How much of a discount do foreign-based shippers receive when sending mail and small packages (aka terminal dues items) to the United States? It is as much as 65 percent compared with U.S. domestic Postal Service customers. We thank renowned postal consultant Jim Campbell, who has been analyzing these issues for decades, for sharing the above information. The huge disparity and subsidies given to foreign shippers, particularly those from China which is classified as a Group 3 country, underscore the [ Read More…]

With or without China’s cooperation, the U.S. is poised to soon notch an important victory in the trade war against China and send a firm message that we will cut our trade deficit. Winners will include U.S. e-commerce businesses, manufacturers and retailers. A bizarre international shipping pact makes it far less expensive to send a small package from China to the U.S. than to send the same package within U.S. borders. Paul Steidler has written a commentary for InsideSources about [ Read More…]

The Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has proposed language in the 2020 defense authorization act that would provide Elon Musk’s SpaceX with up to $500 million so that it can continue pursuing military launch contracts despite not receiving a competitive award from the Air Force last year to develop a launch vehicle. Three other providers, including two non-traditional ones, won awards. Chairman Smith’s proposed language is a bad idea. According to the Air Force, it would raise the [ Read More…]

Members of Congress would like to see a more expansive use of the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft in various global hotspots as a way to support U.S. Special Operations Forces and continue needed counterinsurgency efforts. The A-29 is turboprop light attack aircraft designed and built by Embraer which has been helping the Afghan Air Force battle insurgents for many years in Afghanistan. It has received rave reviews regarding its performance in theater as a platform which can support ground troops [ Read More…]

The proposed merger of Raytheon and United Technologies would create a vast aerospace and defense enterprise, but it would have no negative impacts on the competitive landscape.  Raytheon Chairman & CEO Tom Kennedy told me on June 10 that he can’t remember ever competing with United Technologies for a contract, which hints at how little overlap there is in the product lines of the two companies. However, there might be some significant benefits to competition from the combination because it [ Read More…]

In February, some 40 aerospace industry associations sent a letter to the Secretary of Transportation and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget warning that “the U.S. aviation industry is facing a technician and pilot shortage that threatens to undermine the growth and competitiveness of one of the most important sectors of our economy. The problem is particularly serious with respect to skilled aircraft maintainers. Failure to maintain a robust U.S. maintenance workforce will result in reduced airline [ Read More…]

After spending much of its corporate history as a very-low-visibility supplier to America’s military, L3 Technologies is stepping out on the eve of its merger with Harris Corporation.  The resulting combination will be the sixth-biggest military contractor in the world, but as the company told reporters this week, even before the deal is consummated CEO Chris Kubasik has brought major changes to L3’s culture.  He has divested most services to focus on technology, he has realigned operating units, and he [ Read More…]

The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract will create a cloud like no other, private or public. The Department of Defense (DoD) envisions a “worldwide, highly available, exponentially elastic, secure, resilient cloud computing and storage environment that seamlessly extends from the homefront to the tactical edge.” JEDI will be DoD’s first war cloud. Hence, as many Pentagon officials have argued, the single-award contract is needed to avoid being limited by the slow pace of a multiple-award contract followed by the [ Read More…]

Philly Shipyard, one of the few shipbuilders in America focused on making large commercial vessels, has run out of orders.  Most of its workforce has been furloughed.  This is bad news for America’s military, which relies on the domestically-built and manned commercial fleet to supplement government sealift in wartime.  A 1920 law called the Jones Act was supposed to protect U.S. shipbuilders and the merchant marine workforce by reserving domestic routes exclusively for them, but if Philly is sinking, then [ Read More…]

Should an enemy submarine surface well beyond undersea or surface drone detection range and send intelligence to attack platforms — U.S. Navy platforms could be vulnerable in some instances. Fortified by targeting data from well beyond the horizon, enemy subs, planes and ships might, in this case, be well-positioned for a coordinated strike. However, should an interwoven web of Navy surveillance assets track and share vital information, coordinated surface, air and undersea drones could sustain an unprecedented advantage — and a new [ Read More…]