By Paul Page
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Electronics supply chains that Apple Inc. has helped build
across Asia are shuddering at the cutback in production of the
latest iPhone. Apple is slashing its plans for making iPhone X
handsets by half, to 20 million, in the current quarter, the WSJ's
Yoko Kubota and Tripp Mickle report. Orders for components could be
cut even more, by perhaps 60%, as reductions ripple across the
broad eco-system of electronics manufacturing and distribution that
Apple products have fostered. The latest reduction, the result of
disappointing sales of the latest generation of the iPhone, is a
new example of how companies in Apple's orbit can rise and fall as
the company builds up new technology and then moves on or sees some
features grow stale. Just last month, shares in Dialog
Semiconductor, whose chips control power use in Apple products,
fell by a quarter when it said its main client "has the resources
and capability" to make its own power-management chips.
Harley-Davidson Inc. is scaling down its U.S. supply chain as
sales of its iconic motorcycles sag inside the country and abroad.
The company is closing its assembly plant in Kansas City, Mo., and
consolidating that production into one of its three remaining U.S.
factories, the WSJ's Andrew Tangel reports, a step back for the
manufacturing sector that follows recent announcements of new
factory investments. Harley's problems look bigger than broad
changes in the American economy that have fueled other factory
expansion, however: The company's revenue from motorcycle sales
fell 6.8% last year, and sales of its signature Hog line declined
for the third straight year as it loses market share to overseas
competitors. Harley has been looking to get more global its
production. The company said last year it would put a plant in
Thailand, in part to get tax breaks for motorcycles it ships to
other Southeast Asian countries. Harley will see lower taxes in the
U.S., of course, but what it needs now are more sales.
The era of driverless cars and delivery vehicles is well
underway as far as some architects and developers are concerned.
Planners in cities in North America, Europe and Asia are drawing up
designs for streets with curbside drop-off areas for e-commerce
deliveries and passengers rather than parking spaces, the WSJ's
Peter Grant writes, while architects are laying out office and
residential buildings with space for stacking up packages and
delivery lockers. The goal for many planners, says an executive at
one architecture firm, is to "future-proof" everything from roads
to parking garages against what they say is an upheaval in
transportation of goods and people. Real-estate developers and
architects are thinking about a driverless future today because
many of the structures and streets they're designing will still be
around decades from now. They want to include flexibility so they
can later adapt to changing transportation and shipping patterns
with limited cost.
TRANSPORTATION
The very meager production of Tesla Inc. Model 3 sedans has
created an unusual , big-money market for the electric cars. A
shortage of the vehicles is fueling a frenzy among curious
competitors, the WSJ's Tim Higgins reports, with some automotive
companies paying upward of $500,000 to get their hands on the car
billed as Tesla's entry into mass-market sales. The Model 3 so far
hasn't worked out that way, with supply chain problems and
production bottlenecks leaving fewer than 2,000 of the cars rolling
out over the past two quarters. That's made the sedan a kind of
model for the impact of supply scarcity in a market, with
competitors and analysts scrambling to get their hands on the car.
For some, it's purely a business decision. Engineering firm
Caresoft Global Inc. has bought three Model 3s for around three
times the list price each. They're in it not for the ride but for
the technical analysis that Caresoft believes it can sell to
competitors.
QUOTABLE
IN OTHER NEWS
President Donald Trump called for spending of "at least $1.5
trillion" on infrastructure but offered scant details on his State
of the Union address on how to fund such a program. (WSJ)
U.S. consumer confidence rose in January. (WSJ)
A revival of the French economy helped the eurozone clock its
strongest growth in a decade last year. (WSJ)
Mexico's economy expanded at its fastest pace in more than a
year in the fourth quarter. (WSJ)
The U.S. homeownership rate rose in 2017 for the first time in
13 years. (WSJ)
Growth in U.S. home prices accelerated in November on tight
supply. (WSJ)
Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
are forming a company looking to reduce health-care costs for their
U.S. employees. (WSJ)
Pfizer Inc. plans to invest $5 billion in manufacturing and
other capital projects in the U.S. over the next five years.
(WSJ)
McDonald's Corp. gained sales again by luring core customers to
its cheapest meals and drinks. (WSJ)
Nikola Motor Co. chose the Phoenix area for a $1 billion
manufacturing plant for its hydrogen-fueled heavy-duty trucks.
(Reuters)
Sequoia Capital led a $21 million funding round for online
freight marketplace Next Trucking. (VentureBeat)
U.S. steel imports rose 15.4% last year from the year before.
(Northwest Indiana Times)
An investigation shows drug distributors sent 20.8 million
prescription pain killers to a West Virginia town with 2,900
residents. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
Uber Technologies Inc. reportedly looked at buying Chicago-based
freight broker Load Delivered Logistics to bolster its Uber Freight
service. (Recode)
Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises Inc.'s fourth-quarter
operating profit soared 29% on a 9% gain in overall revenue. (Omaha
World-Herald)
Covenant Transportation Group Inc. expects a measure of truck
pricing to rise at a mid to high single-digit percentage rate this
year. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
CMA CGM Group is starting a incubator called Ze Box for digital
shipping technology startups. (American Shipper)
India's Jawaharlal Nehru Port will open its fourth container
terminal this week. (DNA India)
French logistics group Bolloré Logistics acquired majority
control of Danish freight forwarder Global Solutions. (The
Loadstar)
Private equity group Leonard Green & Partners bought
packaging machinery manufacturer ProMach. (Business Journals)
Parcel volume at U.K. delivery company Hermes expanded 12%
year-over-year during the holiday peak season. (Motor
Transport)
Colombian authorities seized 185 kilos of cocaine and arrested
10 suspected drug smugglers aboard a Hapag-Lloyd AG container ship.
(Splash 14/7)
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
January 31, 2018 07:13 ET (12:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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