A consumption tax increased from 8% to 10% on October 1. Approximately one week passes, but there are few impacts to be when it was raised from 5% to 8% in April 2014. According to the tones of media it is because food is left unchanged with 8% and the cost on preschool education and the childcare to be free and the introduction of the point reduction system to promote the cashless settlement. I do not learn much sense of incongruity as an actual feeling. Is it a result adjusted to 30-year consumption tax payment? But I find a considerable shock in the indication for the outside tax.
Japan is greatly behind other countries about the cashless settlement. The payment of the major general hospital of Tokyo turned into the automatic payment machine approximately ten years ago. I am slightly sorry that speaking in a blunt manner I could pay even 1 yen by a card. The most of the elderly in their 70s in 60s pay it in cash when waiting the payment at the same hospital last month after an interval of several years. Do they still have a feeling of resistance for the small payment by the card? Don’t they rely on the card? Agony when they dropped a card or worry when it was abused? The Yokohama Municipal Hospital is still the cash settlement at the window. The dental clinic where I go to doesn’t accept the card payment less than 5,000 yen. The card settlement is no problem in the convenience store and the supermarket. A certain restaurant does not accept a certain card because a card fee is high and they particularly add a few percent to the offered figure for a card payment. The restaurants refuses the card payment because too busy at noon time with many guests. Anyway, Japan is cash oriented country still more. It is a task of extreme difficult to change this reality. How convenient a card is? They are free from trouble in search of small change, the depression that they get it, and a wallet, a pocket gets heavy. It is possible to be unable to pay by the card in case of less the bank deposit than the actual payment. They might be pressed by a revolving payment. They cannot but manage it as a personal problem. On the other hand the card use could greatly contribute to the society as Big Data. The population 65 years or older is approximately 36 million people. It occupies 28% of total population. The financial assets of the person are 25 million yen on the average. I am positively sure that Japan economy will improve if we could have the elderly person use a credit card in peace.
World Trade Organization (WTO) revised growth rate (announced in April) of the quantity of global trade for 2019 years on October 1, affected by the intensification of the U.S. and China trade friction.
| April | October | |
| World | 2.6% | 1.2% |
| N.America | 4.3% | 1.5% |
| Asia | 3.8% | 1.8% |
| EU | 1.6% | 0.6% |
| S.America | 0.6% | 1.3% |
Institute for supply management (ISM) announced the U.S. manufacturing industry business perception index of September on October 1. It is 47.8 (1.3 points of drops compared with the month before) and a low level for the first time in 10 years since June 2009. It was less than 50 for 2 consecutive months, which is the border of the judgement of an economic expansion or reduction. The U.S. Department of Labor announced on October 4 the employment statistics for September that the number of the employees of the non-agriculture section increases 136,000 compared with the month before in September. It is slowdown from 168,000 people of the last month. The unemployment rate is 3.5%. 0.2 points are improved from the last month. A historic low level since 1969. The mean hourly wage is 28.09 dollar, 2.9% increase from a year earlier. It fell lower than 3% level for the first time in one year. FRB decides the reduction in interest rates of two times of after July. It is considered that FRB will decide the third reduction in interest rates in the end of October for growth maintenance.
On the other hand, WTO admitted the U.S. on Oct. 2 that retaliation tariff of max 7,500 million dollar a year equivalency to the subsidy to Airbus of a major EU airplane maker against their statement. The United States exercises it on 18th. EU seems to examine retaliation for retaliation, too. EU and the U.S. trade friction becomes intense, too.
A holiday of the National Foundation Day of China started from Oct. 1 ended Oct. 7. Total number of domestic tourist was 782 million, 7.8% increase from a year earlier. This year is the 70th anniversary of the founding of a country in China. The number of the people entering and leaving country seemed to exceed 7 million in an average of 1,980,000 people per day in consecutive 7 days holidays. The sales of the eating and drinking company are a total of 1,520 billion yuan, 8.5% increase. In addition, according to Alipay, Japan became No. 1 in the number of business on overseas destination for the first time in 2019. By the way, Thailand was the first place and Japan was the second place for 2018 years.
