WMT Walmart Inc

By Brian Baskin 

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is proving the key to success may be sound inventory management. The retail giant reported strong first-quarter sales after many competitors, including Macy's Inc. and Target Corp., disappointed on that front , reports the WSJ's Sarah Nassauer. Wal-Mart has spent big to ensure store shelves are always stocked, and that products aren't piling up in aisles, backrooms and warehouses, resulting in a 3.5% drop in total inventories in the quarter. Wal-Mart is also building up its e-commerce offerings to keep customers from bolting to Amazon.com Inc., the main culprit behind some competitors' weak sales last quarter. Wal-Mart's course correction is proving a modest hit with consumers, with store visits up 1.5% and sales at stores open at least a year rising 1%. But keeping up with Amazon isn't cheap: profits were down despite the uptick in sales.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is investing in the logistics behind customization in the car market. The auto maker is building a $12.2 million distribution center in Virginia to provide dealers in the mid-Atlantic region with the parts behind Mopar, Fiat Chrysler's business aimed at allowing customers to tailor the details of their cars to their liking. Mopar is the hidden gem of the Fiat Chrysler operation, the WSJ's Jeff Bennett writes, distributes more than 500,000 different parts and accessories to more than 150 markets around the world. That number is sure to grow since the auto maker typically introduces dozens of customization parts with every new vehicle it launches. The new 400,000-square-foot distribution center will be Fiat Chrysler's 22nd in North America and its position by the busy Interstate-81 truck corridor will give the company quick access to dealers across a long stretch of the East Coast.

Container shipping may have breathed its last gasp at the Port of Portland, Ore. The decision by Westwood Shipping Lines to halt its once-a-month service to the port cuts off the final trickle of container activity in Portland, just over a year after the last major shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG, said it would end service to the Northwest city, the Logistics Report's Erica E. Phillips writes. Portland's swift decline stands as a warning to other second-tier ports as shipping lines are looking to pack more cargo onto fewer ships that stop only at the biggest freight gateways. Agricultural shippers said the decision snuffs out "our only gleaming light of container cargo," forcing area farmers to send their export crops on the longer journey to Seattle. Some hope container trade will return, but the city faces an uphill battle winning back lost service.

SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES

U.S. exporters raising alarms over the impending requirement to change the way shipping container weights are reported may get more help from ports. The Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association is hoping to reach an agreement with six major ports, including in South Carolina, Georgia and Texas for a common solution to provide weighing services to shippers. Such a solution would provide an option to shippers who say they can't afford to haul their cargo to weighing stations, writes WSJ Logistics Report's Loretta Chao. The weight-verification requirement under new international rules has complicated planning for exporters. But the agreement, which is still in preliminary stages, didn't include West Coast or New York and New Jersey ports. OCEMA says it is talking to West Coast ports separately, and will have to file a new notice to federal regulators to begin discussions with New York and New Jersey.

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

FMC Technologies and Technip say they will merge to create a $13 billion oil-services firm. (WSJ)

Bayer AG is making a bid for Monsanto Co. valued at over $42 billion , the largest ever takeover attempt by a German company. (WSJ)

Uber Technologies Inc. will test a self-driving car on the streets of Pittsburgh. (WSJ)

A Pacific trade agreement w ould generate only modest gains for the U.S. economy, a study found. (WSJ)

The Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund ended a second attempt to rescue retirement plans for hundreds of thousands of truck drivers and warehouse workers. (WSJ)

New emissions regulations have raised container shipping costs by $500 million globally, the OECD says. (Maritime Executive)

An undisclosed customer has agreed to buy up to 30 Boeing 737-800SF freighter conversions from Aeronautical Engineers Inc. (Air Cargo News)

An app to help truckers navigate traffic at the Port of Oakland's cargo gates went live. (San Jose Mercury News)

U.S. railroads saw weekly carloads decrease by 9.2% from a year earlier. (Progressive Railroading)

Sports Authority will close all of its over-450 U.S. stores after failing to find a buyer. (Los Angeles Times)

Robotics and other automation technology are making inroads in the fashion industry. (Business of Fashion)

Royal Mail's profits were flat over the last year even as parcel deliveries rose 3%. (The Telegraph)

Cathay Pacific is looking to cut costs amid weak cargo volumes and slumping tourism in Hong Kong. (The Loadstar)

Seaspan Corp. secured $450 million in debt and equity financing and signed its CEO to a five-year agreement. (Splash 24/7)

Package deliveries in China surged 56.4% in the first quarter, reflecting rapid growth in e-commerce. (Internet Retailer)

ABOUT US

Brian Baskin is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him at @brianjbaskin, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @lorettachao, @RWhelanWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ, and follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 20, 2016 06:40 ET (10:40 GMT)

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