It’s time to unplug and get off the grid. No email, no social media, no television. Just music and books and the great outdoors.
Before I disconnect and head to the land of ice, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- Walmart Tells Suppliers New Fuel and Pickup Fees Are Coming (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- Labor unrest disrupts supply chains from sky to sea (Bloomberg)
- Independent California truckers scramble after Supreme Court refuses to hear AB5 case (CBS News)
- Major European Ports are Experiencing Congestion Challenges (Maritime Executive)
- Behind the scenes of Waymo’s worst automated truck crash (TechCrunch)
- Amazon to Swap Vans for Walking and e-Cargo Bikes in London (Bloomberg)
- Biden’s move to lift some China tariffs will likely be ‘modest’ in short term, former trade negotiator says (CNBC)
- White House, industry associations press ILWU and PMA to get a new labor contract done (Logistics Management)
- Flexe Raises $119M as Enterprises Accelerate Flexe Logistics Program Adoption
- Rollzi Raises $8 Million to Accelerate Single Lane Relay Approach to Trucking
- Tracking Provider OneStepGPS to Integrate with Trucker Tools
- RouteSmart Technologies to Roll Out Powerful RouteSmart Online Solution for the Waste Industry
- Glut of Goods at Target, Walmart Is a Boon for Liquidators (WSJ – sub. req’d)
Walmart to Suppliers: You Gotta Pay More for Fuel and Pickups
“Walmart Inc. said it would charge some of its suppliers a new fee to transport goods to its warehouses and stores, according to a memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the latest example of how businesses are looking to offset rising costs for things such as transportation and fuel,” reports Sarah Nassauer in the Wall Street Journal.
Back in May, we asked members of our Indago supply chain research community, “What actions, if any, are you taking to mitigate the impact of high fuel prices?” Looking at the results of the survey, Walmart’s actions are not surprising.
“Fuel has traditionally been an expected pass-through charge [from the carriers], with the costs rising and hitting all areas of our logistics, we have no choice but to re-evaluate how we handle these charges and if there are ways for us to pass them on to our customers or mitigate them through more efficient shipping or lower cost services,” said one Indago supply chain executive.
If you don’t want to pass the added costs on to customers, then pass them up to suppliers instead. At the end of the day, however, we all pay for it one way or another.
And with that, I’m out of time. We’ll be on holiday next week, but I’m sure it will be a slow and boring week for supply chain and logistics news. I guess I’ll find out when I get back on 7/18.
Until then, eigið góða helgi!
Song of the Week: “Hyperballad” by Björk
