Low-cost Producers Research Articles

Rosin from Pinus pinaster Portuguese forests shows a regular profile of resin acids.

Pinus pinaster forestry occupies >20% of the forest ecosystem area in the continental territory of Portugal with a high impact on the national economy. This species' major derived non-wood product is oleoresin, the raw material for rosin production. Rosin comprises mainly a blend of resin acids and has broad industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Oleoresin production in Portugal has been progressively reduced due to low-cost producers in other countries; currently, it reaches only 2% of the existing P. pinaster trees. To support this value chain, the chemical fingerprint of rosin derived from the national forest requires focused analysis. In the present study, we collected oleoresin within seven geographically distinct pure P. pinaster forests in two consecutive collection years. A high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method was used to quantify the diversity of resin acids in the corresponding rosin samples. Overall, the acquired data highlighted that the profile of resin acids in P.pinaster rosin produced in Portugal is highly regular, regardless of the forest location, having as the major constituents abietic acid and dehydroabietic acid. The diversity of resin acids is possibly influenced, to a minor extent, by some edaphoclimatic factors.

The mundanity of cost cutting: The value of small wins in affordable housing production

Regardless of the best intentions to address the issue among policy makers, affordable housing remains one of the most underprovided assets in advanced economies, otherwise characterized by an ample supply of product offerings. The paper addressed the question of how affordable housing can be provided on basis of new housing production. The study is premised on the theoretical proposition that excellence is not primarily a matter of working “harder” or “smarter” than competitors do, but is rather an effect of small, yet discernable qualitative changes (being the basis for the management of the “mundanity of excellence”) that generate benefits and returns in excess of what may be originally expected. The value of such “small wins” are of general relevance for any organized activity or managerial pursuit. Drawing on a study of two low-cost producers operating in the Swedish market and (in one of the cases) abroad, it is shown that to make newly produced homes affordable (defined in local terms on basis of documented housing sales and their buying price), the planning, production, and sales cost need to be minimized throughout the whole process. Affordable housing is thus provided on basis of a full organizational and wider institutional commitment to serve households with limited budget headroom, and this work demands a long-term commitment to stated business objectives and enacted housing policies.

A Review of Literature on the Usage of Low-Cost Sensors to Measure Particulate Matter

With advances in technological sciences, individuals can utilize low-cost air monitoring sensors to record air quality at homes, schools, and businesses. Air quality data collected from LCSs are publicly accessible, informing the community of the air quality around them. It is important to measure local and regional particulate matter (PM) concentrations to keep the public involved, especially those with specific health concerns, such as asthma, wheezing, and seasonal allergies. The number of studies involving the use of LCSs to evaluate PM levels is increasing with more manufacturers producing ‘easy to use’ LCSs targeting the public. The goal of this review is to understand and incorporate the findings from studies using LCSs to analyze PM of various sizes, i.e., PM1, PM2.5, PM4, and PM10. This review integrates analyses from 51 different studies in 14 countries, including the U.S. The findings indicate spatial heterogeneity in the PM concentrations across a region. Some of the low-cost sensor manufacturers mentioned in these studies include Plantower, AQMesh, Alpha-sense, PurpleAir, E-MOTEs, and Shinyei. This review emphasizes the importance of LCSs in the field of PM monitoring and its potential to inform the public about their exposure burden, and to aid state and federal decision makers in formulating policies for mitigating the effects of PM pollution in any urban or rural setting.

Contracting with countervailing incentives under asymmetric cost information in a dual-channel supply chain

This study investigates the optimal contract design with countervailing incentives under asymmetric selling cost information in a dual-channel supply chain comprising a manufacturer and retailer. The manufacturer’s selling cost is private and determines their reservation profit, which gives rise to type-dependent participation constraints. This study provides several intriguing results. First, when the external market correctly evaluates the selling cost advantage of the manufacturer, information asymmetry does not necessarily hamper channel efficiency, even in the dual-channel setting. Second, the retailer may distort the manufacturer’s selling quantity either upward or downward, while the retailer may distort their own selling quantity in the opposite direction. Such a synergistic effect unique to the dual channels may help the retailer balance information rent extraction and channel efficiency. Third, the manufacturer may benefit from intensified channel competition as long as the cost differential is not significant, or the cost differential is significant, but the channel substitution rate is relatively low. Finally, further examining the value of information, we demonstrate that the profit differential of the retailer (manufacturer, supply chain) exhibits an inverted U-shaped (U-shaped, hat-shaped) pattern with respect to the low-cost manufacturer’s reservation profit.

