To perform well, many college students work from morning till evening and even during the night. Many become sleep deprived. And what happens when a hard-working student is sleep deprived for a long time? He or she starts losing the ability to learn. In the end the student just works hard but perfoms poorly.

Psychology professor James Maas worked nearly 50 years in the University of Cornell and founded a class that became the most popular course of the school. There he taught the students to sleep.

Over the years, Maas had more than 65,000 students in his sleep class. Many of them were asked to wear sleep-monitoring headbands during the class so that they would see what happens in their sleep-deprived brains.

“Literally nothing,” Maas says in AP’s article published in Herald-Tribune 2012.

”Confronting students with such photos, along with hard data on how sleep undermines academic performance, is the most effective way to change behavior,” Maas continues in the article.

 

In work places there are no professors or sleep courses to tell the adults that they should take care of their sleep.

Or there wasn’t, until recently.

Earlier, the mentality was that a worker has to do the job well – no matter if he or she should spend the whole night thinking about and preparing for it. But now companies have started to take an interest in workers’ rest, for the same reason as professor Maas did it at Cornell University.

The workers perform better if they sleep well.

Corporations like Google and Goldman Sachs have told that they now provide their workers with sleep consultancy and other help.

In the end, it’s not about the amount of sleep or the quality of work performances, it’s about money.

There are proofs that people who sleep well are more productive.

 

University of Harvard conducted a study in 2011 and 2012 to find out how insomnia affects work performance and how much sleep deprivation costs to companies and national economics.

How did they do this?

Researchers of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School gathered a national sample of 7,428 employed, over 18-year-old health plan subscribers. These people were interviewed over the phone.

They all filled WHO’s ”Health and Work Performance Questionnaire” and ”Brief Insomnia Questionnaire”.

Those who suffered from a broadly defined insomnia – 23 percent of the interviewees – were differentiated of normal sleepers.

Then associations between insomnia and health and work performance scores were compared.

Result: Insomnia did not cause absence at work but it was significantly associated with lost work performance when present at work.

The researchers counted the amount of lost work performance at individual level in one year time. They estimated that insomniacs lose 7,8 work days because of the poor ability to work due to sleeplessness.

In dollars this was in average $2,280 at individual level and $63.2 billion when generalized to the total US workforce.

 

Academics are still cautious to say if insomnia treatment programs at work places have desired outcomes.

This hasn’t stopped consultations firms from selling sleep programs and meditating courses to the companies. Offering people relaxation is a huge business.

But then again, as long as employer pays the sleeping consultancy, the employee is likely to benefit.

 

The National Sleep Foundation of America reminds us that getting less than seven hours of sleep per day is also associated with increased morbidity and mortality.

The foundation tells that because of sleep deprivation, 14 percent of U.S. adults have difficulties in taking care of simple everyday tasks like taking care of their financial affairs.

Sleep is valuable in many ways.

 

 

 

Other sources:

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index.html

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21886353

The French stock exchange opened for business again Monday after ISIS militants killed at least 129 people in the streets of Paris. The attack was one of the worst human disasters in Europe since the end of World War II. While France recovers from the tragedy, many financial analysts expect the financial markets to take a small tumble.

This is not the first time a country dealt with a small financial crisis in the wake of violent attacks. According to USA TODAY writer Ryan Biek, Tunisia lost $515 million in the tourism industry. In 2004 and 2005, the BBC reported markets in Spain fell 2 percent and markets in the U.K. fell 1.5 percent after bombings occurred in both countries. However, the tourism industry in France represents about 7 percent of the GDP, which means this could be the section of the economy hurt the most by the actions of the terrorists.

However, the stock markets actually rose only a couple of days after the attacks, which suggests the potential for a smaller impact on the economy. Although the country seems to be recovering without too many issues, France might be facing some short-term changes in different business sectors, including tourism and defense.

In 2013, France had about 83 million foreign tourists, making it the global leader in the tourism sector. Since tourism remains a large part of the European economy as a whole, some countries might experience a ripple effect in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. NBC News says many travelers will steer clear of neighboring countries like Belgium, where some of the terrorists are allegedly hiding. The drop in visitors mainly comes from a psychological response to the attacks: People are afraid to travel through Europe, even if the fear might be temporary.

