US economy grows faster than expected in Q1
June 30, 2008
The US economy grew at an annual rate of 1 percent in the first quarter of this year, faster than the 0.9 percent pace estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.The first-quarter growth rate for gross domestic product or GDP followed growth paces of 0.6 percent in the final three months of 2007 and 4.9 percent in the third quarter of last year.
“The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for services, exports of goods and services, and federal government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from residential fixed investment and PCE for durable goods,” said the department when releasing the report.
In the January-to-March period, consumer spending, which accounts for two thirds of overall economic activity, rose at an annual rate of 1.1 percent, down from a 2.3 percent growth rate in the previous quarter.
Spending on housing projects plunged 24.6 percent, marking the ninth consecutive quarterly decline. The plunge, however, was not as sharp as previously estimated.
Businesses’ spending on equipment and software declined 0.6 percent, reversing a 3.1 percent gain in the prior quarter.
Exports of goods and services increased 5.4 percent after having gained 6.5 percent, while imports of goods and services decreased 0.7 percent after having declined 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Meanwhile, federal government spending in the first quarter rose at a rate of 4.3 percent, much stronger than the 0.5 percent growth pace in the previous quarter.
“Core” prices, which exclude volatile energy and food and are an inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose at a rate of 2.3 percent in the first quarter. That was down from a 2.5 percent pace in the prior quarter.
GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States. The first-quarter GDP data will be revised once more by the department.
Source: Shanghai Daily
Tags: prices, parking news, China's parking industryRelated Posts:
The Problem With Present Parking Control
June 29, 2008
EFFECTIVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT IS COSTLY!
There can be little doubt that parking in most towns, cities, institutions, terminals and stadiums is a major isssue. For local authorities who are having to accomodate an ever increasing number of vehicles and reduced resources, the task of effective traffic management is daunting indeed. A solution that not only satisfies a variety of parking needs but remains cost effective and generates additional income, becomes imperative.
DEPENDANCE UPON ON/OFF STREET GENERATED FUNDS!
Many towns, cities and businesses rely heavily on revenue generated by way of on/off street parking and the mandate is to effectively administrate a parking system that optimizes use of available space while maximizing revenue generation through effective enforcement. The goal of these facilites is to minimize parking congestion, illegal parking, encourage rapid turnover, and generate additonal income.
FREE PARKING ISN’T FREE!
Free parking represents lost revenue to the parking provider, which contributes to higher local taxes or operating costs that can be mitigated in the case of private parking providers. Free parking encourages “Long Term Parking”, inconveniencing shoppers and citizens resulting in lost business for retailers operating in densely populated areas.
CURRENT PARKING METER SYSTEMS SUFFER FROM BREAKAGE AND THEFTS!
Many of the parking control systems currently in use cost substantial sums of money to implement and maintain. Just providing for mechanical or electronically metered infrastructure is too costly for many smaller towns and entities like universities; forcing them to forego the new profit centers paid parking would otherwise provide them. Even large municipalities are finding that the cost/benefit of meters is becoming questionable especially when the other attendant problems of meter use are considered. The mechanical and electronic equipment (meters) are particularly susceptible to a substantial amount of “leakage” through uncollected parking fees, whether to mechanical failure, theft, damage, tampering with on-street equipment, undetected overstay and other breaches of parking controls.
Tags: parkade, urban parking, chinese car parkingRelated Posts:
West Palm Beach City Parking System, Florida, USA
June 29, 2008
In October 2006 Mayor Frankel of the City of West Palm Beach, Florida, US, announced the introduction of a new, innovative city parking system. The system, which came into effect at the start of November 2006, involves the payment for parking by using a mobile phone to make a call.
“We are one of the first cities in the nation to offer this service to motorists, and the only city to offer it to our customers free of charge.”Mayor Frankel said: “This new parking system will offer a great convenience for people who work, live, shop, and play in downtown West Palm Beach… This system will make it easier than ever to pay for parking at meters, and we’re excited to be able to offer it to our residents and visitors.”
The system is called the Electronic Parking Payment System or EPPS. Sue Olley, Director of Parking Systems, said: “This is an innovative, state-of-the-art way to pay for parking… We are one of the first cities in the nation to offer this service to motorists, and the only city in the nation to offer it to our customers free of charge.”
THE SYSTEM
The EPPS pay-by-cellphone system allows motorists to pay for parking meters in the downtown area by using their cellphone (caller ID must be enabled on the phone) rather than using spare change. Motorists must first register for the system; registration is free and there is no transaction fee.
After registering for a free account (giving personal information, a credit card number and the car’s license plate number), all the motorist has to do to pay for parking is to call in from their cellphone and enter a parking meter ID number, which is located on the meter.
