By Paul Page
Sign up: With one click, get this newsletter delivered to your
inbox.
People and businesses along the U.S. southeastern seaboard are
in an unprecedented retreat as Hurricane Irma bears down on the
region with historic force. Shipping operations along the coast are
shutting down, and the WSJ's Jon Kamp, Scott Calvert and Arian
Campo-Flores report that authorities ordered 650,000 residents in
the Miami area to evacuate while gas shortages frustrated those on
the road and shelters prepared to protect tens of thousands of
people who are staying behind. The storm, one of the most powerful
ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, has disrupted shipping
operations as it barreled across Caribbean islands. The storm is
hitting oil tanker movements, with transshipment hubs in the
Caribbean shut down. Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co.
said at least 10 vessels would drop or delay calls to several
ports. The biggest ports in the southeast, Savannah, Ga., and
Charleston, S.C., face shutdowns this weekend, with Savannah
already set to close after Georgia's governor ordered the entire
coastal region evacuated.
The CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt slipped under the Bayonne Bridge
this week and into a new era in shipping and trade. The largest
container ship to dock at ports along the East Coast sailed for the
APM Terminal at Port Elizabeth, N.J., the WSJ's Paul Berger
reports, launching a new effort for East Coast ports to lure away
imports that now land mostly on the West Coast. The Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey spent several years and more than $4
billion preparing to raise the roadway of the bridge and dredge the
harbor's navigational channel. That's part of the billions of
dollars that ports from Houston to New York have been investing to
deepen channels, add big gantry cranes and set smoother paths
inland since the newly expanded Panama Canal opened to bigger
vessels. With capacity for 14,414 20-foot equivalent units, the
Theodore Roosevelt is far from the largest container ship on the
water, but it carries a big message for the Port Authority.
Amazon.com Inc. is sending perhaps its strongest signal yet that
it plans to stay on its growing and hiring tear. The Seattle-based
behemoth says it plans to open a second headquarters in North
America to house up to 50,000 employees, the WSJ's Laura Stevens
and Cara Lombardo report, an announcement that will send cities
across the continent scrambling to piece together big incentive
packages and likely trigger heartburn for Amazon competitors who
wonder just how big the business can become. The company says it
plans to spend as much as $5 billion on the facility. Amazon has
already been on a building spree, placing its mega-distribution
centers across much of the U.S., and it's gotten more than $1
billion in incentives since 2000 to back the warehouses. It already
has regional offices throughout the country, but the new site will
set a new scale, and potentially a record for the support that
states and cities will offer to bring in those jobs.
TRANSPORTATION
Stronger shipping demand has trucking companies looking to build
up their capacity to carry goods. New orders for heavy-duty trucks
in North America accelerated for the third straight month in
August, the WSJ's Jennifer Smith reports, amid growing confidence
in the economy and signs that trucks on the road are hauling
heavier loads. Trucking companies ordered 21,200 Class 8 trucks,
according to ACT Research, up 13% from July and 49% from a year
ago. The growth comes as highway shipments and rates are on the
upswing. DAT Solutions LLC says pricing on the spot truckload
market for dry-van transport rose 11% last month.
Less-than-truckload carrier Dominion Freight Line Inc. says its
demand accelerated in August, with shipments per day rising 6.6%
from a year ago. Perhaps more important, a key measure of pricing
was up strongly, a sign that carriers will have more to spend as
they assess their fleets.
Apple Inc.'s attempts to speed up production of its new iPhone
are rippling across Asia's electronics supply chains. Apple is
expected to unveil the new version of its iconic phone next week,
but the WSJ's Yoko Kubota, Tripp Mickle and Takashi Mochizuki
report production has been plagued by glitches early in the
manufacturing process that could lead to extended supply shortfalls
and shipping delays when ordering starts later this month. Apple
contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group has been ramping up
work at its factory complex with a work force of some 250,000, and
has been paying bonuses to employees who can help bring in new
hires. The wrinkles are part of Apple's attempt to upgrade the
technology on its devices. Apple is moving to organic
light-emitting diode screens similar to those used by rival Samsung
Electronics Co., among other changes. Making an iPhone is more
complicated than making a Samsung device, however, making wrinkles
in the supply chain more troublesome.
Commercial drones are flying into new obstacles from
law-enforcement and national security concerns. Industry officials
say objections threaten to complicate and further postpone the
already-delayed initiatives to open more U.S. airspace for drone
applications, the WSJ's Andy Pasztor reports. They're concerned
that Federal Aviation Administration draft rules close to being
published late last year were effectively vetoed by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, along with other agencies, for failing to
adequately address how to remotely identify such airborne vehicles.
The delay is frustrating an industry that expects to see some seven
million drones sold in the U.S. by 2020 as the use of devices in
commercial operations grows around the world. Israel-based startup
Flytrex, for instance, recently started on-demand drone delivery in
the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik for an online marketplace. The
FAA says it's trying to find the technology answer to the FBI
concerns, but there's no timetable for when regulators will set
rules that would allow such business take off in the U.S.
QUOTABLE
IN OTHER NEWS
The Teamsters union replaced its lead negotiator representing
United Parcel Service Inc. workers ahead of contract talks to begin
in October. (WSJ)
China's export growth slowed to 5.5% in August while imports
jumped 13.3%. (WSJ)
Diesel futures prices on global markets are rising sharply amid
refinery supply disruptions in the U.S. (WSJ)
The Federal Reserve says economic activity is growing at a
measured pace across the U.S. even though employment growth slowed
somewhat. (WSJ)
The number of Americans applying for new unemployment benefits
soared by 62,000 because of disruptions from Hurricane Harvey.
(WSJ)
The European Central Bank expects eurozone economic growth this
year to reach its highest level since 2007. (WSJ)
China's yuan has strengthened this year by 7% against the
dollar. (WSJ)
General Electric Co. sold the last of its stake in Penske Truck
Leasing Co. to Penske Automotive Group Inc. and a Mitsui & Co.
subsidiary. (WSJ)
Retailer Bon-Ton Stores Inc. hired a restructuring firm to cope
with its heavy debt and prepare for a possible bankruptcy filing,
(WSJ)
Volkswagen AG CEO Matthias Müller says the auto maker is working
on deals for its noncore assets but talk of a possible merger with
Fiat Chrysler Automotive NV is just "speculation." (WSJ)
Rockwell Collins Inc. agreed to pay a breakup fee of $695
million to United Technologies Corp. if their proposed tie-up falls
apart. (WSJ)
Eli Lilly & Co. will cut its global workforce by about 8%
and close several facilities, including consolidating its plants in
Iowa. (WSJ)
Nestlé SA is acquiring Sweet Earth Foods, gaining a foothold in
the small but promising market for "plant-based foods." (WSJ)
British shipping executives say a two-year transition after
Brexit will not ensure "frictionless" trade through ports. (The
Guardian)
China's Best Logistics expects to raise nearly $1 billion in its
initial public offering in New York. (Financial Times)
U.S. freight rail carload shipments fell 0.3% in August.
(Progressive Railroading)
Truck maker Navistar International Corp. swung to a $37 million
third-quarter profit, its second quarterly profit in five years.
(Commercial Carrier Journal)
Dry-bulk shipping company Mercator Lines Singapore is shutting
down. (Lloyd's List)
The operator of 7-Eleven in the Philippines wants to use the
convenience stores as a logistics network for online purchase
pickups. (ABS-CBN)
The U.S. House rejected a proposal to delay the rollout of
electronic logging devices for truckers. (Logistics Management)
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
September 08, 2017 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024