Today's Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ
March 06 2017 - 6:55AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Page
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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)
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