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By Paul Page 

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is betting big on distribution Mexico. The retailer's Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB unit plans to invest $1.3 billion to improve logistics in the country by extending its network of distribution centers and upgrading existing warehouses, the WSJ's Anthony Harrup reports. The commitment on top of annual spending Wal-Mart already is undertaking in the country comes as many companies are showing concern over investments in Mexico as the incoming Donald Trump administration raises questions over the future of U.S. cross-border trade. Mexico touts this week's successful auction of oil exploration blocks as a sign of foreign investment interest and of future economic growth. With 2,300 stores and 200,000 workers, Wal-Mart remains the country's biggest retailer and private-sector employer, and the spending on logistics suggests the election hasn't diminished the company's confidence in the market.

The pending sale of the biggest container terminal at California's Port of Long Beach may trigger more waves of change across container shipping competition. Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. and Mediterranean Shipping Co. are in pole position to buy a majority stake in Total Terminals International LLC, the WSJ's Costas Paris reports, in a joint bid that may bolster the Korean operator's effort to join a shipping alliance. The stake comes from Hanjin Shipping Co., which went bankrupt in August and now is being sold off in pieces. MSC holds the other 46% of the Long Beach terminal, and co-ownership of a critical gateway facility may give Hyundai Merchant Marine more standing to work with the 2M Alliance made up of MSC and Maersk Line. Shippers are balking at having a Korean carrier included in 2M after the abrupt demise of Hanjin, but the carriers are anxious for an operating agreement even if it falls short of full alliance membership.

A bigger piece of the Apple Inc. supply chain may be moving to the U.S. Foxconn Technology Group, a major producer of the iPhone and other Apple products, says it is in talks to expand in the U.S., the WSJ's Eva Dou and Tripp Mickle report, marking what could be a big shift in electronics manufacturing as President-elect Donald Trump pledges to revive American factories. A small share of Apple products are already made in the U.S. by other contract manufacturers, but the overwhelming majority of Apple products are assembled in China, and most of them by Foxconn at factories in China that employ hundreds of thousands of workers in its Chinese factories. It isn't clear that any Foxconn expansion in the U.S. would be to make Apple products, and shifting the assembly would trigger big changes across the extensive distribution network that pulls high-value components into Foxconn sites. The company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has been looking at U.S. expansion for some time, however, noting that it would mean making goods closer to the buyers of electronics.

SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES

IKEA is rethinking its famously sprawling, remote stores to meet big changes in distribution and the retail business. The iconic Sweden-based furniture retailer is adapting to shifting trends by creating smaller stores closer to population centers, a move that means rebuilding its simple but highly efficient distribution channels. IKEA Chief Executive Peter Agnefjäll tells the WSJ's Saabira Chaudhuri the company expects to use more of its stores as "click and collect" sites, allowing customers to order goods online and pick them up at the sites. But bigger changes are moving through its supply chains, with some distribution centers refurbished to handle both shipping to stores and e-commerce fulfillment and work underway to bypass stores entirely and ship directly to customers. That means reconfiguring logistics operations and a business strategy built on cheap land far from city centers. New retail buying patterns suggest, however, that IKEA has to get closer to its customers rather than waiting for consumers to trek to IKEA.

The high-tech supply chain that Nokia Corp. built and then dismantled in a corner of Finland may be rising again. Several technology startups are heading to the provincial Finnish city of Salo, the WSJ's Matthias Verbergt reports, lured by the expertise and the infrastructure in the community known by some as Nokia Town. Nokia left the town with a big gap when the pioneer of the cellular phone abandoned manufacturing. But when San Diego-based Nuviz Inc. recently hired 20 engineers and developed its high-tech head-up displays for motorcyclists in less than six months in Salo, it suggested the town's technology supply chain isn't completely broken. More than dozen a companies have set up shop in former Nokia premises, including cellphone maker Turing Robotics Inc. Though still fledgling, the revival suggests how the ruins of a large tech business can become fertile ground for startup industries.

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

The Supreme Court pressed lawyers for defunct New Jersey trucker Jevic Transportation Inc. on why a settlement that left workers unpaid didn't violate bankruptcy law's repayment rules. (WSJ)

Third-quarter volume of U.S. home construction loans grew at the fastest rate in more than two years. (WSJ)

German manufacturing orders surged 4.9% from September to October. (WSJ)

Mining giant Consol Energy Inc. gains more earnings from natural gas than coal, highlighting the difficulty in delivering in political promises to revive the coal industry. (WSJ)

Drone maker AeroVironment Inc. swung to a loss in its latest quarter as sales in its unmanned-aircraft-systems business fell. (WSJ)

Costco Wholesale Corp. expanded its fiscal first-quarter profit as same-store sales grew for the first time in three quarters. (WSJ)

Bankrupt retailer American Apparel LLC will close nine stores this month, including sites in Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Pebble Technology Corp. will close operations and stop selling smartwatches as Fitbit Inc. buys its intellectual property and hires key personnel. (WSJ)

Handbag retailer Vera Bradley Inc. lowered its full-year outlook after same-store sales fell for the eighth straight quarter. (WSJ)

Office products retailer Staples Inc. will sell its European operations to private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management L.P. (WSJ)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will build a $15.7 billion plant in Taiwan to make the world's most advanced chips. (Nikkei Asian Review)

Blue Bell Creameries will reopen the Tucson, Ariz., distribution center it closed in 2015 after products tested positive for Listeria. (Arizona Daily Star)

Rhode Island will install electronic tolls to charge heavy-duty trucks traveling through the state. (WPRI)

Global air cargo traffic grew at the fastest pace in 18 months in October following the collapse of Hanjin Shipping Co. (Reuters)

Material-handling products maker Columbus McKinnon Inc. will acquire Stahl Cranesystems, a unit of Konecranes PLC, for $240 million. (Industrial Distribution)

United Parcel Service Inc. is testing use of electric-powered tricycles for delivery in Portland, Ore. (DC Velocity)

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, @smithjenBK 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

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December 08, 2016 06:53 ET (11:53 GMT)

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