The Mheda Journal

Earlier this week, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a unanimous finding that there is “a reasonable indication of material injury to the U.S. industry producing wire decking caused by unfairly traded imports from China.” This finding is the first step toward a finding of illegal dumping of wire deck imports by China.

The initial petition was brought by domestic wire decking manufacturers and MHEDA members AWP Industries, ITC, J&L Wire Cloth, Nashville Wire Products, along with Wireway Husky, on June 5. On June 25, the Commerce Department initiated an investigation, and the preliminary ruling by the Trade Commission was handed down on July 20. You can read more about the specifics of the investigation here.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. China has denied the claims of dumping, while the companies who brought this petition have been clamoring about it for years. (See the sidebar at the bottom of this article about “The Dumping Problem” that was published almost two years ago.) The findings in the International Trade Commission’s report say that the Chinese imports are priced up to 315 percent lower than their domestic counterparts. That’s pretty significant.

The next step in the process will be another ruling by the end of August as to dumping and subsidies by the Commerce Department.  Look for continued updates in this space and in future issues of The MHEDA Connection and The MHEDA Journal.

Congratulations to John Cosgrove, president of Atlantic Handling Systems (Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ) and 2007 MHEDA President, for being the recipient of an unusual local honor. The Borough of Fair Lawn, NJ, and the Fair Lawn 501C3 Non-Profit Committee dedicated the gymnasium at the Fair Lawn Community Center in his name. Cosgrove served as a volunteer firefighter in the community for 34 years and as fire chief in 1997. A dedication ceremony took place last Saturday, April 4. Congrats, John.

Rumor has it that tomorrow (March 10), the Employee Free Choice Act, commonly known as Card Check, will be introduced in Congress. This is very controversial legislation. Essentially, it eliminates the secret-ballot voting process whereby employees may choose to become unionized. Small business advocacy groups are nearly universally opposed to such legislation, claiming that it puts too much of a burden on employers and reduces their rights to negotiate with union organizers. To be sure, that’s not the most eloquent explanation out there. (Here’s a link to an article that will explain it better. NAW, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors is another good source.) But the interesting thing is the buzz this bill has generated, and it hasn’t even been introduced yet! By most accounts, the only beneficiaries of such legislation is the unions, and MHEDA members and other small businesses will be left with little or no recourse to prevent their employees from unionizing. I didn’t know much about unions before I began researching this issue, and I don’t claim to know much now, but i am looking forward to seeing how this legislative action plays out. Keep your eyes open tomorrow.

Anyone out there done any studying of the Recovery Plan/Stimulus Bill? How is it going to be impacting material handling companies? With all the emphasis on energy and infrastructure, will MHEDA members see any of that money? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

With the signing into law of last week’s Stimulus Bill, there has yet to be a discernible improvement in either the economy or attitude among investors. Hopefully that will be coming soon. But here’s one thing that may be of note within the bill itself.

The bill includes provisions, effective March 1, regarding the continuation of health insurance coverage (continuation coverage) that covered employers must make available to certain former employees and their families under provisions of the “Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985” (COBRA). The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors has prepared an outline of the key provisions of the Stimulus Bill that touch COBRA continuation coverage and how employers may be affected. The outline can be read here. 

With everyone looking for ways to save a few bucks, it was interesting to talk to a member who is encouraging the use of workforce training grants, which businesses can apply for to help educate and train their employees. The grants are available from many states and are typically funded by the unemployment tax dollars paid by business owners. The process to apply varies by state, but usually involves writing a formal proposal outlining what the training is for, how the employees will benefit, why it will make them stay at your company and what the training will entail. It may be necessary to hire a grant wrtier, but depending on your writing skill, maybe not. Usually, grants are awarded on the condition that thte company will provide some sort of in-kind match to balance out the cost of the training. There are several other variables that may differ from state to state, but it may be well worth a business owner’s time to research what is available in your area.

An article I received today from a speaker at MHEDA’s upcoming Convention in May made a few interesting points about how the events of the last week relate to material handling and the economy.

It says, in part:

“President Barack Obama took office on Tuesday, the 20th, and the country seems filled with hope. I have sat in on several meetings over the last few days where a number of folks have given voice to this hope. It is as if now that #44 is through the door, we will have no more problems. I have no desire to dash those hopes, but I cannot suspend the analytical process inherent in economics.”

The article later adds, “Many folks in and out of Congress are clamoring for massive federal bailouts that will make everything all better. There are a couple of questions that must be asked in that regard. One, can we point back to a prior period where massive government intervention has brought about a quick recovery? (Hint: The answer is no.) You may be tempted to think of FDR and the New Deal, but analysis of that time period shows that the actual recovery did not begin until WWII….”

I thought this was a very interesting point. Lost in the hoopla of the Presidential changeover was that the stock market has not exactly rallied; in fact, the Dow was back under 8,000 at the middle of the week. It has been reporeted that conditions may worsen before they improve, but that news seems to have taken back seat to the other stuff.

Of course, I hope that the right answers and policies are soon put in place to set the trends back forward, but let’s not get the cart before the horse. There’s much work to be done, in material handling and throughout the business community.

On this historic inauguration day, I would be remiss not to mention that MHEDA recently welcomed a new president as well. Duncan Murphy, president of Riekes Equipment Company in Omaha, Nebraska, took the helm of the association on January 1. Get to know Duncan by reading this profile that appeared in the First Quarter 2009 issue of The MHEDA Journal. Congrats, Duncan!

About 20 minutes ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. It’s a historic day, to say the least. Regardless of party affiliation, the sight of the hundreds of thousands of people swarming the national mall just to participate ever so slightly was truly overwhelming. As we huddled around the television in our office conference room, it struck me that I’m 29 years old, and this is the first time in my life that I’ve seen so many people motivated to participate in politics and genuinely wanting to be part of it. It truly is inspiring.

What’s ahead is not yet known, but these coming days are critical for America to get back on the track to economic stability. Well maybe economic confidence is a better word. I feel that we remain stable but confidence is sorely lacking among many people and businesses. That uncertainty and lack of confidence includes people within the material handling industry, many of whom expressed their concerns in our annual Industry Forecast.

For sure, the policies and decisions made by President Obama in the coming days and weeks will not all be the right ones. But as we usher in a new era, our country is mobilized as I’ve never seen it. Hopefully that momentum will help lead the way to recovery.