Airlines might also struggle in the next few months even as the holiday season continues. On Tuesday, flight officials announced two Air France flights heading from the United States to Paris were diverted due to bomb threats.

In contrast, defense spending might see a boost in investment. French president Francois Hollande declared war on the ISIS militants and commissioned airstrikes on major terrorists sites in Syria. He even proposed new laws to the French parliament, including 5,000 additional paramilitary troops and no reductions in defense spending through 2019. In addition, the prolonged state of emergency prompted French police to conduct raids throughout the country.

This week, defense stocks increased, with Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman moving up 4 percent, 3.5 percent, and 4.4 percent respectively. Recent threats from ISIS against the United States have also forced congressional leaders to revisit the idea of increasing federal defense spending. According to the Baltimore Business Journal, the U.S. defense budget for the fiscal year 2015 reached a low point of $562.5 billion, in comparison to the 2011 budget which was $678.1 billion. It is unclear how sharp of an increase there will be in defense spending in the United States and Europe, but the upcoming meeting between President Hollande and President Obama may shed some new light on the direction the world is heading.

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/money/markets/2015/11/15/75830970/

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/french-tourism-expected-see-short-term-downturn-terror-attacks-n464956

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/economic-diplomacy-foreign-trade/facts-about-france/one-figure-one-fact/article/france-the-world-s-leading-tourist

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/17/world/air-france-flight-diverted/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/16/world/paris-attacks/

http://news.investors.com/business/111615-780978-delta-avis-sink-on-paris-air-strikes-boost-defense.htm

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2015/11/17/will-paris-attacks-accelerate-federal-defense.html

On June 26th, 2010 in Chongqing, China, a crucial trade agreement called “ECFA” was signed between the People’s Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The general public in both countries believed that this agreement carried historical significance, being that the Chinese Civil War in 1949 had strained their relationship.

“ECFA” stands for “Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement”. According to the agreement, 539 categories of Taiwanese exports to China and 267 categories of Chinese exports to Taiwan will receive tax cuts in the following year. The agreement is expected to increase Taiwan’s GDP by 1.72%, which is more than 7 billion U.S dollars, in addition to creating more than 263,000 jobs.

Another important aspect of “ECFA” is the “Three No” negotiation principle that the Taiwanese government has brought into the trade agreement. The agreements outlined in the “Three No” negotiation are as follows: saying no to downgrading Taiwan’s sovereignty, importing China’s agriculture products, and China’s labor workers. The Taiwanese government looks forward to achieving economic development between Mainland China and Taiwan under one condition- Taiwan’s benefit must be protected.

The “ECFA” trade agreement has been a controversial issue since it was introduced to the public. President Ying-Jeou Ma, current President of the Republic of China, and his administration believe that signing “ECFA” with Mainland China will provide advantages and affect Taiwan’s market in a positive way. Compared to other Asian countries, Taiwan will gain its advantages and priority to enter China’s market. Due to the tax cut on Taiwan’s exports to China, more companies in the United States and Europe tend to utilize Taiwan as its entry point to China’s market, thus helping Taiwan transform economically.

Four years have passed since the enactment of the trade agreement. Although the initial results showed that the total value of Taiwan’s exports to China increased 35%, many still cast doubts on whether “ECFA” has brought more benefits than harm to Taiwan’s market and economy. Looking at the data provided in the initial report, Taiwan’s exports to Mainland China have continued to lose their market share even when those exports received tax cuts benefits; on the other hand, Mainland China’s exports to Taiwan have increased their market share from 24% to 30%. According to the spokesperson, Ying-Chen Wang, “For the past few years, Mainland China has vastly developed its iron and steel industry and sold its products to Taiwan in a very low price.” In the years 2011 and 2012, Mainland China and Korea sold a particular stainless product that is used to produce elevators, windows, and electronics for a price that is lower than 30% of the market price.

From a BBC news article, several Taiwanese with various occupations were interviewed and gave their opinions on the trade agreement “ECFA”. Some favored the agreement and look forward to connecting with the global economy. “It’s good for Taiwan to sign trade deals with other countries because that’s the trend nowadays – economic integration, and Taiwan needs to be integrated with the global economy”, said Yao-Ting Lin, a building manager. Others cast their doubts on the actual execution of the agreement, and are concerned about intense competitions within local markets. “Chinese flowers might come here too. They say now they will keep out agricultural products, but I don’t think they will do that forever”, said Su-Chung Liu, the owner of a flower shop.

