Private Sector Manufacturing Unions: Where Are They Located?
A state-by-state comparison of unionization levels.

Repositioning the Costs
Ocean freight carriers find they are spending billions on repositioning empty containers. The introduction of the “Gray Box” concept, the free interchange of all containers among carriers, has produced mixed results and lower transportation costs.

Immigrants: Burden or Resource?
A higher percentage of immigrants to the US rely on welfare assistance than US born residents. However, the data are somewhat skewed by the fact immigrants from US- favored war torn countries are eligible for immediate assistance.

Changing Union Tactics
There has been a drastic reduction in union strikes due to the more frequent utilization of corporate campaigns to achieve union objectives. Out-right strikes are now a distant option compared to the nuisance and cost effectiveness of non-strike attacks. Included are historical data on strikes and lost work days to strikes.

California’s Future: Hispanic or Asian?
While Hispanics comprise the largest ethnic group in California, Asians are the more successful college attendees. As for the future of California, Latinos will outnumber the Asians, but the state leaders may be the latter since the key is education.

Railroads and Intermodal Getting on the Right Track
After much criticism, Conrail developed ACCESS, which is a PC-based tracking tool that allows shippers to monitor the movements of a product. This system significantly reduces costs through better efficiency and the elimination of repetitive activities.

Foreign Companies Belong To?
An analysis of foreign-owned companies in the US, by country of ownership.

Japanese Labor Shortage Creates Labor Shortage
The low fertility rate in Japan has resulted in a labor shortage. The reduction in fertility is due to a significant increase in the number of women delaying marriage to pursue careers, and the higher quality of life these career-oriented women enjoy versus their married counterparts.

Reforming Worker’s Compensation
Worker’s compensation costs are expensive and states want to launch reforms emulating Oregon’s cost improvement plan. Oregon’s focus: health and safety in the workplace, which brought about promising results and a 30% decline in worker’s compensation premiums.

Right to Work
The concentration of right-to-work states is in the Southeast and West Central regions. However, 2/3 of the manufacturing workforce remains in non right-to-work states.