Tompkins Associates' Podcast Addresses Real Impact of Fuel Costs on U.S. Trade

Raleigh, NC, September 18, 2008 -- The new podcast Globalization: Separating Fact from Fiction uncovers the real impact of rising fuel costs on U.S trade, and the truth may surprise you.

Jim Tompkins, President and CEO of Tompkins Associates, has run the numbers on global shipping and fuel costs. In this installment of the Global Supply Chain Podcast series, he advises that the benefits of global trade far outweigh any concerns around the rising cost of fuel.

"Across the board, about 5 percent of total delivered cost for a product is transportation. Of this 5 percent, about 40 percent represents fuel costs. So, the impact of fuel on the total delivered cost of a product to the United States is typically about 2 percent," Tompkins says.

He adds that a 50 percent increase in the cost of fuel will lead to a 1 percent rise in the product's total delivered cost -- an insignificant amount compared to potential savings of 20 to 40 percent or higher in the purchase price when buying product from low cost countries.

And when it comes to energy conservation, Tompkins notes that global shipping still proves to be the best method overall. "From a consumption perspective, the most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly transportation is ocean containership. Rail is a close second with truckload, less-than-truckload, ground parcel and air trailing in the distance," he says.

Beyond clarifying fuel and shipping myths, the Tompkins podcast also tackles truths about doing business in China including:

• Quality and recalls
• Counterfeiting and intellectual property
• Labor costs and labor laws
• Government and human rights

Tompkins Associates features a new podcast on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Visit http://www.tompkinsinc.com/podcast to subscribe via iTunes or any podcast feed reader, or to sign up for email updates.

Media Contact
E-mail Myra Schwartz or call 919-855-5533.

About Tompkins Associates
Tompkins Associates designs and integrates global end-to-end solutions for companies that embrace supply chain excellence. For more than 30 years, Tompkins has evolved with the marketplace to become the leading provider of global supply chain solutions, distribution operations consulting, technology implementation, material handling integration, and benchmarking and best practices. Tompkins works closely with companies to ensure that their supply chains fully support their mission and business plans, as well as future growth. The company is headquartered in Raleigh, NC. For more information, visit www.tompkinsinc.com. Subscribe to the site feed for instant updates