2011 Year in Review: World Events

This week, Promo Marketing is looking at the stories that helped define 2011. From Monday through Thursday we will recap the year's major news in four different areas: industry news, politics, product safety and world events. Check PromoMarketing.com each day, and vote in our Friday poll for the most important story of the year.

2011 Year in Review: World Events
The promotional products business is large, a $16.5 billion dollar industry, more or less equivalent to the gross domestic product of Bosnia. By that metric, this industry would rank 105 of all countries in the world. Unsurprisingly, the world of promotional products feels the effects of major international events, and 2011 found several of them. Financial, economic and natural disasters both at home and abroad caused issues for industries everywhere, some of which will have the effects felt long into 2012 and beyond.

Cotton Tops $2 for the First Time
For the first time ever, the cost of cotton exceeded $2 a pound in New York this February. Significantly increased interest in cotton from China, combined with drought conditions in cotton-producing areas like Texas, saw the price jump from $1.70 per pound in January to as high as $2.26 in March. Although the price of cotton only remained above $2 for three months, the increased costs of goods has lasted far longer; many manufacturers locked in deals with cotton producers just as the prices increased, so even as the price per pound of cotton drops below $1, mills are still held to their contract prices and are passing those prices on to buyers.

Tsunami Hits Pacific Coast of Japan
On Friday, March 11, an undersea 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific Coast of Japan, triggering a massive tsunami which swept Sendai, destroying much of the region. The earthquake was one of the five most powerful ever recorded, and the resulting tsunami created waves up to 40.5 meters high. Over 15,000 deaths were confirmed as a result of the disaster, and multiple nuclear reactors suffered meltdowns due to the catastrophic damage. Much of the world was impacted by supply chain breaks caused by the incident, especially electronics industries, which saw shortages in popular components like LCD screens and flash memory.