Today's Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ
31 March 2017 - 9:50PM
Dow Jones News
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)
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