Today's Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ
14 Juin 2017 - 12:57PM
Dow Jones News
By Imani Moise
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French oil giant Total SA is setting its sights on electricity
as the commodity firm seeks to transform itself into an energy
company. Total sees electricity as a hedge against oil's eventual
decline and is assembling a new business around it, WSJ's Russell
Gold writes. Total Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné
wants to turn the company into one of the world's largest suppliers
of electricity, or what he often calls "the energy of the 21st
century." Already a large producer of natural gas, Total is
diversifying, snapping up a French maker of industrial batteries, a
utility supplier in Belgium and a stake in a U.S. maker of solar
panels. It's a big change from Total's core business since power
grids tend to be regional while oil can be shipped globally. Even
as Total doubles down on electricity, the International Energy
Agency says consumer demand for oil will keep growing for another
two decades unless governments move faster to curb emissions.
Saudi Arabia is slashing its U.S. oil exports in a bid to reduce
a global supply glut that has been hammering crude prices. The
reductions could be a step to ensure production cuts by the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Companies work as intended,
WSJ's Alison Sider Summer Said and Timothy Puko report. The
November deal to rein in oil output was supposed to reduce bloated
global inventories, but U.S. companies have rushed in to fill the
void. State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is the world's largest oil
producer and crude exporter, and the projected July drop in exports
would amount to a near three-decade low for this time of year.
Analysts say Aramco's plans show Saudi Arabia is getting serious
about addressing the supply glut, although some investors remain
skeptical.
Panama cut ties with Taiwan in favor of Beijing, citing China's
importance as a user of the Panama Canal and its role as the No. 1
supplier of goods in the Colon free-trade zone. The move gives
China another victory in its efforts to isolate the island, which
could be crippling to Taiwan's economy, WSJ's Eva Dou and Jenny W.
Hsu write. Taiwan remains a key link in the global technology
supply chain, but its exports have fallen in recent years,
displaced in part by Chinese competitors. China's maritime power is
growing, meanwhile, and plays a major role at the Panama Canal and
at the country's burgeoning free trade zone. China's growing
economic heft has pushed more of Taiwan's allies to switch their
diplomatic recognition to Beijing, .
E-COMMERCE
Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc. plans to use artificial
intelligence and robots to cut costs and "create a business model
that is almost totally out of human control," Chief Executive
Richard Liu tells WSJ's Li Yuan. China's second-largest online
retailer after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., JD.com has assembled an
Amazon-like distribution network to deliver goods to its customers,
and is now testing 30-minute delivery windows in some areas. The
company is already experimenting with heavy-duty drones and smart
warehouses, and sees automation as essential for clamping down on
logistics costs and maximizing efficiency. JD.com also has
ambitions to expand into the U.S., but says it needs to ease its
reliance on small sellers and suppliers in order to appeal to
foreign shoppers.
QUOTABLE
IN OTHER NEWS
Logistics startup ShipBob raised $17.5 million to help it open
e-commerce distribution centers in more cities. (WSJ)
Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Travis Kalanick is taking
an indefinite leave, extending the management turmoil at the
ride-hailing giant. (WSJ)
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says the Trump administration can
reach better trade terms through diplomacy than through tariffs.
(WSJ)
Italy's Alitalia SpA airline filed for bankruptcy in the U.S.,
where it faced the threat of losing access to New York over unpaid
bills. (WSJ)
J. Crew Group Inc. is asking lenders for more time to pay off
some $567 million in debt as the retailer copes with slumping
sales. (WSJ)
Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. is abandoning efforts
to sell itself and plans to go it alone and focus on e-commerce.
(WSJ)
Container shipping firm CMA CGM SA will acquire Brazil's
Mercosul Line from global market leader Maersk Line. (Business
Times)
Japan's delivery giant Yamato Transport is raising base rates
for the first time in 27 years because it has to pay more to hire
and retain drivers. (Bloomberg)
Spanish dockworkers and port employers are in talks to avert a
two-day strike. (Journal of Commerce)
U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a fix to the Highway Trust Fund.
(The Hill)
Rail bottlenecks in North Dakota have eased since the 2015 oil
bust. (Grand Forks Herald)
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association says it will
still fight the electronic logging devices mandate despite the
rejection of its appeal by the Supreme Court. (Truckinginfo)
Los Angeles and Long Beach signed a pact setting zero-emissions
goals at their neighboring ports. (Los Angeles Times)
Malaysia's palm oil inventory fell after a 17% surge in exports
in May. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Chinese air carriers are stepping up flights to Latin America,
including new scheduled and charter all-cargo operations. (The
Loadstar)
Hong Kong-based Kerry Logistics took a stake in Kazakhstan-based
Globalink Logistics DWC to expand services across central Asia.
(Air Cargo News)
IKEA designers are training with engineers at the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration to learn advanced methods of
compact storage. (Quartz)
ABOUT US
Imani Moise is a reporter for WSJ Logistics Report. Follow the
entire WSJ Logistics Report team: @brianjbaskin , @PaulPage
@jensmithWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ and follow the WSJ Logistics
Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 14, 2017 06:42 ET (10:42 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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