Every coin has two sides, and so does “ECFA”. Whether “ECFA” has proven itself to boost or decrease Taiwan’s competitiveness, as it relates to global economy the outcome is still a tossup. However, what can be said for sure is that “ECFA” has served as the first step in economic cooperation between Mainland China and Taiwan.

Contrary to popular belief, Hawaii isn’t the perfect paradise that many people imagine it to be. In fact, it is more of a Land of Struggle to many Hawaiians living in the island. Hawaii has one of the worst rates of homelessness in the country. According to the governor’s spokesperson Cindy McMillan, there is currently roughly 7,000 homeless people in the state of Hawaii. While the number presented is not as large as the homeless population of bigger cities like Los Angeles, which has a whopping 100,000 homeless people in the city, we have to take into account that Hawaii’s population is only about 1.36 million (according to the US Census Bureau), as compared to 10.02 million in the city of Los Angeles alone. At 465 people per 100,000 citizens, Hawaii has the highest rate of homelessness per capita of any of the 50 states.

To add salt to the wound, Scott Morishige, The Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness mentioned that as homelessness increased by 23 percent between 2014 and 2015, the number of unsheltered families almost doubled. The increase was driven by years of rising costs in the island. Moreover, there were low wages and limited land for the island which prompt homeless Hawaiians to spend their night on beaches and local streets as there was no place called home that they can go back to. The government dealt with this problem by doing what they do best – chasing the homeless away.

Hawaiian civic leaders felt that the problem with visible homelessness could lead to the financial downfall of the island state because the Hawaiian economy relies so heavily on tourism. They claimed that visitors will be turned off from seeing homeless people sleeping in parks and the beach which will then decrease the rate of tourism of the island. Honolulu officials report that they do a major cleaning session regularly by disposing off unclaimed property left in the parks and beaches of Hawaii, in order to maintain Hawaii’s public image of being a paradise. Officials regularly ticket the homeless with fines, and new public park hours have been implemented. On December 2nd, 2014, Mayor Kirk Caldwell signed a bill that bans people from sitting or lying down on public spaces between the hours of 5am and 11pm. Those who do so can be fined up to $1,000 and jailed for up to 30 days.

The Hawaii government has also allowed the spending of $1.3 million to expand services to homeless individuals and families. Apart from helping the homeless build new shelters, the money also would go to the state’s Housing First program.
The Housing First program is a nationally recognized best practice that is proven to be the most effective and efficient approach to getting chronically homeless people off of the streets. The program helps houses chronically homeless in permanent supportive housing which takes them off of the streets by providing them with a stable and safe home. The program has been proven as a success on many different cities in the country such as Portland and Los Angeles.

http://www.honolulu.gov/housing/ohou-first.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/1018/Can-Housing-First-help-Hawaii-s-homeless-crisis

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/18/hawaii-declares-state-emergency-for-homelessness-crisis/

Since holiday shopping is about to begin, it’s important to know that consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of GDP. This demonstrates that American consumers are a powerful force for the economy. However, large retail sectors are seeing shares crash. The occurring situation makes the holiday spending season a must needed event, even though it does not look that positive.

An article from the Business Insider called Here’s a Simple Explanation for Why the Retail Business is Brutal went into detail about the recent stock drops in high end retail stores. Macy’s stock fell 14% on November 11^th and Nordstrom’s shares were down as much as 16%. Both these company’s earnings widely missed expectations and the future outlook is disappointing.

So why are these drops occurring? Well the retail business is a tough one to maintain and retailers are having to fight harder than ever for their share of consumer dollars this holiday season.

The article also mentioned why retail is a brutal business. “Retail has high fixed costs, high working capital intensity, fickle customers, low barriers to entry,” they wrote, calling the sector a case study for the worst-possible business”. It also mentioned that fixed cost are numerous for retail companies. It has to have the physical space, inventory, personnel, and supply chain to keep the whole system running.

Over time these costs change, usually becoming more expensive. In order to maintain a company profit, it needs to keep moving profits back into the business.

It mainly depends on the consumers and what they want to buy. It could be American Eagle one year and H&M the next.

