Rhino Marketing Specialties

A friend of mine reported today about what is happening with CPSIA and promotional products that could be used by children.  Everyone needs to understand this issue and deal with it accordingly.  If you feel like you want to make an impact, contact your Congressman and Senators to make your feelings known.  Click on this link for the story.

http://www.freepromotips.com/library/industry-commentary/562-cpsia-compliance-this-is-just-a-bit-alarmingyah-think.

Since the tsunami in Japan we have been hearing about the disruption to not only the lives of thousnads of people there but the world econnomy. We really are all in this together. Just imagine if this was our west coast. Help, however you can.

A recent report came over the Dow Jones Newswires that explains how memory chip pricing is unstable and how the production is being affected.

HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- Memory-chip prices are surging on the spot market early Monday following the earthquake in Japan in a sign investors and companies are concerned about potential supply shortages.

According to DRAMeXchange, Asia’s biggest spot market for chips, the average spot price of the most widely used dynamic random access memory chip surged 6.7% to 96 cents early Monday compared with late Friday, while other chips were quoted as rising between 5.5% and 6.8%.

DRAM chips are most widely used in personal computers.

Meanwhile, the average spot price of a 16-gigabit NAND flash memory chip rose 12.5% to $4.50 early Monday compared with late Friday, DRAMeXchange data showed.

According to market research firm Objective Analysis, more than 40% of the world’s NAND flash and roughly 15% of the world’s DRAM chips are manufactured in Japan.

What this means for us in the promotional marketing industry is that the supply will be lower and or the unit price will be higher. How much higher you ask? No one knows but most of my sources are quoting prices for no longer than a week at a time and some are not even committing to that. We do have our finger on the issue and can find you the best deals.

Check with us first.

I’m headed to Washington, DC in a couple of weeks to get in front of Senators and  of Congress to help educate them on the use and importance of our great industry, promotional products. Of course, I’ll leave some swag for their desks and staffs.

PPAI L.E.A.D. Initiative Heightens Awareness in Support of Promotional Products Industry Stakeholders
Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) L.E.A.D. promotes awareness of important communications strategies in support of promotional products industry, buyers and end-users, Washington, D.C., March 30-31, 2011
March 15, 2011 Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), Irving, Texas, the not-for-profit association for more than 8,000 members of the $16 billion promotional products industry, continues its ongoing work to educate federal agencies through its Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.). PPAI and its members will share with legislators and staffers important communications strategies and the merits of promotional products as a sustainable part of, and vital tool in the delivery of government programming and services in Washington, D.C., March 30-31, 2011.

Promotional products are an integral part of daily life and frequently serve as both effective advertising and useful tools for home, work or recreation. Many federal agencies rely on promotional products to communicate the availability of essential services to hard-to-reach groups. Promotional products extend the reach of federal programs that utilize integrated marketing campaigns to reach those who need services the most.

“We are grateful to our legislators, membership and constituents nationwide for their support in this effort. The PPAI Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) supports the strategic use of the services and products provided by its members in the good work of federal agencies to assure essential services are communicated and delivered to those who need them the most,” said Steve Slagle, CAE, PPAI president and CEO.

The annual L.E.A.D., the Legislative Education and Action Day, will be held March 30-31, 2011 in Washington, D.C. and is organized to allow promotional products professionals the chance to educate Congress on industry-critical issues as well as the power, impact and job-generating value of promotional products. The event will include visits to more than 80 representatives of the Senate and House from 25 states. In addition to this Federal initiative, PPAI provides members law alerts and the necessary tools and strategies for successful meetings with local government as well. To learn more about PPAI’s government relations efforts, visit www.ppailaw.org.