WMT Walmart Inc

By Paul Page 

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is trying to use e-commerce to remake its identity with consumers -- and with suppliers. The retailer is buying up small, hip online retailers that appeal to wealthier shoppers, the WSJ's Sarah Nassauer reports, in hopes of taking on Amazon.com Inc. with nimble businesses that display goods not usually found at Wal-Mart. The purchase this month of hipster clothing website ModCloth follows Wal-Mart's earlier buys of Moosejaw and ShoeBuy. The companies compete with the fast shipping and large assortments of the big retailers by working outside the mass-market mainstream. Wal-Mart hopes they can help solve a key business problem: The retailer needs to match Amazon's broad scope in products, but some suppliers don't want to display their goods alongside Wal-Mart's discount-driven marketing or meet the retailer's tough supplier terms. Wal-Mart insists it won't exert a heavy controlling hand on its new acquisitions, but the company will surely be tempted to bring the smaller operations into its sprawling distribution channels.

The shipping economy is raising tough questions over state taxes. A federal judge's ruling that United Parcel Service Inc. failed to properly flag tobacco shipments from Indian reservations into New York opens the carrier up to millions of dollars in damages and penalties, the WSJ's Paul Ziobro reports, over claims that it deprived the state and New York City of tax revenues. The judge said UPS hadn't complied with a 2005 agreement to fix a problem that arose from schemes to avoid high local taxes on cigarette sales. A similar suit is pending against FedEx with potentially big monetary claims. In each case, local authorities say package carriers should be doing more to police the contents of their shipments. FedEx has said enforcement must be balanced against the privacy of its shipping customers. But the judge's ruling in the UPS case says the parcel networks can't be used to sidestep taxes.

China National Chemical Corp.'s $43 billion deal to buy Swiss agro-giant Syngenta AG is putting concerns over genetically-modified crops high on the menu in China. Syngenta is a major producer of genetically-engineered seeds, and the WSJ's Brian Spegele writes opposition to GMOs runs deep in China, where the government bars use of such seeds for grains such as soybeans and there is wide distrust of food supply chains. Still, China is trying to boost agriculture production to feed a billion-plus population, and ChemChina's acquisition figures prominently in the effort. Backers say high-tech seeds improve farm yields, and China could use them to boost harvests and avoid more imports. Many in the agriculture business expect China's GMO policies to gradually change once the Syngenta acquisition clears regulatory hurdles, but the spread of biotechnology will still face hurdles that stretch from China's rural communities to the popular hotpot restaurants in cities.

TRANSPORTATION

YRC Worldwide Inc. hopes to make its trucking units move faster by operating under like-minded technology discipline. The parent of YRC Freight and other regional less-than-truckload divisions named Jason Ringgenberg as chief information officer for the entire business, the WSJ'S Angus Loten reports, the first time the trucker has put someone in that role across the broader operation. Mr. Ringgenberg had been CIO at YRC Freight and says the new role will help establish common standards and functions across operations that also include New Penn, Holland and other businesses as YRC tries to move goods faster and more efficiently. Mr. Ringgenberg says the company, which last year launched a service aimed at cutting transit times, is investing in technology aimed at "addressing last-mile deliveries and supporting ecommerce growth."

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

U.S. durable goods orders jumped sharply on a large gain in aircraft and aviation parts orders in February. (WSJ)

A survey of eurozone manufacturing and services activity reached its highest level since April 2011. (WSJ)

A Chinese court overturned a ruling against Apple Inc. over iPhone patents, a win for the tech giant in one of its toughest markets. (WSJ)

German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp AG is on the brink of transforming from a steel business into a lean capital-goods operation. (WSJ)

Uber Technologies Inc. pulled its self-driving cars from roads after one was involved in an accident in Tempe, Ariz. (WSJ)

The U.S. ban on many carry-on electronics aboard Middle East flights has created new headwinds for Persian Gulf airlines hurt by the faltering oil economy. (WSJ)

The U.S. sanctioned 30 individuals and entities from 10 countries for transferring missile technology to Iran and flouting export controls on Iran, North Korea and Syria. (WSJ)

The number of active U.S. oil rigs jumped by 21, more than double the number working in May 2016. (WSJ)

Videogame chain GameStop Corp., hit hard by a shift to digital downloads, will close at least 150 stores this year. (WSJ)

Schneider National Inc. expects to net about $281 million in an initial public stock offering the trucking company plans in coming weeks. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Amazon will start collecting sales taxes from all states with a sales tax on April 1. (CNBC)

Trade experts say a U.S. border tax proposed by Republican lawmakers would deepen divisions between big manufacturers and their suppliers. (Reuters)

Hapag-Lloyd AG fell to a $100.5 million loss for 2016 but said it is seeing stronger container shipping freight rates this year. (Lloyd's List)

The Carlyle Group and Tiger Global invested a total of $100 million in Indian logistics company Delhivery. (Post & Parcel)

A new UPS package handling facility in Arlington, Texas, will add 1,000 jobs in the region. (Dallas Morning News)

DHL Freight is dropping its domestic and European pallet consolidation service in the U.K., eliminating 400 jobs. (Lloyd's Loading List)

Toyota Industries Corp. will acquire Vanderlande, a Netherlands-based provider of air cargo automation equipment. (SHD Logistics)

Full-year pre-tax profit at Singapore-based port terminal operator PSA International fell 6% to $1.4 billion despite a 5.5% gain in container volume. (Container Management)

Lloyd's of London is underwriting insurance for small retailers against being kicked off Amazon.com Inc.'s marketplace. (Bloomberg)

German candy company Haribo, the maker of gummy bears, plans to open its first U.S. factory by 2020. (Agence France-Presse)

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.

Subscribe to this email newsletter by clicking here: http://on.wsj.com/Logisticsnewsletter .

Write to Paul Page at paul.page@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 27, 2017 06:25 ET (10:25 GMT)

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