Why The President is not going to Drop NAFTA

While there is the ability to drop negotiation laws from 23 years ago, there will be two different sets of pushback for the president if a withdrawal is purported.

nafta is here to stayThe People – Countless existing jobs and established business transactions rely on NAFTA to sustain itself. These people will not simply let their longstanding business relationships wither.

Congress – Congress is in place to off-put gross uses of power in the presidency. If the people are incapable of defending themselves, Congress might step in and decide to offset this decision since it would adversely affect Americans.

A1WWL

As customs brokers, we strongly stand behind NAFTA. If you would like to learn more about NAFTA or how it affects international trade, feel free to call us at any time.


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Why do Container Ships Collide with Warships

Why do Container Ships Collide with Warships

The USS Fitzgerald and USS John S McCain

Within two months of each other, the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. Mccain had collided with cargo ships. The Fitzgerald, off the southern coast of Japan, the McCain, in between the Malaysian straight.

uss fitzgeraldThe Fitzgerald Collision – There are two factors at faulty when considering how the Fitzgerald collided. The ‘Right of Way’ rule which indicates the Fitzgerald should have halted and let the ACX crystal pass. In response to this, there was an investigation to figure out why the Fitzgerald couldn’t detect the ACX crystal, possibly there was an error with the sensors onboard.

The McCain Collision – The primary faults were that the primary steering system had failed and that miscommunication among the crew caused a delay in the proper rate of response.

How did these Collisions happen, and how can they be avoided?

There are three cited problems for these incidents. How these can be improved is currently a problem for the U.S. Navy, and multiple investigations and reviews are being performed to remedy these problems.

Lane Crowding – Both of these collisions have cited lane crowding. While there is freedom of the seas to sail wherever you wish, there are optimal lanes for maximum fuel efficiency and speed. Both the McCain and the Fitzgerald were on the fastest and thus, the most populated lanes of travel.

uss john mccain Miscommunications – Both ships had fundamental communication errors. The Fitzgerald failed to communicate with the crystal or respect the right of way rules. The McCain had too many on-deck miscommunications to avoid their tragedy.

System Issues – Additionally there are suspected system issues with the ships. Between possibly broken sensors and failing steering systems, there are possibly many poorly maintained aspects of the ship at any given time.

A1WWL

We work to stay up to date on as much information as much as possible. When international cargo and ships collide, it affects everyone personally and our business specifically. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at any time.


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What happens to Port Miami during a Hurricane!

What happens to Port Miami during a Hurricane!

What do Ships do to Avoid a Hurricane?

Preparing for a HurricaneWhen a hurricane hits, many boats will need to make decisions on where to be when that happens. To keep it short, there are two things you can do: Sail away and Tie it Up.

Tying it Up – It’s pretty cut and dry, all that needs to be done is you find a floating dock with high pillings. This lets you tie your boat up so that it can accommodate the higher waves while still keeping it attached to the mainland.

How does Port Miami prepare for a Hurricane?

Port Miami has to prepare in several ways for a hurricane. A port must manage the incoming and outgoing boats as well as ensure the port is properly managed and secured.

Boats Must Re-Route – Every boat must re-route their arrival to a nearby and safer port. For example, many of the carnival cruise lines that were going to Miami for Hurricane Irma instead went to New Orleans to avoid the storm.

Floating DocksSecuring the Dock – Next and most important is securing the dock. Most of the docks at Port Miami are floating docks which need to have additional security on land. Additionally, office buildings need hurricane force windows as well as shutters to ensure no intrusions occur in the buildings.

Alerting – Finally, there is typically an issued public statement. During Hurricane Irma, the website produced this webpage for people to know that the terminal is closed until Irma completely passes.

A1WWL

Port of Miami is one of our closest business connections. We are highly invested in keeping our readers and partners up to date with what’s going on during the storms.

We work to stay up to date on as much information as much as possible. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at any time.


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Tesla: Partners with AMD/High Trucking Turnover

Tesla: Partners with AMD/High Trucking Turnover

Tesla has partnered with AMD to Expand A.I.

high turnover rate in truckingTesla has recently partnered with the chipset maker AMD to expand the A.I. initiative for their cars. These will be implemented into every one of their new automobile lines to help make the software better faster.

This is a big bonus for both companies since Tesla now has an industry leader helping the division and AMD has a stable market with which they are directly aiding since they are having troubles against Nvidia and Intel in the video card and processor markets currently.

Will this create a spike in the growth and research for the development of autonomous vehicles and onboard A.I.? Only time will tell.

Increased Freight Demands to cause Driver Turnover Rate

National freight is on the rise across the board. More places are requiring more things to become delivered faster and more frequently. This strain is causing to be too much for some of the freight drivers on hand.

tesla partners with AMDThe turnover rate has risen to 90% in some areas because the long hauls and the strain will often not be worth the pay. This is a fateful sign for human drivers in the future. This has caused a deficit of anywhere between 200,000 and 300,000 vehicles.

Couple this information with the surge in a push for better A.I. with AMD and the imminent test drive of the new Tesla trucks, how will this affect the future of people driving trucks by themselves?

A1WWL

A1WWL will always push to keep our clients and trade associates up to date with all the latest information when it comes to freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and international trade.

If you have any questions about either of these topics or how we can better serve you and your import business, give us a call today!


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