ODFL Old Dominion Freight Line Inc

By Paul Page 

Sign up:With one click, get this newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Trucking fleet owners are starting to show modest confidence in the U.S. economy. Orders for new heavy-duty trucks rose in February for the fourth month in a row, WSJ Logistics Report's Jennifer Smith writes. The overall order count of 22,900 Class 8 tractors remains relatively light, but the steady upturn has pushed the backlog past 100,000 trucks, bringing some relief to a troubled truck manufacturing sector. The 5% increase over January reflects rosier reports in the industrial sector, where factory orders and manufacturing activity have been turning upward. The consumer trade has been rockier, but truckers serving that business are seeing solid demand to start 2017. Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. says its shipment count edged up in February, and competitor Saia Inc. says its demand accelerated from January to February. With pricing holding firm in both the LTL and truckload arenas, carriers may have the financial footing to speed up truck orders even more later this year.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s new stake in India is a big bet on consolidation in the country's fractured and hotly-contested e-commerce market. The Chinese e-commerce giant is putting another $177 million behind Paytm, the WSJ's Newley Purnel reports, leading a new funding round with backing that gives Aibaba a controlling stake in the Indian online payment and commerce business. The funding values Paytm's new e-commerce platform at $1 billion. The money is pouring into India's raucously competitive e-commerce field even though the densely-populated country has big gaps in online service. Credit Suisse estimates India has only 40 million online shoppers in a population of 1.2 billion people. Alibaba, Amazon.com Inc. and others expect the market will blossom as internet infrastructure improves, and there are signs of big nascent demand. Paytm recently saw a huge influx of users to its mobile-wallet service after the Indian government voided the country's highest-denomination bank notes.

China may be ready to rein back the relentless growth in its industrial sector that's roiled world commodity markets. China's government is pledging to dramatically slow a coal-power building binge, the WSJ's Brian Spegele reports, saying it will shut down dozens of coal-power plants and stop some new construction as the country weans itself off a heavy reliance on coal and shifts to cleaner sources of energy. The power sector is a stark example in China of supply outstripping demand, but Beijing has moved recently to cut overcapacity. The country's economic planning agency says it aims to reduce steel production by some 50 million metric tons and coal by at least 150 million tons this year. That could boost prices for steel and the bulk-carrier shipping rates that are closely tied to the value of the goods.

E-COMMERCE

Small businesses are looking at Alibaba chief Jack Ma's promise to President Donald Trump to create 1 million U.S. jobs with heavy skepticism. Small businesses such as those that place goods on Alibaba's marketplaces have been fighting an uphill battle to get counterfeit goods removed from the platforms, the WSJ's Kathy Chu and Liza Lin report, undermining their own sales while creating a big hurdle to Alibaba's international expansion plans. Big brands have complained that Alibaba is slow to fight fakes, but small businesses face particular problems because they have fewer resources to track and report counterfeits. The U.S. Trade Representative cited the problems faced by small businesses when it reinstated Alibaba's Chinese-language Taobao site to a list of notorious marketplaces that it says pose a risk to tens of millions of American jobs. U.S. sellers want to reach Alibaba's big audience, but small operators say the risks of appearing alongside fakes and the costs of fighting counterfeits are daunting.

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

A U.S. bankruptcy court approved a reorganization plan for International Shipholding Corp. that will leave the bulk carrier in the hands of SEACOR Holdings Inc. (WSJ)

General Motors Co. will sell its European business for $2.33 billion, with the Opel and Vauxhall brands going to Peugeot SA. (WSJ)

Developers are preparing to open a free trade zone in New York City for storage of fine art in the specialized global market. (WSJ)

U.S. service providers posted their highest level of activity in more than a year in February. (WSJ)

Delays in sending U.S. tax refunds may crimp consumer spending in February. (WSJ)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is close to reversing an Obama administration decision to lock in stringent automobile fuel-economy and emission standards. (WSJ)

Retailer Hhgregg, Inc. will close 88 stores and three distribution centers as it adjusts to a steep downturn in sales. (WSJ)

Finish Line Inc. sold its 65-store JackRabbit sporting-goods chain and the inventories to affiliates of a private investment firm for no payment. (WSJ)

A bankruptcy judge signed off on Gordon Brothers' $3 million purchase of teen retailer Wet Seal LLC's brand name. (WSJ)

Currency investors are moving from stakes in the commodity rebound toward increasing bets that industrial demand is set to grow. (WSJ)

Big Lots Inc.'s comparable-store sales increased modestly in its most recent quarter. (WSJ)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Maersk Line and International Business Machines Inc. are undertaking ambitious tests of blockchain technology for ocean shipments and sourcing. ( New York Times)

Georgia officials are pushing their $706 million Port of Savannah upgrade as a "dredge-ready" project for Trump administration infrastructure plans. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Aerospace components workers are uneasy about the impact Trump administration trade policies may have on jobs. (Charleston Post and Courier)

Iran and Azerbaijan agreed to work towards completing their portion of a planned freight railway from Europe to South Asia. (Reuters)

BNSF Railway will clean up coal and petroleum coke spilled from open-top freight cars and will study covering loads under a consent decree filed in federal court. (Seattle Times)

USA Truck Inc. set up an office in central Mexico for its freight broker unit, USAT Logistics. (Fort Smith Times Record)

Canadian trucker Kenz Transportation LLC will establish its first U.S. hub in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. (Allentown Morning Call)

American Outdoor Brands Inc., owners of gun maker Smith & Wesson, will consolidate its U.S. logistics at a single distribution center in central Missouri. (Columbia Daily Tribune)

Authorities say gangs have repeatedly broken into railcars at lightly-guarded yards outside Chicago and stolen firearms. (WBBM)

ABOUT US

Paul Page is deputy editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him at @PaulPage, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team: @brianjbaskin, @jensmithWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ and follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.

Subscribe to this email newsletter by clicking here: http://on.wsj.com/Logisticsnewsletter .

Write to Paul Page at paul.page@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 06, 2017 06:40 ET (11:40 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.