Today's Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ
June 14 2016 - 7:08AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Page
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Amazon.com Inc. is getting a strong message from regulators that
the company needs to tighten its shipping controls as it builds out
its own distribution network. The Federal Aviation Administration
proposed a $350,000 fine on the e-commerce giant for allegedly
shipping prohibited hazardous goods by air, WSJ Logistics Report's
Robbie Whelan writes. The agency pointed to a single 2014 incident
in which nine United Parcel Service Inc. workers were exposed to a
leak from a drain cleaner called "Liquid Fire." But the FAA also
says it was one of two dozen incidents in recent years involving
Amazon, suggesting "a history of violating" hazardous materials
regulations. With Amazon investing in air operations and its
delivery networks likely to get more complicated, the company will
be under greater pressure to get its fulfillment workers trained in
handling dangerous goods.
Online shoppers aren't making it any easier for retailers. A new
survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers by AlixPartners LLP shows that
shipping choices are looming larger in e-commerce sales, WSJ
Logistics Report's Loretta Chao writes, with buyers increasingly
looking for goods to be delivered faster and cheaper. That's tough
news for brick-and-mortar retailers that are finding so far that
delivering online purchases while maintaining profit margins makes
for tough math. For consumers, however, it looks like delivery
options are becoming just as important as the goods themselves:
more than half of those surveyed said they browse products online
based on the available shipping choices. The profit question is
only likely to get tougher since more consumer say they are looking
online for bigger, bulkier items like home furnishings. Those are
the goods that are the most difficult and expensive to get to
home.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is facing a
classic problem with its logistics provider except for one twist --
it manages its own logistics. The Boston-area transit authority is
wrestling with poor service to riders and lengthy maintenance
schedules largely because the MBTA simply can't get deliver parts
from its nearby warehouses with even modest speed and anything
close to accuracy. A consultant's analysis, described in a report
by the Boston Globe, found chronic dysfunction in an operation that
holds some $62 million in spare-parts inventory, including excess
goods, but can accurately count what's on the shelves barely half
the time. The agency is pressing to privatize its sprawling
warehouse department, something the MBTA's chief procurement
officer would be a "game-changer."
ECONOMY & TRADE
Slower investment in China is casting a cloud over the country's
economic growth. New figures show China's industrial and consumer
sectors were relatively strong in May, but the WSJ's Mark Magnier
reports that private investment grew just 3.9% in the first five
months of the year, a sharp slowdown from the previous report. A
slowdown in private investment is particularly worrisome because it
suggests companies are holding off spending, signaling limited
confidence in the future and that the flow of imports into the
country will slow down. Even as auto sales hit a five-month high in
May, auto makers scaled back their production of cars because
inventory levels remain precariously high after rapid production in
previous months. One northeastern China-based manufacturer,
Oriental Furniture Co. says it doesn't expect to invest much
without new government stimulus to boost demand.
QUOTABLE
IN OTHER NEWS
A drop in the U.S. savings rate is giving retailers hope that
consumer sales will pick up. (WSJ)
Small businesses in the U.K. show more support for the British
exit from the European Union than larger businesses. (WSJ)
A CSX Corp. freight train carrying flammable chemicals derailed
in a Baltimore tunnel. (Baltimore Sun)
IHS Automotive says sales of self-driving heavy-duty trucks
could reach 60,000 vehicles by 2035. (Trucks.com)
The Nicola Motor Co. says it has received more than 7,000
reservations for electric Class 8 trucks it plans to produce.
(Commercial Carrier Journal)
Indiana is testing cameras allowing state police to weigh trucks
as they move on highways. (Chicago Tribune)
Amazon may launch grocery delivery in Australia as soon as next
year. (Sydney Morning Herald)
A.P. Moeller-Maersk NV named Henriette H. Thygesen, the Americas
chief at its Damco forwarding subsidiary, as CEO of the Svitzer
offshore ship business. (Splash 24/7)
Nike Inc. says an analysis found no evidence of banned chemicals
in its supply chain. (Chem Insider)
Developers are planning a 791,000-square-foot distribution
center near a General Motors Corp. plant in Indiana. (Fort Wayne
News-Sentinel)
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is talking with Indian e-commerce
firms Delhivery and Xpressbees Logistics about potential investment
stakes. (Economic Times)
Lawmakers in India released legislation that would privatize the
country's ports. (Journal of Commerce)
Indian e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal says it is now shipping
most goods purchased on its site from its own distribution centers.
(Times of India)
Norway will bar the use of products that contribute to
deforestation. (Christian Science Monitor)
ABOUT US
Paul Page is deputy editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him
at @PaulPage, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team:
@brianjbaskin, @lorettachao, @RWhelanWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ, and
follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.
Subscribe to this email newsletter by clicking here:
http://on.wsj.com/Logisticsnewsletter .
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 14, 2016 06:53 ET (10:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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