Good day,
Though Amazon has made it clear that it looks to build its own delivery network, and phase out its last-mile delivery partners like FedEx, USPS, and UPS, the operations do not seem to be going according to its plans. A recent report from Rakuten Intelligence has shown a rise in the number of Amazon’s late deliveries from being 4.6 percent in the first half of 2017 to 16.6 percent in 2019. However, Amazon’s spokesperson has rejected the claims of increasing late deliveries, claiming that Rakuten’s data was inaccurate. That said, for Amazon to go ahead with its one-day delivery promise, it would certainly have to bolster its in-house delivery network, as a full-fledged network will be faster than collaborating with third-party delivery services.
Did you know?
Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, some 60,000 ships will be obliged to reduce sharply their sulfur emissions. Many are preparing to switch to new low-sulfur fuel mixes or blends the energy industry is still developing, a move industry executives say will add some $50 billion in new fuel costs over the next three to four years.
Quotable
“You’ve got a family in the car – they’ve got their phones, they’re going someplace that they don’t know and are thus using navigation. All those things work in a way to distract the driver and increase the risk for commercial vehicles that are operating in that congested environment of distracted drivers.”
– Jason Palmer, COO at SmartDrive, while commenting on the increase in road accidents during the Fourth of July weekend.
In other news
Will OPEC cuts trigger new wave of U.S. shale oil?
Excess inventories, weakening demand growth, and oil prices some $15 a barrel lower than this time last year left OPEC and its allies little choice but to roll over their production cuts into 2020. (Oilprice)
Nestlé launches open blockchain pilot to track milk
Nestlé has announced the launch of a new open blockchain pilot with OpenSC, a blockchain platform that provides verified product sourcing and sustainability information directly to customers. (Supply Chain Dive)
A massive cargo aircraft shortfall is coming in 2022
There are only four types of cargo planes produced by Boeing and Airbus, and all four of them are old aircraft designs. (Simple Flying)
Walmart said to lose over $1B, weighs selling off money-losing online units
Walmart’s efforts to challenge Amazon are falling short, leading to internal strains and a push to curb losses in its e-commerce division. (Yahoo Finance)
Amazon is not FedEx’s biggest problem
The end of a contract with Amazon made headlines, but it’s not one of the key things that FedEx investors need to focus on. (The Motley Fool)
Final Thoughts
Though Vietnam stands to gain in the way of trade with the U.S. ever since the U.S.-China trade war, the country is likely to face increased excise duties on its exports to the U.S., as several Asian countries are surreptitiously sending their goods through Vietnam to avoid higher taxes imposed on their own exports.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce levied a 400 percent excise duty on all steel imports from Vietnam, as it was brought to its notice that South Korean and Taiwanese firms reroute their products through Vietnam to the U.S.
A rush of manufacturing companies into Vietnam is also not necessarily a good thing, as it leads to a high concentration of factories within specific regions, leading to massive internal migration, and tipping of economic scales across different parts of the country.
Hammer down everyone!