Chartered ship charges seem to go up 30% from the year before by the substitute demand for ship which comes into dock to be equipped with a scrubber (effluent gas depurator) for sulfur oxide (Sox) regulation by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) enforced in next January. On the other hand, each alliance let 26 ships stopped in North America route and European route in anticipation of slow demand after the National Foundation Day of China. And yet the freight rate falls. The freight rate of the end of September is $1,330 per 40f for US West Coast and $2,350 per 40f for US East Coast, which is lowered by 20% and 10% respectively compared with a month ago. A cargo rush before the Chinese National Foundation Day of China is an average year on a top of the export for Christmas trades in September. It seemed to end quiet this year. Nevertheless, last ship of the 17th ship of mega containership 21,237TEU of COSCO and more than 20,000 TEUx2 ships of MSC were delivered at the beginning in October. At present more than 71 ships 1,300,000 TEU are delivered by the end of 2021. The growth of the quantity of loading capacity estimates 3.5% of this year and 3.2% of 2020.
The construction container price is $ 1,630 per 20f now, 4% fells down compared with the month before. The new container inventory as of the end of Sep. is 1,040,695TEU (Dry: 973,583TEU, Reefer: 67,112TEU).
The people of the shipping circle knows that Reefer container gets attention for freshness maintenance on vegetables, fruit, fresh flower and fish. Of course, as for the freezing product, Reefer Container to be able to cool to -40 degrees Celsius of Magnum Plus of Thermo King, -60 degrees Celsius of Super Freezer is indispensable to quality maintenance. There exist no Reefer unit makers which can provide -40 degrees Celsius and -60 degrees Celsius does but Thermo King. Of course Magnum Plus of Thermo King can support the chilled temperature zone from -0 degrees Celsius to +5 degrees Celsius. The temperature setting by the -0.5 degrees Celsius unit is possible. Passive CA, where there is the freshness maintenance in managing carbon dioxide and the oxygen density, and relaxing the breathing of vegetables and then there is Active CA using the N2 to maintain more freshness. But, both have good points and bad points, and Active CA is more expensive than Passive CA. In addition, it is early to wither up when it went back up in a normal state. It is said that it could not show an effect enough in a short distance, the short time.
It is “Wi-Free system” of O’s & Tec Ltd to solve it which I introduce from now on. An electromagnetic field using high voltage, a low electric current is created inside of Reefer container to maintain freshness of vegetables, fruit, flower, an aging effect, preservation in electrostatic energy, especially effect that a sugar content of the fruit goes up is recognized for a long term. It could manage the temperature zone of refrigeration and the chilled from -10 degrees Celsius to +10 degrees Celsius. An electromagnetic wave is made by the voltage of 3,500V and an electric current of 3mA and it prevents freshness deterioration from the destruction of the cell up to – 10 degrees Celsius after Wi-Free system operation. It is used by change of the voltage with a transformer. A system stops at the time of the opening and shutting of the door and when an overcurrent happens. This is developed for the warehouse use and is applied to Reefer Container. There are the result that 70x20f Reefer with Magnum Plus has been exported to overseas in partnership with O’s & Tec.
It has achieved the result in cooperation with each a farm co-op and local company, Japanese and Western restaurant to use various type of the warehouse and a refrigerator. A good place of this system is the place where we can utilize a system in a refrigerator, a cold storage warehouse as well as Reefer container variously. Of course, it could be possible to attach it with the existing refrigerator and cold storage warehouse later, too. We can expect a great advantage as we add value to it by adjusting shipping time because long-term preservation is possible. We could offer the special product of the high quality in off season. We can prevent the loss of the harvest. Of course application covers various things such as meat, a cake, bread, rice. If the person having interest can refer to our business (045-264-4540). We are confident that we could help you to make your idea realistic by proposing Magnum Plus of Thermo King Reefer which is powerful and delicate to cool down to -40 degrees Celsius