AMZN Amazon.com Inc

By Paul Page 

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One of the shipping industry's biggest acquisitions is caught up in U.S. national-security concerns. A U.S. review of Cosco Shipping Holdings Co.'s proposed $6.3 billion purchase of rival Orient Overseas International Ltd. is raising concerns about the Chinese state-run conglomerate's control of a major container terminal at California's Port of Long Beach. The WSJ's Costas Paris and Joanne Chiu report that Cosco has told U.S. officials they are willing to sell or carve out the Long Beach Container Terminal, but it's unclear whether that would satisfy the U.S. The terminal is one of the one of the few in the U.S. that is automated and can handle the new generation of bigger ships, and for Cosco it's what one official called a "prized asset" in the deal. The company's acquisition fits in with Beijing's global "one belt, one road" initiative and the review signals the expansion faces clear limits.

Technology in the warehouse is starting to look a little more like electronics at home. Companies operating some distribution centers are turning to smartphones, user-friendly apps and even emojis as they try to simplify work routines and training -- and lure younger workers who have grown up using mobile devices. WSJ Logistics Report's Erica E. Phillips writes that TechStyle Fashion Group is running activities at a Southern California warehouse through Apple Inc. devices and Apple's operating system. Software provider EVS says this sort of strategy "takes the chunk out of" warehouses, and can push aside the heavy handheld devices commonly called bricks. The use of user-friendly consumer tech is growing more common in various shipping operations. One benefit, says TechStyle, is that it can find new equipment at local electronics stores rather than going through industrial suppliers.

The U.S. and China may be taking steps to ease the trans-Pacific tensions that threaten to fracture key pillars of world-wide trade. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he may head to Beijing for trade negotiations, and China says it welcomes the move following weeks of harsh words and new tariffs that threaten to escalate into a full trade war. The WSJ's Bob Davis and Lingling Wei write the tensions are already hitting businesses. Last week, the U.S. barred American businesses from supplying technology to ZTE Corp., and the Chinese telecom equipment maker says the penalty threatens its survival. China now is looking hard at Qualcomm Inc.'s planned $44 billion purchase of NXP Semiconductors NV. On the Pacific, bulk vessels carrying U.S. sorghum to China turned around soon after Beijing added the major American export to its list of targets for retaliatory tariffs.

E-COMMERCE

Amazon.com Inc.'s latest disclosure of salary information portrays a business that's really three companies in one. Amazon says the median annual salary of its workers is $28,446, putting the company close to Hershey Co. and Home Depot Inc. in compensation. The WSJ's Georgia Wells, Rachel Feintzeig and Theo Francis write that's far below the median salaries at tech giants like Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google, showing how Amazon's growing logistical apparatus separates it from its tech peers. One researcher likened Amazon to a three-way hybrid of Google, United Parcel Service Inc. and Walmart Inc. Amazon's software development means the company's shares trade like a tech stock, even as it bulks up its network of 175 operating and fulfillment centers. For communities welcoming Amazon expansion, the salary figures may prompt questions about exactly which Amazon business may be moving in.

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IN OTHER NEWS

U.S. tariffs on steel imports are likely to cost the American economy jobs, Federal Reserve Bank of New York economists say. (WSJ

Getting Beijing to lower its tariffs on auto imports may help German car makers that ship automobiles from the U.S. to China. (WSJ)

Eurozone consumers became more optimistic about economic prospects in April. (WSJ)

The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement in principle to upgrade their 18-year-old trade deal. (WSJ)

Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is offering to buy Toys "R" Us 's Canadian stores out of bankruptcy for $300 million. (WSJ)

Aviation regulators imposed emergency inspection requirements for the type of jet engine involved in the fatal Southwest Airlines accident. (WSJ)

Canada's government ordered Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. unionized workers to vote on a contract offer, averting an immediate threatened strike. (Financial Post)

At least five ships carrying U.S. sorghum to China changed course after Beijing slapped hefty levies on imports of the grain. (South China Morning Post)

New deals between shipping and technology companies are bringing blockchain to maritime-based supply chains. (Bloomberg)

European authorities are investigating suspected tax fraud by Chinese criminal gangs importing goods through Greece's Port of Piraeus, operated by China's Cosco Shipping. (Reuters)

China expanded the list of waste products the country will bar from imports. (American Shipper)

Algeria is angering European Union officials by cutting back European imports while stepping up trade with China. (Arab Weekly)

Retail group TJX Companies Inc. dropped plans for a Lordstown, Ohio, distribution center that faced strong local opposition. (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Star Bulk Carriers is buying 16 bulk ships and paying for them by issuing new shares to the sellers of the vessels. (Lloyd's List)

Bulk-ship operator Oldendorff Carriers dropped its Guyana business because Russian aluminum producer Rusal was hit with U.S. sanctions. (Splash 247)

First-quarter profit at Kansas City Southern slipped slightly to $147 million despite gains in revenue and volume. (Progressive Railroading)

Chinese companies signed agreements to invest $1 billion in Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone. (Seatrade Maritime)

ABOUT US

Paul Page is deputy editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him at @PaulPage, and follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @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

April 23, 2018 06:38 ET (10:38 GMT)

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