The system continues the parking time until it is told to stop, or until the maximum time allowed for the parking meter has been reached (this depends upon the meter). Computers, equipped with an electronic record of the parking fee schedules associated with that meter, then charge the correct amount to the credit card.
To pay for more time, simply call the number again. The payment system uses CallerID to identify the parking spot (meter id#). When the motorist is finally ready to leave, another call ends the billing and generates an electronic receipt that can be sent to a cell phone or to a pre-registered email address (for expense and tax claims).
Parking enforcement officers use hand-held systems (wirelessly enabled Palm Treos) provided by Sprint-Nextel to monitor the process. Enforcement officers see which meters have been paid by cellphone. No special application is required to run on the enforcement devices.
The new payment system is part of a wider reform of the parking system, which will see parking meters in areas of downtown West Palm Beach being free after 7pm and parking in city-owned parking garages being free after 10pm. The Mayor’s office has stated that there will be enhanced security in all city-owned parking lots and garages following the reform.
CONTRACTORS
The system was developed and introduced by New Parking Inc. New Parking Inc is a Calgary-based company using its own proprietary software and existing advanced wireless technologies to automate many parking industry operations, starting with payments and enforcement. The company’s first application is the Electronic Parking Payment System (EPPS).
New Parking uses leading edge technologies, and so instead of pre-recorded voice files – so common with interactive telephone systems – they use ‘TTS’ also known as Text-to-Speech technology, where the voice heard is generated by a computer in the real time.
It has many advantages, such as the customer can be told what parking meter number they were parked at. The parking system is supported by the city’s parking meter management software, which is WinEMU and Cell Parking supplied by MacKay Meters. The management system provides full audit control and overall system reconciliation.
“The programme had 520 transactions in just the first two weeks of November, surpassing the entire month’s goal in just 14 days.”POPULARITY OF THE SYSTEM
The city set a goal of having 400 pay-by-cellphone transactions in the month of November. The programme had 520 transactions in just the first two weeks of November, surpassing the entire month’s goal in just 14 days.
The first month ended with 1,300 transactions. The second month finished at 1,700 transactions, with repeat users accounting for more than half of the transactions. So the trend can be seen of the system gaining credibility and use with the parking motorist.
INSTALLATION
Because of the simplicity of the system the costs to implement it were minimal. Sue Olley said: “We had to relabel each meter to provide clear space identity; purchase three wirelessly enabled Palm Treos (three were donated); and do some manual data entry to activate site locations in the Cell Parking and WinEMU parking meter management systems.
“Total cost for implementation of Cell Parking on the system was approximately $5,000. Ongoing costs to the city are minimal and directly related to use of the system.”
Future initiatives with the Cell Parking programme will include on-street validations, text messages for expiring meters and a tell-a-friend promotion.
Tags: Asia, mechanical parking, rampRelated Posts:
China’s Environ Policy May Fuel Steel Price Rise
June 29, 2008
STEEL prices could rise even higher after soaring 55 per cent in the last two months, due to China’s strict environmental protection policy during the Olympics.
According to Tai Hean Leng, Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel) managing director,”
“Beijing is waging war against pollution on nearby steel mills that is causing grey skies. When the supply of steel into the global market comes down, prices will go up.”
Hebei is a major steel-making province in China, accounting for 20 per cent of the country’s 489 million tonnes of crude steel output last year.
Another factor in the rising steel prices is that China is reducing freight movement around Beijing.
“When exports of heavy metal is being diverted to ports in the south like Lianyungang, logistics costs will go up, thereby adding to steel bar prices,” Tai said.
In April, steel bars sold locally cost between RM2,278 per tonne and RM2,419 per tonne. Following the liberalisation of the market on May 12, prices have increased to between RM3,550 per tonne and RM3,750 per tonne.
Meanwhile, Tai declined to disclose revenue and net profit forecasts for 2008.
“We have invested RM90 million in capacity expansion in the last two years. We are now leveraging on economies of scale because of better global demand and rising prices,” he said.
Masteel has capacity to produce 450,000 tonnes of billets and 350,000 tonnes of steel bars per year. Seventy-five per cent of its steel products are for the domestic market and the rest for exports.
Source: New Straits Times
Tags: urban parking, china parking website, chinese car parkRelated Posts:
China’s export of unforged manganese in May 2008
June 28, 2008
China exported 21,159 tons of unforged manganese valued at 79.824 million US dollars in May 2008. The export in January-May reached 96,576 tons valued at 325.689 million US dollars, down 21.5 percent and up 39.1 percent respectively year on year.
Tags: China, US, ManganeseRelated Posts:
