Above the Fold: Supply Chain Logistics News (March 14, 2025)

By Adrian Gonzalez

When my father (“Papi”) retired, my wife and I bought him a journal and a pen. On the inside front cover I wrote, “In the days that follow, write your memories, tell us your story, turn this book into a memory of your life.”

To be honest, I never thought he would write a single word in this journal. Papi was a guajiro, a bodeguero, a hard laborer all his life. He was as blue-collar as you can get. The image of him sitting at a desk writing away like Ernest Hemingway was almost laughable, unimaginable.

I was wrong.

When Papi was in hospice during the final days of his life, I found the journal in my sister’s old bedroom. It was in one of the drawers of her desk. Imagine my surprise when I opened it and saw his handwriting, page after page after page.

Whether he knew it or not, this was one of the greatest gifts he gave us. Not only to my sister and me, but to all his grandchildren and those who will follow them too.

On August 3, 2025, the day after my birthday, it will be 17 years since my father died. Why did it take me 17 years to translate his journal? I could blame it on his handwriting, which is not easy to decipher at times. But the truth is, I have no good reason.

By 2020, I had translated and typed up about half the journal. But then it sat on my bookshelf again until November 2024. At the time, I was suffering from chronic insomnia (due to my undiagnosed thyroid cancer) and my sleep therapist suggested I do something relaxing at night when I couldn’t fall asleep. So, I began translating the journal again. I came within 1.5 pages of finishing when I stopped again to deal with my cancer treatments and getting back to health. On January 1, 2025, I fulfilled my first New Year’s resolution: I finished the translation.

*When I received the published translation of my Papi’s journal*

Here’s the opening paragraph of his life story:

I was born on the 11th of April, 1935 in Cuba, in the province of Las Villas. The town is called Esles de Venero, but I was born at El Cafetal, the farm owned by my father and his brothers. This place is part of the municipal district of Aguada de Pasajeros.

Well, I’m from a very poor family. I remember a lot from my childhood. I was the first of six children. What I remember brings me great sadness compared to the life I live today. As I grew up, I became more and more aware of all the necessities we lacked.

Papi, thank you for sharing your life story, and for your lifetime of hard work and sacrifices that spared my sister and me (and our children) the hardships you went through. May your love of family and country live on in all of us for generations to come.

—-

Moving on, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:

When an 800-lb Gorilla Meets and 800-lb Panda Bear: China vs. Walmart

“Chinese authorities summoned Walmart officials for a dressing-down this week after receiving complaints that the retailer was pressuring some Chinese suppliers to cut prices to absorb the cost of U.S. tariffs, state media and people familiar with the matter said Wednesday,” according to a Wall Street Journal article by Hannah Miao and Raffaele Huang. Here’s more from the article:

The [Chinese] officials said making Chinese suppliers pay the costs of tariffs would be irresponsible and unfair.

There was also a veiled threat: The Chinese side told Walmart that asking suppliers to lower prices might violate contracts and disrupt market order, and the officials referred to potential legal consequences, the people said.

Maybe this is what President Trump meant when he said that China would pay for these tariffs, but China is not having any of it. Walmart has significant power and leverage over suppliers, which is why China, which is an 800-lb panda bear (but don’t be fooled by its cuteness), has come in to protect them.

The truth is that companies have a limited number of options to mitigate the cost impact of tariffs. Last October, we asked our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — “Assuming your supply chain costs will increase due to new or larger tariffs, what actions will you take (or have you taken in the past) to mitigate the impact?”

Topping the list of actions was “We will pass some of the cost increases to customers,” which was selected by 52% of the respondents. It was followed by “We will source from suppliers in other countries” (48%) and “We will look to save costs elsewhere, like in transportation” (44%). Walmart’s approach of trying to get suppliers to cut their prices ranked low on the list.

*Source: October 2024 Indago survey of 27 qualified and verified supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies.*

“For more than two years, at the corporate level, we have been moving from Asia to more local vendors,” said one Indago supply chain executive. “At the same time, we are looking to save [costs] elsewhere with the idea of passing as low as possible this burden to end customers. The market moves slowly to absorb price increases, and we cannot afford to lose customers.”

Another supply chain executive commented, “We will seek alternative [sourcing] options to mitigate these increased costs as best as possible.”

Fast forward to today, with the Trump administration implementing or increasing tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, the EU, and just about every other country on Earth, the option of sourcing from suppliers in other countries is effectively off the table.

This basically means that more companies will opt to pass all cost increases to customers, which ranked fourth on our survey.

“Let them eat cake,” I hear them say in Washington. And on the radio, ABC sings, “I’ve seen the future, I can’t afford it.”

And with that, have a meaningful weekend!

Song of the Week: “How to Be a Millionaire” by ABC