Development and Perspective of Rhodotorula toruloides as an Efficient Cell Factory.

Rhodotorula toruloides is receiving significant attention as a novel cell factory because of its high production of lipids and carotenoids, fast growth and high cell density, as well as the ability to utilize a wide variety of substrates. These attractive traits of R. toruloides make it possible to become a low-cost producer that can be engineered for the production of various fuels and chemicals. However, the lack of understanding and genetic engineering tools impedes its metabolic engineering applications. A number of research efforts have been devoted to filling these gaps. This review focuses on recent developments in genetic engineering tools, advances in systems biology for improved understandings, and emerging engineered strains for metabolic engineering applications. Finally, future trends and barriers in developing R. toruloides as a cell factory are also discussed.

A Comparative Analysis of Solar Energy Strategies in Middle East with Rich Fossil Resources

With countries throughout middle east and north Africa pursuing ambitious targets for a transition to renewable energies, the political economy of a region predominantly analyzed through the prism of fossil fuels is on the verge of radical change. As hydrocarbon prices decline, the low-cost producers of Middle East have an advantage and should be the last to leave the market. The world will demand proportionally more of the region’s oil and gas. Nearly half of the world's oil is located in Middle East, which has long been referred to as the "energy axis" of the planet. In the meanwhile, as the nations of this area progress towards the future, they have realized the need of supplying energy from these other sources, such that the utilization of renewable energy sources, such as the sun, has attracted considerable interest. This study analyzed and assessed these attractions in addition to five middle eastern nations and Turkey, which is located in middle east, close proximity to this area. The approach of comparing government incentives in the development of renewable power plants was used in this study. The final findings revealed the current status of this energy in the target nations. This study may give the target countries and other nations in the middle east with a wealth of information for the formulation of effective policies for the use of renewable resources.

Impact of WTO’s Trade Liberalisation on Selected Food Crops in Pakistan

There is a great potential in Pakistan for production of all types of food commodities due to vast natural resource base, covering various ecological and climatic zones. Most of the agricultural commodities produced in the country are consumed by the local population while the rest is exported in the form of primary products and some value added products. Previously, Pakistani products had a good market overseas with no restrictions of quality and quantity but under the changing environment affected by WTO, it is expected that Pakistan will face a strong competition in the agriculture sector from its competitors in the world market. According to the neoclassical trade theory, trade flows and pattern will develop along the lines of comparative advantage and competitiveness that can act as indicators of trade potential and direction. There has been extensive government involvement in the determination of the overall structure of agriculture and its patterns of production, employment and trade. Pakistani government has been intervening in agriculture sector in the past in order to support agricultural production, income supports, ensure food security, improve the balance of trade, reduce consumer prices, address environmental and regional concerns and to pursue sanitary and phyto-sanitary objectives [Hassan (1995)]. Pakistan is a founding member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since its creation. Following the Uruguay Round negotiations, all agricultural products were brought under multinational trade rules by WTO, under the Agreement on Agriculture. This established a framework to begin liberalising agricultural trade through the reduction of import duties (tariffs), trade-distorting production subsidies and export subsidies. Prior to the Uruguay Round, trade in agriculture was highly distorted. Market access for agricultural products was limited as most markets were restricted by physical import barriers. The presence of massive domestic subsidies led to overproduction of temperate crops in the developed countries that led to excess supply, and export subsidies were used to dump the surplus agricultural output in international markets. This resulted in depressed market prices and, in spite of being low-cost producers of agricultural products; developing countries could not compete with the subsidised exports from developed countries.

Supply Chain Emission Reduction Decisions, Considering Overconfidence under Conditions of Carbon Trading Price Volatility

To investigate the effects of carbon trading pricing and overconfidence on supply chain emission reduction decisions, this paper establishes a supply chain model consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer and applies the Stackelberg game model. The objective is to explore the effects of carbon trading pricing and overconfidence on supply chain members’ decisions and profits. The study shows that carbon trading prices can be a good guide for low-cost manufacturers to reduce emissions when manufacturers are rational under carbon trading policies. However, the ability of carbon trading prices to act as a guide starts to fail as the cost of emission reduction increases. When manufacturers are overconfident, this causes manufacturers to increase the emission reduction rate of their products under carbon trading policies. In addition, this effect increases in line with increases in carbon trading prices. When manufacturers face different emission reduction costs, higher carbon trading prices do not necessarily always generate benefits for rational manufacturers. For overconfident manufacturers, however, overconfidence is always detrimental, especially when the price of carbon trading increases. Retailers tend to choose to work with manufacturers who are less overconfident, when the higher price of carbon trading results in higher gains for the retailer.

