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By Paul Page 

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Big measures that could hit online sales across the U.S. are starting to form at state revenue-collection agencies. After spending years fighting Amazon.com Inc. over sales taxes, states are turning their attention to the individuals and small companies that account for a growing share of the online marketplace's sales, the WSJ's Laura Stevens writes. Amazon itself has turned away from its long-held resistance to state sales taxes. But third-party sellers have remained elusive, giving them a price advantage over local brick-and-mortar retailers and even Amazon's own sales. Traditional retailers say the tax gap amounts to a subsidy for online sellers, and states say they're missing billions of dollars in revenue. Some states already are cracking down, and others are considering forcing marketplaces to collect sales taxes on behalf of those selling merchandise on their sites or to force sellers to report sales. The change may surprise customers and could upend the financial calculations over sales and shipping in some markets.

H&M will try to find the solution to its sales problem in its supply chain. The company, formally Hennes & Mauritz AB, is digging into its operations after a 3% decline in first-quarter profit and slowing sales growth signaled it's stumbling behind rival Zara in apparel retailing's fast-fashion competition. Like other retailers, H&M is shuffling its store lineup, closing sites that aren't delivering profits, the WSJ's Dominic Chopping reports. The deeper dive will come with a sharper focus on its supply chain, including the addition of automation and software aimed at pushing inventories more quickly where they're needed. H&M is trying to build up its version of an omni-channel strategy, with physical stores and online sales working in concert. That's proving tough to pull off for many retailers, and the pace of H&M's fast-fashion competition will make it especially challenging.

Global commodity markets are shifting attention from Chinese demand for raw materials to the country's stockpiles. Expectations of falling production of goods from aluminum to coal are moving prices and getting more attention from investors, the WSJ's Rhiannon Hoyle reports, drawing greater focus to rooting out China's murky supply information. China's internal shifts on energy production have already sent coal markets into sharp swings, and experts say the country's outsize role in commodities from aluminum to zinc leaves other markets open to sharp swings. That's created a market for what's essentially detective work, as consultants use satellite imagery and measure truck movements to check official figures. The results may have a crucial impact on commodity shipping operations that are finally flexing some financial muscle. The Baltic Dry Index measure of dry bulk shipping rates reached a 28-month high this week, suggesting demand is on the upturn and could stay there unless commodity markets become oversupplied.

ECONOMY & TRADE

The promised complete overhaul of North American trade terms may have hit a wall. The Trump administration is signaling to Congress it would seek mostly modest changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement in negotiations with Mexico and Canada, the WSJ's William Mauldin reports, scaling back some ambitions to redraw a deal that President Donald Trump has called a "disaster." Still, a draft proposal circulating in Congress shows strong attention to "Buy American" and tariff provisions. The administration would allow a Nafta nation to reinstate tariffs in case of a flood of imports that cause "serious injury or threat of serious injury" to domestic industries. And rules of origin -- the share of a product that must be produced in Nafta countries -- would be set to support "production and jobs in the United States." A seeming compromise between trade hawks and moderates, the document could change, and it doesn't take into account proposals Canada and Mexico might seek. So far, however, the approach may amount to an update rather than a full rewrite.

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

U.S. corporate after-tax profits rose 3.7% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, and 22.3% year-over-year. (WSJ)

An official gauge of Chinese factory activity rose to a near five-year high in March. (WSJ)

The White House appears poised to cement China's unfavorable status in trade cases, making Chinese goods eligible for higher U.S. tariffs. (WSJ)

General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey Immelt says the industrial giant will continue efforts to reduce its emissions and fight climate change. (WSJ)

British airlines running profitable regional services across Europe may face major upheaval as the country exit the European Union. (WSJ)

Ford Motor Co. is hiring 400 engineers from BlackBerry Ltd.'s mobility-software unit to work on developing internet-connected vehicles. (WSJ)

India's Mahindra Group is considering entering the U.S. and China with high-end electric vehicles made by its Italian affiliate Pininfarina SpA. (WSJ)

More than 200 companies have expressed interest in designing and building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. (WSJ)

McDonald's Corp. will switch from frozen to fresh beef in its Quarter Pounder burgers at most of its U.S. restaurants by mid-2018. (WSJ)

Amazon is asking several big consumer-goods brands to redesign their packaging to make it easier to ship directly to online consumers. (Bloomberg)

Consumer goods giant Unilever PLC and Singapore-based Lazada Group will work together on marketing and supply chain management for e-commerce in Southeast Asia. (Business Times)

Chinese shipping line COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd. recorded a $1.44 billion loss last year but expects improved results this year. (Reuters)

Freight forwarder DB Schenker said global revenue fell 2.1% last year but earnings before interest and taxes expanded 3.8% on contract logistics growth. (Lloyd's Loading List)

China-based shipping container maker Singamas says demand and pricing for containers is rising this year. (Lloyd's List)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will get $15.3 million in tax breaks under its plan to put one of its biggest U.S. distribution centers in Mobile, Ala. (Birmingham News)

India's Tata Global Beverages Ltd. will use an agreement with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to sell Tetley tea in China. (Live Mint)

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.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2017 06:35 ET (10:35 GMT)

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