Today's Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ
November 21 2017 - 6:56AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Page
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is blurring the lines still more
between online sales and brick-and-mortar business. The Chinese
e-commerce giant is paying $2.88 billion for a 36% stake in China's
second-largest big-box retailer, Sun Art Retail Group Ltd., the
WSJ's Liza Lin reports, adding to a push by online marketplaces
toward physical store operations. Alibaba's wager follows online
retailer Amazon.com Inc.'s acquisition of grocer Whole Foods. Hong
Kong-listed Sun Art gets Alibaba into more than 450 large
supermarket-department stores in China under the RT Mart and Auchan
brands, extending the company's reach into fresh foods while
opening new routes for its logistics services and Alipay
mobile-payment business. Alibaba has been investing to raise its
profile in physical retail, including operations of the small Hema
supermarket chain in China that place it closer to everyday
consumer purchases. One banker involved in the transaction expects
more such tie-ups as online retailers look for more ways to
leverage physical space and online capabilities.
Energy producers are running out of places to send all the
natural gas that's gushing out of West Texas. Pipelines running
from the region's Permian Basin to Gulf Coast chemical plants,
cities and export terminals are essentially full, the WSJ's Ryan
Dezember and Alison Sider report, leaving a growing gas glut that
is already weighing on regional prices. The oversupply is part of
the fast changing energy business in the U.S., where readily
available natural gas has slashed prices at electricity plants
while making it tougher for oil and gas operators to match
production to pricing. There's a growing concern producers may cap
wells and curtail oil drilling until new pipelines to the Gulf
Coast are built and planned power plants come online in Mexico. The
country is likely to import more gas as it replaces aging
facilities that burn oil and coal. But much of the gas distribution
infrastructure and power plants to buy the fuel haven't been built
yet.
India's automotive supply chain is starting to reach into the
U.S. Mumbai-based manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. plans
to build rugged off-road vehicles at a small factory north of
Detroit, the WSJ's John D. Stoll reports, a potential step toward a
bigger goal of selling cars in the U.S. The move marks the latest
action by non-U.S. auto makers and suppliers to scale up their
presence in the country, with commitments from companies including
Toyota Motor Corp. and Chinese windshield maker Fuyao Glass
Industry Group helping redraw production and parts distribution
maps. They're responding to a years-long boom in auto sales,
potentially providing Mahindra a healthy market as it considers
building a more global profile in the car business. Mahindra will
be building rugged utility vehicles aimed at the specialized market
for work equipment, but the Auburn Hills, Mich., site will give the
company a stake in a recovering U.S. factory sector and a new base
to consider the future of its auto making.
ENERGY SUPPLIES
Big oil and giant auto makers are trying to rev up the internal
combustion engine for a comeback. The foundation of transportation
is facing threats around the world, with new restrictions on
emissions arising in Europe and Asia while new technology like
Tesla's Semi electric truck garner big attention with efforts to
upend even the industrial truck market. The WSJ's Sarah Kent and
Chester Dawson report that companies including Exxon Mobil Corp.
and Ford Motor Co. are working on high-tech versions of engine oil.
They believe the new, thinner oils will help them squeeze more
efficiency out of traditional engines, and remain relevant as new
technologies gain traction. Car companies are ramping up moves
toward electric vehicles, and Tesla's new truck will likely
accelerate engine makers' research on heavy duty trucks. But
electric vehicles still make up a small fraction of sales. Most
companies expect the combustion engine to remain dominant for
decades, and the efficiency improvements are critical to keeping
their energy supply chains moving.
QUOTABLE
IN OTHER NEWS
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. rose
1.2% in October. (WSJ)
Retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. are
using new pricing strategies to boost sales ahead of Black Friday.
(WSJ)
Volvo Cars has agreed to supply Uber Technologies Inc. with a
fleet of 24,000 self-driving taxis beginning in 2019. (WSJ)
Fear among corporations of strategic advances by Amazon.com Inc.
and other tech giants is feeding explosive growth in mergers and
acquisitions. (WSJ)
Nebraska officials removed the last major regulatory hurdle in
the way of the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. (WSJ)
Canadian regulators are investigating Glencore PLC's copper
operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo for suspected
bribery and corruption . (WSJ)
A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that recently made a port call in
Japan may have breached a ban on third-country ships that had
visited North Korea. (Kyodo News)
U.K.-based maritime insurance group North P&I Club will
create a subsidiary in Dublin to write European pacts after Brexit.
(Lloyd's List)
Nordstrom Inc. is setting aside areas in some of stores to hold
goods bought by online customers. (Crain's Chicago Business)
Retailer Bon-Ton Stores Inc. is closing at least 40 of its 260
stores in the next year. (Retail Dive)
Global fertilizer distributor Yara International ASA of Norway
will buy a Vale SA production complex in Brazil. (Reuters)
Orders for dry bulk ships quadrupled in the first 10 months of
2017 over the year before. (Splash 24/7)
Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. is investing in
Dubai-based farm-product trader ETC Group. (Nikkei Asian
Review)
Jordan's government will work with U.S. developers to build an
airport and logistics center to help with reconstruction in Syria
and Iraq. (Al Arabiya)
Container shipping line Zim says it used blockchain technology
to handle a paperless bill-of-lading transaction. (Port
Technology)
Maersk Line is extending a trade finance program for its
customers to the customers' suppliers. (Journal of Commerce)
Russian carmakers UAZ and GAZ will start exporting vehicles to
Latin America next year. (Automotive Logistics)
The Thanksgiving holiday provides a big opportunity for U.S.
food-delivery companies with big risks for operators that falter in
t he stress-filled period. (Boston Globe)
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. Follow the WSJ
Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.
Write to Paul Page at paul.page@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2017 06:41 ET (11:41 GMT)
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