Richard ennis’s insights A Universal Investment Portfolio for Public Pension Funds: Making the Most of Our Herding Ways

Herding is human nature. There is ample evidence of it in the management of public pension funds in the United States, where their effective equity exposure clusters around an average of approximately 70%. Extreme diversification is universal. These two aspects of herd behavior have proven benign. Where herding has had a detrimental effect is the funds’ pouring more than a trillion dollars into alternative investments after alts ceased adding value to institutional portfolios more than 10 years ago. One might say two out of three ain’t bad. And yet, the heavy use of active management—and alts, in particular—has cost the funds dearly. Public fund managers need to understand that their strength is not active money management. Rather, it is their potential to become the lowest-cost producers of investment returns on the planet. This article argues in favor of a one-size-fits-all approach to managing public pension investments—namely, embracing a Universal Investment Portfolio.

Does India need a new pharmaceutical policy? Examining the implications of the drug price control order.

This article aims to analyse the impact of the pharmaceutical policy on the availability, accessibility and affordability of medicines to the Indian populace. The article delves into the shortcomings of the Drug Price Control Order 2013 and highlights its real-world implications. Published literature in the form of scientific articles on the proposed reforms that took place in the pharmaceutical policy was reviewed. The study used the memorandums, laws and government decisions published by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority|National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authorities. The pharmaceutical policy in India underwent several changes during 2013-2020 to enhance the affordability and accessibility of drugs. The stringent policy hampered innovation due to the lack of profitability to the Multinational Companies. Moreover, it was found that the impact of the price control order on the low-cost local generic manufacturers affected much of the country's price-sensitive population. The pharmaceutical policy of India needs to be amended to extend its benefit to its stakeholders. The government should shift its attention to improving the quality of drugs, increasing competition amongst manufacturers and enhancing the accessibility of medicines through state/centre sponsored initiatives.

Accelerate or hinder it? Manufacturer transformation under competition and carbon emission trading

Strengthening carbon regulations and competitive pressures are forcing supply chains to provide environmental (e-) products to replace traditional (t-) products. However, cap-and-trade policy allows manufacturers, the main carbon emission emitters, to trade their emission permits freely. Considering manufacturers' power and key role in producing and carbon trading, we develop a duopoly model consisting of two competing manufacturers. Despite asymmetrical carbon emission reduction efficiencies, the two manufacturers can independently and simultaneously decide their respective t-/e-products outputs, emission reduction levels, and permits trade quotas. The unique Nash equilibrium is derived with the overall cap. We find that the low-cost manufacturer uses its cost advantage to invest more in emission reduction, then sells the excess emission permits to its rival, but makes its rival more competitive in product market. Interestingly, our results show that cap-and-trade policy triggers an industry collusion in which manufacturers reduce competition and improve the power and profits by reducing overall output and adopting differentiated product strategy. Furthermore, the cost advantage and high product substitution can accelerate low-cost manufacturer's transformation but hinder high-cost manufacturers. The impacts of cap-and-trade policy on consumer surplus and social welfare are also discussed to provide guidance for policy makers.

Cooperate or Compete? Insights from Simulating a Global Oil Market with No Residual Supplier

Structural changes in the oil market, such as the rise of tight oil, are impacting conventional market dynamics and incentives for producers to cooperate. What if OPEC stopped organizing residual production collectively? We develop an equilibrium model to simulate a competitive world oil market from 2020 to 2030.It includes detailed conventional and unconventional oil supplies and financial investment constraints. Our competitive market scenarios indicate that oil prices first decline and tend to recover to reference residual supplier scenario levels by 2030. In a competitive oil market, a reduction in the financial resources made available to the global upstream oil sector leads to increased revenues for low-cost producers such as Saudi Arabia. Compared to the competitive scenario, Saudi Arabia does not benefit from acting alone as a residual supplier, but, under some assumptions, it benefits from being part of a larger group that works collectively as a residual supplier.