On a positive note, another article from the Business Insider called 5 Retailers that will Dominate this Holiday Shopping Season lists five retail stores that are ready to strive on sales this holiday season.

1. Victoria’s Secret- This store is buzzing for the holiday season thanks to innovative products like a new push-up bra. Also, the store is not seasonal because women need under garments all year long. This puts Victoria’s Secret ahead of other retail stores that rely on sweaters and coat sales like Macy’s and JCPenney.

2. Lululemon- The high end sportswear company is expected to grow sales as much as 12% this holiday season, according to Morgan Stanley. The new brand’s designs differ from other athleisure brands. Menswear is also beginning to gain attraction from Lululemon.

3. Ross Stores- The discount outlets Ross provides makes consumers and their wallet happy. According to Morgan Stanley, the decline in gas prices will give the middle class more spending power, which will benefit the brand.

4. Nike- With $28 Billion in annual sales, the company is the biggest player in athletic apparel market. Nike wants to focus on a few key demographics, such as women, runners, and student-athletes, which will help the company grow even larger. Morgan Stanley analysts expect the holiday season to drive growth.

5. Best Buy- New technology is growing and it is more popular than ever. Some new products will drive sales up. Best Buy has better customer service than others, which benefit the company.

NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement is currently the world’s largest free trade zone but that position will soon be overtaken by the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which involves the United States and 11 other countries that produce 40% of the world’s total GDP of $107.5 trillion, 26% of its trade and over 793 million of its consumers. It is basically a trade agreement that will help support economic growth and jobs by removing trade barriers (such as steep tariffs) for goods and services between the 12 countries involved. The TTP help boosts exports and economic growth by increasing the employment of the 12 countries involved. It is estimated to increase exports by $305 billion per year by 2025, by removing the 18,000 tariffs placed on US exports to the other countries.

So obviously the agreement creates an advantage to our country’s economy, but what would it mean to the state of California?

California has important trade and investment ties with the 11 other countries involved with TPP. In 2013, California exported $70.1 billion worth of goods to these countries, hence with the TPP agreement in motion, it will surely help strengthen the trade and investment relationships between California and the 11 countries and support the California jobs that depend on them. The TPP agreement will also provide California with an opportunity to increase its trade in goods with current US FTA partners, which of the 11 TPP countries, there are 6 of them (Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Singapore). California exported $54 billion worth of goods to these six countries in 2013, accounting for roughly 32% of California’s goods exports globally. The TPP will help to support these global supply chains and facilitate further trade with these current FTA partners, along with 5 other countries that has the potential to expand in terms of trade relationship with California.

As mentioned before, the TPP will also provide California with the opportunity of expanding its market for goods and services to the 5 other countries that are currently not a part of the US FTA. The 5 countries which have a combined population of 252 million people, and a combined economy of $5.6 trillion have the potential to be new markets for Californian exports. Although currently California has good trade ties with some of these countries, exporting $24.6 billion in goods and services in 2013 to the 5 aforementioned countries, the state still faces very high level of tariffs to export to them. For example, the tariff rate for export of fresh Californian Oranges go as far 32.0% to Japan.

All in all, the TPP creates a better opportunity for California to not only expand existing trade between the six current US FTA partners, but it also help California expand to new markets around the world, which leads to an increase in the state’s economy, in terms of increasing investment ties between California and the TPP countries, and also supporting jobs in California.

 

Finland is a Northern European country with five million habitants. I’m one the five million. Until recently I have known shamefully little about my home country’s trade.

I knew that Sweden – our neighbor on the western side – is our biggest export destination, and that Europe’s economic giant Germany is a significant market as well.

But I wouldn’t have guessed that this year the U.S. bypassed Russia as the third biggest destination of Finnish exports.

Though it shouldn’t be a surprise.

Finland’s trade with Russia has stalled because of president Putin’s repellent expansion politics and the economic sanctions that EU has passed on Russia.

 

Finland – a small EU country and member in Eurozone –no longer has means to control its own economy with its’ own monetary policy as it no longer has its’ own currency. Many Finns now consider joining the monetary union was an unfortunate decision.

At the moment there is, however, one slight cause of happiness with weakening Euro, and that is the interest American buyers are showing towards Finnish products.

