Today's Logistics Report: Suppliers Seeking Direction; Shifting Assembly Lines; Air Cargo Fracas
April 03 2020 - 9:32AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Page
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Distributors of sanitary supplies are looking for better
direction on where to ship their goods. Several big suppliers say
their inventories of masks, gloves and disinfectant are running low
as coronavirus-driven demand increases, the WSJ Logistics Report's
Jennifer Smith writes, and some are restricting shipments and
fending off speculative buyers to keep their warehouses stocked.
The stresses among industrial wholesalers are part of the broader
strain that the pandemic has unleashed on certain supply chains.
Demand for gear that offers protection has surged at overburdened
hospitals just as more workers, including police officers, truck
drivers and supermarket clerks, are clamoring for masks and other
supplies. Some believe the federal government could help better
allocate supplies if it served as the central purchasing agent, but
the White House is resisting that move. Meanwhile, some big
industrial suppliers of N95 masks say they have already run out of
them.
SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES
American manufacturers are trying to ramp up production of
medical gear against overwhelming demand. 3M Co. and a half-dozen
smaller competitors are making about 50 million of the high-quality
N95 masks in the U.S., the WSJ's Austen Hufford writes, but they
are far from meeting demand that may exceed 300 million of the
protective devices each month. The effort is part of a rush to get
the country's manufacturing supply chains turned toward the
ventilators, masks and other equipment needed under the spreading
coronavirus pandemic. Stocks are depleted for a range of gear, and
U.S. hospitals have been pressed for equipment since many countries
that had supplied medical devices blocked exports to fight the
virus within their own borders. U.S. ventilator stockpiles are
running dangerously low and President Trump triggered a federal
emergency law to help domestic manufacturers get the parts they
need to make those devices.
TRANSPORTATION
An air cargo showdown is brewing between the U.S. and China over
Beijing's stricter coronavirus restrictions. China has imposed
tougher testing procedures and officials have told cargo airlines
their crews will have to undergo lengthy quarantines after entering
the country. The actions have roiled FedEx Corp. and United Parcel
Service Inc. operations, the WSJ's Kate O'Keeffe, Ted Mann and Paul
Ziobro report, while rattling flight crews, disrupting shipments
and prompting calls for help to the White House and other U.S.
officials. The uproar comes amid broader questions over coronavirus
screening for crews in both air and ocean operations. Oceangoing
carriers have said varying procedures around the world have
complicated staffing and undercut attempts to get some crew members
home. UPS says its service has been unaffected, but FedEx says
changes in crew-testing procedures recently forced it to suspend
some flights out of Guangzhou, China, for 24 hours.
QUOTABLE
IN OTHER NEWS
A record 6.6 million Americans applied for first-time
unemployment benefits last week in a free-falling U.S. labor
market. (WSJ)
Crude prices soared at record rates on hopes for the end of a
global oil-price war. (WSJ)
New home sales listings in major U.S. cities are plummeting.
(WSJ)
Amazon has filled 80,000 jobs in recent weeks, part of a hiring
spree to add 100,000 workers to meet soaring demand. (WSJ)
General Electric is furloughing half of the U.S. manufacturing
workers in its jet-engine business for four weeks. (WSJ)
Instacart will distribute masks, sanitizers and thermometers for
its workers as a result of the heightened threats they face from
the coronavirus pandemic. (WSJ)
Sales at Walgreens Boots Alliance's U.S. stores sales fell
sharply in the final week of March, offsetting gains from an
earlier surge in demand. (WSJ)
Some auto-parts suppliers are showing signs of distress as
assembly plants shut down. (WSJ)
British Airways will furlough more than 30,000 cabin crew and
ground staff. (WSJ)
Chinese upstart Luckin Coffee says employees fabricated much of
its reported sales in 2019. (WSJ)
Food banks are reporting unprecedented demand across the U.S. as
millions lose jobs. (The Guardian)
Japan's big car makers are halting or scaling back domestic
production to conserve cash. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Workers at a Walmart Inc. Pennsylvania distribution center say
at least nine employees there have tested positive for coronavirus.
(Lehigh Valley Live)
A handful of apparel retailers are accepting goods from
Bangladeshi suppliers while a large number cancel their orders.
(Sourcing Journal)
Canada denied entry at the Port of Halifax to a car carrier from
Germany because a crew member was suspected of having coronavirus.
(Splash 247)
ABOUT US
Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow the WSJ
Logistics Report team: @PaulPage , @jensmithWSJ and @CostasParis.
Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.
Write to Paul Page at paul.page@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 03, 2020 09:17 ET (13:17 GMT)
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