Recent advances in carbonaceous sustainable nanomaterials for wastewater treatments

The challengeable situation prevailing throughout the world is still a question mark regarding safe drinking and cleaning for water, and therefore to be resolved on priority basis in concerning research area. In this regard, advancement of environment-friendly supportable nanomaterials possessing unique benefits such as superior efficiency and selectivity, rich earth-abundance, good recyclability, low-cost producing agency, and achievable stability has become a top priority despite several prominent challenges as well as constraints remaining still unresolved. Carbonaceous nanomaterials especially like activated carbon, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, single-walled carbon nanotubes, and carbon quantum dots have been developed and their application as adsorbents toward wastewater treatment anchored with its purification; graphene (GR) and graphene oxide (GO) derivatives and other carbon-derivative nanomaterials like graphitic carbon nitrides as well as carbon sponges/aerogels have imparted significant contribution for water associated with wastewater treatment and remediation (adsorption, membrane technologies, advanced oxidation processes), especially on the industrial level along with pharmaceutical-laden wastages. This review envelopes developed technologies, methodologies, and surface modifications regarding carbonaceous nanomaterials for removal of pollutants along with ionic metals in an aqueous medium, and proving novelty regarding nanoadsorbents for a variety of issues such as wastewater, drinking water, and groundwater remediation. Additionally, heterojunctions strategies are also addressed with current alarming trends and resolvable challenges pertaining to sustainable carbon and its derivatives unified with substantial appliances while handling and purifying wastewater are suggestively highlighted.

Stranded assets and reduced profits: Analyzing the economic underpinnings of the fossil fuel industry's resistance to climate stabilization

Governments have failed to act at the scale and pace necessary to avert the climate crisis. This paper explores one key constraint on global action to combat climate change: resistance mounted by the fossil fuel industry. The economic losses that the fossil fuel industry is likely to incur as a result of climate stabilization include stranded assets and reduced profits. Using a methodology that emulates the expectations and valuation procedures used by fossil fuel firms, I estimate the magnitude and distribution of wealth losses from stranded assets for the upstream fossil fuel industry (i.e., firms and governments involved in fossil fuel extraction) under 1.8 °C and 1.5 °C climate stabilization scenarios. I also explore the timing of expected future profit losses and compare historical profit margins between fossil fuel and renewable energy firms. Results show that fossil fuel reserves will suffer a devaluation of 37%–50%, amounting to $13-$17 trillion. This implies a strong incentive for fossil fuel producers to continue resisting climate stabilization. Over half (51%–63%) of the reserve devaluation stems not from fuels left in the ground but from price decreases for fuels that will still be extracted and sold during climate stabilization, indicating that even low-cost producers stand to bear large losses. Three-quarters of stranded assets belong to governments, implying formidable political obstacles in nations with nationalized fossil fuel ownership. The profitability analysis reinforces these findings. My results point to strategic demand reduction of fossil fuels as a key strategy for overcoming industry resistance.

A QUARTERLY EARNINGS REVIEW FROM THE EARNINGS+MORE NEWSLETTER

A QUARTERLY EARNINGS REVIEW FROM THE <i>EARNINGS+MORE</i> NEWSLETTER

White House moves to strengthen supply chains

The Biden-Harris administration released key findings of a review of vulnerabilities to critical US supply chains. The findings include an outline of immediate actions that the government will take in order to secure supplies to key sectors of the economy, among them pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The review , mandated by an executive order issued days after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, also lists accomplishments in meeting steep supply challenges, including a rapid expansion of manufacturing for vaccines and other medical supplies by the federal COVID-19 Response Team. The supply chain in pharmaceuticals remains highly vulnerable as a result of years of outsourcing to low-cost producers, especially in China and India, according to the report. “China and India are estimated to control substantial parts of the supply chain where there have been issues with shortages due to a range of disruptions that have impacted supply as well as quality