The overall exports of Finland have decreased at an annualized rate of six percent during last five years. During the first six months of year 2015, Finland’s exports to the U.S grew eight percent from the previous year. The markets of all the main export goods – electronics, machinery, ships and boats, paper and paperboard, refined petroleum products, and telecommunications equipment and parts – expanded, and the total value of Finland’s trade to the U.S is now €1.9 billion.

 

One man in Los Angeles is particularly happy and proud of the brightened prospects of Finnish products’ sales over the Atlantic. He is the consul general of Finland Juha Markkanen.

Markkanen has been in LA for three years focusing on helping Finnish companies to find buyers, investors and co-operations in the country.

He acts along Finnish governments (and previous governments) strategy. In 2011 the government of Finland created a project called Team Finland. Its’ goal is to bring together Finnish diplomats and government bodies with businesses and organizations to accelerate especially Finnish small and medium size companies’ exports. The whole staff of consulate of Finland in Los Angeles has reshaped its priorities since: they are here less for the foreign policy (that is done in Washington and more and more on EU level) and more for economic networking.

Processing passport and visa applications and issues are, of course, still an essential function of the consulate – but that, too, can be seen as clearing paths for the economic co-operation, says consul general Markkanen.

What else a diplomat does in order to accelerate trade?

Markkanen is a precise man and gives numbered answers.

Four ways how diplomacy is helping Finnish businesses to export.

 

One. The diplomat shares information. Markkanen and his consulate know all the details of legislation and agreements concerning the trade between Finland, EU, Eurozone and the U.S. The consulate helps business people with their concerns with trade tariffs and possible barriers. Equally important is to advice people how to approach the market. For that, Markkanen has created “ten commandments”: 1. Networking is key. 2. Visit the US early, often, and before you have a final product. 3. Ask questions, lots of them, and then ask more. 4. Local presence is crucial. 5. Work with local players. 6. Pick the best partner, never the first. 7. Be swift (24-hour-rule). 8. Be patient and think long-term (follow up). 9. Do the sales/marketing in the US way. 10. Give the market what it wants, not what you think it wants!

Two.  The diplomat offers connections. Consul general Juha Markkanen shows the folder where he has collected all the business cards he has got during his years in LA. There are hundreds of them. Consulates mission is to find networks and to connect Finnish professionals with Californian counterparts.

 

Three. The diplomat makes visits and organizes them for others. Markkanen points out lines of Finnish business that he thinks have nowadays particular potential in California: 1. Clean tech. 2. Health and wellness. 3. ICT. 4. Creative industries.

He wants entrepreneurs from those branches to know the hubs in California -LA / Silicon Beach, San Francisco / Silicon Valley and San Diego – and otherway round.

He visits these hubs and lobbies for Finnish innovations. When the consul general asks for an appointment with, companies and organizations usually find time for an appointment.

The Finnish consulate recently organized stage time for pitching for five Finnish clean tech companies in a big clean tech conference in LA.

 

Four. The diplomat uses his residence. The residence of consul general is a beautiful, big house. The foreign ministry of Finland does not buy or rent these kinds of beautiful big houses for its’ diplomats just because diplomats should have a nice home abroad. Juha Markkanen hosts numerous events in his residence where he brings together Finns and Americans. He may allow Finnish business delegations to organize meetings or conferences in his residence. He invites and receives Finnish groups over in LA.

 

Before I met consul general Juha Markkanen, I had a very vague image of what a consul general does. Now I know that he is an ambassador of Finnish exports.

Though that shouldn’t be a surprise.

If I was to expand my (imaginary) business from Finland to California, who would I contact to have advice? The consulate, surely.

When you hear the word “McDonald”, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? 99% of the time it will be the iconic golden arches. The logo is often the first thing customers think of or associate with a brand when the brand name is mentioned. Nonetheless, many brands often ignore or underscore the importance of their logo and economic implications it can have.

In October, 2010, Gap, a multinational clothing retailer, decided to change its signature logo from a blue square with white “Gap” in the middle, to a unfamiliar logo where the word Gap is written in black with a small blue square overlapping with the “p”.

The customers were not happy about the change. Shortly after the debut of the new logo, GAP received large amounts of negative feedback and backlash on its social media platforms, with many comments asking to bring back the original logo and stating the refusal to shop with GAP. One of the comments on Facebook wrote, “This is the worst idea Gap has ever had. I will be sad to see this change take place, if this new logo is brought into the store I will no longer be shopping with the Gap.”

