Preferential Sourcing
The volume of cross-border trade has increased
considerably, with extra-regional trade strongly
outpacing intra-regional trade in many regions.
That’s driving many shippers to revisit sourcing
and distribution decisions, an activity which
requires balancing cost with opportunity,
particularly in developing countries. Shippers
must also account for multiple factors,
including consumerism, lead-time constraints,
risk management/continuity planning and
portfolio differentiation. Yet another factor is
the increase of preferential trade agreements
(PTAs), which now number almost 300.