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Maersk Seeking Balance; Delivery Vans Shifting; Fast Fashion Redesign
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Vincent Clerc, foreground, with Soren Skou. PHOTO: RITZAU SCANPIX/VIA REUTERS
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Vincent Clerc is taking over leadership of one of the world’s biggest shipping companies at a tough moment for the maritime sector. A.P. Møller-Maersk named Mr. Clerc to succeed the retiring Soren Skou as chief executive, just as a period of historic profitability for container lines appears set to close. After Maersk earned about $24 billion in net profits in the first nine months of the year, the carrier and its rivals now face a tougher environment with freight rates falling and demand fading. Mr. Clerc tells the WSJ’s Costas Paris and Dominic Chopping that the shipping line “will spend some months trying to find what balance should be” between capacity and the demand from retailers that
are reining back orders. While container demand is slated to decline next year, capacity is expected to grow by 8% in 2023 and another 9% in 2024, according to shipping-services provider Braemar.
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Container lines are starting to send vessels to scrap after holding onto older ships through a period of tight capacity. (Splash 247)
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“We clearly have to find a new balance in this new market.”
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— Maersk Line’s Vincent Clerc
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Rivian electric package vans at an Amazon facility in Chicago. PHOTO: MUSTAFA HUSSAIN/GETTY IMAGES
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The burgeoning market for electric delivery vans is already getting something of a shakeup. EV startup Rivian Automotive is halting negotiations with Mercedes-Benz over a planned tie-up to produce commercial vans in Europe. The WSJ’s Sean McLain reports Rivian is looking to conserve cash as executives grow wary of overextending operations amid tightening capital markets and concerns over the economy. The startup is focused on pickup trucks and SUVs, but Rivan’s attention in the commercial-vehicle market remains on its expansive deal with Amazon. Those vans are part of a growing fleet of commercial vehicles from numerous providers that are resetting
parcel-delivery operations and triggering a lively competition among manufacturers. But losses at Rivian reached $5 billion amid supply-chain hurdles in the first three quarters of this year. It is trying to increase production at its sole plant in Normal, Ill., and to get a second factory in Georgia started.
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DHL’s U.K. parcel unit took delivery of six electric trucks and 30 liquefied natural gas tractor units from Volvo Trucks. (Motor Transport)
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Although the number of electric package vans remains small, the fleet is growing and more manufacturers are rolling out their own versions. A big part of Rivian’s plant in Illinois is devoted to building vans for Amazon. In a video report, WSJ’s George Downs breaks down how much of a lifeline fleet electrification contracts can be for auto makers and which other EV companies are fighting for them.
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Customers line up at a Shein showroom at the opening last month in Tokyo. PHOTO: NORIKO HAYASHI/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Online fashion retailer Shein is looking at redesigning its business to compete with the world’s big e-commerce companies. The Singapore-based company is exploring moving beyond selling its own brand apparel by becoming a marketplace platform that will enable other merchants to sell directly to customers. The WSJ’s Keith Zhai reports the plan would extend Shein’s moves to diversify its supply chain away from China, efforts that include manufacturing in Turkey and new warehousing in the U.S. and Europe. Creating a marketplace would mark a still bigger step for a business that has grown rapidly into one of the world’s top online sellers by offering a large assortment of apparel at ultralow prices. Creating a
marketplace would put Shein in more direct competition with e-commerce giants including Amazon and Alibaba. The new volumes under its sales umbrella would also make Shein a bigger force in international logistics.
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Food-delivery companies are pressing New York City to raise the cap on fees the apps can charge restaurants. (WSJ)
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$1,426
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Average spot rate, per 40-foot equivalent unit, for container transport from Asia to the U.S. West Coast in the first week of December, down 25% from the week before and 90% from the year-ago level, according to the Freightos Baltic Index.
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