The company argues that it changed its logo in order to build a stronger connection with its target audience, the millennial generation. However, considering the lack of support from its online community and unfavorable comments from its target audience GAP made the decision to return to its original logo within a week.

A brand’s logo serves as a means for the company to communicate its value and emphasize its uniqueness to its customers. “A good logo can be a synthesizer of a brand that is readily used by customers for identification, differentiation and positive associations.” According to an article from MIT Sloan Management Review, an effective corporate logo relates positively to customer’s commitment to the brand.

In September 2015, Google changed its old logo, serif typeface, to a new logo, a san serif typeface. The original logo was created in 1999 and even though Google has made minor changes to the original logo, changing the typeface is the first major move the company has made in the last 16 years. Besides the change from serif to san serif, Google transformed its logo from words to an animated symbol, with red, blue, orange, and green dots.

Why did Google decide to change its logo at this moment? Some speculate that Google is trying to change its brand image from a dull search engine to an interactive and friendly portal that is capable of leading you to anything and anywhere. According to the article ”Google’s New Logo Is Trying Really Hard to Look Friendly”, Google wants its users to see its brand as a benevolent guide to this new world, one that considers humans, not machines, argues Rhodes.

Positive and negative reviews came along with the change of Google’s logo. For some, the new logo brings positive energy and refreshes Google’s brand image. “…they’ve modernized the logo in a way that feels very true to who they are and what they stand for.”, said Debbie Millman. For others, the change is unnecessary and superficial. “It’s almost this fake, artificial intelligence, the machine trying to act like your friend. And when Google as a corporation tries to do that, they sound like an automated friend-bot.”, said Ellis.

Although it is difficult to mathematically calculate the success of a logo change and its underlying affects, one thing that we know for certain is that logos certainly play an important role in brand and its implications will, positive or negative, will trickle down.

When cargo ships arrive to the Port of Los Angeles they are typically full, but what do the containers ship when they leave? When an Economist named Michael Keanan on a Port of Los Angeles boat tour was asked this question, there was no hesitation with his answer of “air”. Most often when cargo ships leave the Port of LA, there are many empty boxes, because China imports more than the U.S. exports back. With the recent setback of China’s economy, the rise of empty containers is at an all-time high for U.S. exports and has become a concern.

Michael Keanan elaborated on how cargo is brought in from Asia to provide for an entire nation, while the U.S. exports typically come from the mid-west and are in lower quantities. The economist continued explaining why cargo ships arrive full but half of them leave empty.  “When containers leave, half the containers are empty,” Michael said, “the other half are filled with low value items such as scrap metal, waist paper and agricultural products like soy beans, hay, and grains”. The items received from Asia are higher in number and more profitable then the goods leaving the U.S, which is one of the reasons why only half of cargo boxes are full.

A recent article by the Wall Street Journal called At U.S. Ports, Exports Are Coming Up Empty made a statement about how one of the fastest growing U.S. exports is air. The article continued to discuss the current weak demand of troubled global markets and the tough sales American exports face abroad.

China’s cooled economy has effected outgoing exports and U.S. exporters find it tougher to make foreign sales. The Wall Street Journal article claims that the stronger dollar that makes American goods more expensive has a part in the slowing. When shipments leave the Port’s to return to Asia, they carry the waist and agricultural products that were mentioned earlier. However, these items have declined in loads.

The Port of Long Beach is one of the busiest ports in the country and September was the strait 8^th month that empty containers leaving the port outnumbered those loaded with exports. Long Beach and the Port of Oakland both reported its exports of empty containers doubled and this year empties are up 20% from last year. The Port of Los Angeles empty outbound containers is up 21% compared to this time last year as well. These ports are suffering the most because they are heavily tied to trade with China.

An economist, named Paul Bingham, told The Wall Street Journal the decrease in exports that reflects economic weakness goes beyond China, it shows slowing demand in Europe as well. He also mentioned the Commerce Department stated that U.S. exports fell 2% in the month to their lowest level since October 2012.

While empties outnumbering loaded containers is beginning to be a concern, it will become a bigger issue if numbers don’t decrease within time and the U.S. continues to struggle with sales on its exports.