MBLY Mobileye N.V. Ordinary Shares

By Brian Baskin 

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The race to outfit vehicles of all kinds with automation technology is heating up, though trucking appears to be taking a back seat to cars. Delphi Automotive PLC and Mobileye NV are partnering to provide sophisticated automation platforms that can be inserted into a wide variety of passenger vehicles, the WSJ's Mike Colias reports. The partnership indicates parts makers are looking to take a more active role in developing driverless technology, a field where automakers have sought to take the lead. Their platform also won't be deployed in commercial trucks, the latest sign that many of the technology's biggest backers see smaller, passenger-oriented vehicles as more promising, at least in the short run. Another example: last week's acquisition of Ottomotto, one of the highest-profile developers of automation technology for big rigs, by Uber Technologies Inc., which is looking to fast-track driverless taxis, not trucks.

China's domination over the aluminum market is extending deeper into the metal's supply chain. The country's smelters have flooded global markets with aluminum, but Chinese manufacturers are rapidly gaining ground in markets for finished products as well, the WSJ's John W. Miller reports. Thin foil used to wrap cigarettes and seal yogurt cups increasingly comes from China, forcing factory closures in the U.S. that echo the widespread shutdown of American aluminum smelters. U.S. buyers of aluminum foil say they can't resist China's cheap prices and seemingly limitless production capacity. The slow death of the U.S. foil industry also shows there's more at stake in trade disputes brought by Western steel and aluminum industry groups than the commodities themselves.

Target Corp. is the latest global retailer to find trouble deep within its supply chain. The Minnesota-based company cut ties with textile supplier Welspun India Ltd., saying the firm's claims that some of its products contained premium Egyptian cotton were false. The incident demonstrates how difficult it can be for companies to guarantee that quality and ethical standards set at headquarters will be followed throughout complicated, multi-layer supply chains. Welspun has a strong reputation as an Indian manufacturing success story, and Target was one of the firm's biggest customers. None of that appears to have stopped Welspun from misidentifying the type of cotton in the fabrics it sold. Welspun counts two-thirds of its business from American companies. Now it must try to keep Target decision from cutting into its trade with other big-brand U.S. retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which says it's probing the authenticity of the Egyptian cotton sheets it buys from Welspun.

SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES

New deaths of workers at a Foxconn Technology Group factory in China are providing a reminder of the human costs deep in the Apple Inc. supply chain. The deaths of two workers from a Foxconn plant in Zengzhou include one confirmed suicide, and have echoes of the deaths that occurred at the outsourced electronics manufacturing sites several years ago that prompted reforms at Foxconn factories. The new deaths involved workers at Foxconn's main site for Apple iPhone production. The WSJ's Eva Dou reports some employees believe the suicides reflect the precarious existence of Chinese migrant workers and their lack of money and resources to solve personal problems. Apple says it will seek more information on the deaths -- and says it is committed to the well-being of assembly workers. There have been numerous changes at the factories in recent years but the stresses at the heart of the electronics world's outsourced supply chains can seem all but intractable

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

Volkswagen AG reached an agreement with suppliers, ending a dispute that had forced widespread production cuts . (WSJ)

U.S. farmers could benefit from a proposed takeover of Syngenta AG, a seed and pesticide seller, by a Chinese firm. (WSJ)

Sharp Corp. will restructure to achieve profitability and improve its brand after its takeover by Foxconn Technology Group. (WSJ)

World-wide e-commerce sales will more than double to $4 trillion by 2020, eMarketer said. (eMarketer)

CSX Corp. expects to complete upgrades to offer double-stack intermodal service north of the Port of Virginia by the end of the year. (Virginian-Pilot)

NordLB will sell $1.5 billion in shipping loans to KKR , the latest European bank to cut its exposure to the sector. (Reuters)

Ryder System Inc. signed an agreement for a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center near Allentown, Pa., for an unnamed client. (The Morning Call)

Curtis Foltz received $2 million in salary, bonuses, pension and other fees on retiring as executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Federal regulators are proposing a pilot program allowing some qualified drivers as young as 18 to operate trucks in interstate commerce. (DC Velocity)

Shipping line Hapag-Lloyd AG reported "extremely high" compliance with international container-weighing regulations that went into effect on July 1. (Lloyd's Loading List)

The acquisition of The Baltic Exchange Ltd. by Singapore Exchange Ltd. moved closer as the two companies formally agreed to terms of the sale. (Financial Times)

Debt-ridden Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. missed a deadline for providing critical financial information to creditors. (Pulse)

Whirlpool Corp. will double the size of its appliance distribution center in Greenville, Ohio. (Business Journals)

ABOUT US

Brian Baskin is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him at @brianjbaskin, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @lorettachao, @RWhelanWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ, and follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.

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Write to Brian Baskin at brian.baskin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 23, 2016 06:57 ET (10:57 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.