Cost competitive analysis of large-scale gold mines in Ghana from 2007 to 2016

The gold mining industry is a major contributor to the economy of Ghana. However, this contribution has been declining over the past decade. This decline coupled with the importance of the industry to the country’s economy necessitated the need to analyse the performance of companies within the industry. Therefore, a cost performance analysis of Ghana’s major gold mines was done in this paper for the period 2007 to 2016 using industry cost curves. A correlation coefficient analysis was also done to identify the key cost drivers in Ghana. This paper further analysed the cost competitiveness of Ghana’s gold mining industry against other gold producing countries in the world. From the analysis, it was found that Newmont’s Ahafo and Akyem mines were consistent low unit cost producers. Both mines benefited from economies of scale and high metallurgical recovery rates. On the other hand, AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi and Golden Star’s Bogoso mines were found to be consistent high unit cost producers due to low-productive and labour-intensive underground mining methods used and very low metallurgical recovery rates, respectively. Finally, the study revealed that Ghana’s gold mining industry was not cost competitive when compared to other gold-producing countries over the analysis period.

Industry 4.0 Technologies in Flexible Manufacturing for Sustainable Organizational Value: Reflections from a Multiple Case Study of Italian Manufacturers

In this study, we analyse the value creation of Industry 4.0 (I40) technologies in flexible manufacturing (FM) under a sustainability perspective. I40 is a popular strategy that Western manufacturing organizations adopt to face competition from low-cost producers. Organizations adopting I40 use advanced digital technologies to make production processes more flexible and increasingly automated. Several pieces of evidence confirm how I40 leads to higher productivity and higher-quality products, improving the economic performance of organizations. However, increasing automation may also lead to the reduction of human labour in the production process, which may contribute to the disappearance of jobs, the reduction of expertise and the loss of know-how in manufacturing organizations. While the literature acknowledges the technical and economic advantages of I40, the sustainability of the value created through these technologies deserves further investigation. To address the gap, we complement the IT value theory with the concept of sustainability, including the three dimensions of economic, environmental and social sustainability. We perform a multiple case study analysis of four Italian manufacturing organizations that have successfully implemented I40 technologies in FM. The cases show that I40 technologies support sustainable organizational value when they are deployed with a worker-centric approach. In this condition, the organization leverages workforce activities to continuously fine-tune the technologies and to exploit the adaptive features of the technologies to continuously improve processes.

Development trends of iron and steel industry in Russia

The article presents detailed analysis of iron and steel industrial production, assessment of the present state of labour costs in metallurgical companies with increase in production, and revealing the reserves emerging under the influence of expected and unexpected factors of the metallurgy consumer market. The authors assume that in the current circumstances it becomes especially significant to strengthen the position of a low-cost manufacturer in the world metallurgical industry by means of rapid introduction of best world’s practices and best available technologies, highly effective IT-based investment projects.

Influence of Generic Strategies on Organizations’ Competitiveness of Sugar Firms’ in Kenya

Sugar firms in Kenya have been subjected into stiff competition mainly from low cost producer of sugar in the world. In order to be more competitive, sugar firms have engaged generic strategies to advance on their competitiveness. Study purpose was to assess generic strategies influence on organizations' competitiveness of sugar firms. The study used descriptive cross-sectional research design and study was carried out in Kenya sugar sector. Target population was all the twelve sugar firms with one hundred and ninety managers. The sampling procedure was done using a formula developed by Krejcie&amp; Morgan table to come up with a sample of 127. Questionnaires were the data collection instrument of this study mainly to collect primary data and they were administered to respondents by the researcher. Piloting of the research instruments was done where two sugar firms were selected for the piloting and the respondents from these firms who were not included in the actual study. The researcher used Cronbach's alpha coefficient as a tool of defining dependability of research tool. The study results indicated that correlation between all measures of between generic strategies (cost leadership, product differentiation and market focus strategies) and organizations' competitiveness of sugar firms was a statistical significant and positive (p &lt; .05). results also revealed that generic strategies (cost leadership, product differentiation and market focus strategies) had a positive and significant influence on organizations' competitiveness of sugar firms' (R = .715). Generic strategies (cost leadership, product differentiation and market focus strategies) had explanatory power over organizations' competitiveness of sugar firms' because it accounts for 51.1 percent of organizations' competitiveness of sugar firms' change (R-square = .511). The study therefore concluded that there was statistically significant influence of generic strategies on organizations' competitiveness of sugar firms in Kenya (p &lt; .05). The study recommended that sugar firms in Kenya need to consider an upsurge in the usage of generic strategies (cost leadership, product differentiation and market focus strategies) in their operations since this study has found out that they have significant and positive influence on organizations' competitiveness of sugar firms'.