Trouble viewing this email?  View in web browser ›

The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal.
LogisticsLogistics

Truck Driver Wages Accelerating; Electronics Supply Chain Alarms

By Paul Page

 

Love’s Truck Stop in Springville, Utah. PHOTO: GEORGE FREY/AGENCE-FRANCE-PRESSE

Truck driver compensation is getting an overhaul under the pandemic-driven strains in supply chains. A new survey shows wages for truck drivers rose at a double-digit pace last year, the WSJ Logistics Report writes, as companies raced to recruit workers in a market marked by tight labor conditions and high freight demand. The American Trucking Associations said in its annual salary survey that average wages for drivers of big rigs across the sector reached about $69,700 last year, up 11% from the previous year. The sharp increase came before high inflation began coursing through the economy this year, and is one sign of the changes in the business landscape as supply-chain and transportation issues have grown more prominent. Big trucking companies reporting earnings say their labor costs are sharply higher again so far this year, even as some say recruiting is getting easier while freight demand is softening.

 
Advertisement
LEAVE THIS BOX EMPTY
 

Economy & Trade

Apple iPhone 13 smartphones at the company's Myeongdong store in Seoul, South Korea. PHOTO: SEONGJOON CHO/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Alarm bells are starting to sound in high-stakes electronics supply chains. Foxconn Technology Group says demand for smartphones and other consumer electronics is slowing, the WSJ’s Yang Jie reports, leading the world’s biggest iPhone assembler to take a more cautious stance in the current quarter. Foxconn is still forecasting revenue growth this year after a robust second quarter, but the muted outlook for key consumer goods adds to growing signs that the charge behind the electronics markets is fading. Chip maker Qualcomm last month cut its forecast for smartphone shipments and Micron Technology says its customers are starting to tighten spending and adjust inventories. Global personal computer shipments are tumbling and some semiconductor makers say they are bracing for a wider and sharper slowdown. Those companies anchor big supply chains for high-value electronics and the restrained view could cloud an airfreight market that is already weakening.

 
Share this email with a friend.
Forward ›
Forwarded this email by a friend?
Sign Up Here ›
 

Quotable

“Everybody in the ice-cream truck business is noticing that the prices are way too high.”

— Jose Salazar, who drives an ice-cream truck in New York City, on gasoline prices.
 
Advertisement
LEAVE THIS BOX EMPTY
 

Number of the Day

9%

Year-over-year decline in global air cargo volumes in July, which were also down 9% compared to July 2019, the fifth straight monthly drop, according to Clive Data Services.

 

In Other News

U.S. consumer inflation eased slightly to an 8.5% rate in July and was flat compared to June. (WSJ)

Consumer prices in China rose 2.7% in July, the highest level in two years. (WSJ)

Mark Russell will retire at the end of the year as CEO of electric-truck maker Nikola and President Michael Lohscheller will succeed him. (WSJ)

United Airlines has paid a $10 million deposit for 100 electric flying taxis being developed by Archer Aviation. (WSJ)

Softbank is sharply reducing its stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, accelerating a separation of the two companies. (WSJ)

Ford is raising prices for its all-electric F-150 pickup truck in part because of higher raw materials costs. (WSJ)

Baby-formula start-up ByHeart is seeking to register two additional facilities with regulators to ramp up its production as the U.S. grapples with shortages. (WSJ)

The U.S. Postal Service plans to seek higher prices in January after a 6.5% rate hike in July. (Reuters)

Resale prices for some Toyota automobile models have topped the list prices for new cars because of the shortage of inventory. (Nikkei Asia)

Canoo will have a third-party manufacturer build its first electric delivery vans for Walmart rather than make the vehicles on its own. (Bloomberg)

Workhorse Group cut its forecast for deliveries to between 150 and 250 of its electric delivery vans. (CNBC)

U.K. bookshop chain Waterstones has struggled to move stock and fill orders as it upgrades its supply-chain management with technology from Blue Yonder. (The Guardian)

Deliveroo’s first-half losses expanded to about $150 million as online food orders in the U.K. pulled back. (Financial Times)

Maritime insurers aren’t labeling the Taiwan Strait as facing elevated risk despite China’s recently-concluded military actions in the waters. (Foreign Policy)

Bookings are surging again on China-Europe freight rail services as shippers seek to get around port congestion. (The Loadstar)

Chinese shipyards are starting to cut prices for new vessels as steel costs recede. (TradeWinds)

South Korean container line HMM warned of weakening demand after reporting a $4.6 billion net profit in the first half of the year. (Lloyd’s List)

European regulators set Oct. 3 as the deadline for comments on its review of container lines’ exemption from antitrust rules. (Splash 247)

Freight forwarder Seko Logistics acquired California-based third-party logistics and e-commerce fulfillment provider Pixior. (Supply Chain Management Review)

The U.S. arm of grocery chain Ahold Delhaize named former Dollar General executive Sanja Krajnovic executive vice president of distribution and transportation at its supply-chain operation. (Supply Chain Dive)

Japanese retail chain FamilyMart is rolling out artificial intelligence-driven robots to restock shelves in 300 convenience stores. (Japan Times)

 

About Us

Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Write to him at paul.page@wsj.com.

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @bylizyoung and @pdberger. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.

 
Desktop, tablet and mobile. Desktop, tablet and mobile.
Access WSJ‌.com and our mobile apps. Subscribe
Apple app store icon. Google app store icon.
Unsubscribe   |    Newsletters & Alerts   |    Contact Us   |    Privacy Policy   |    Cookie Policy
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 4300 U.S. Ro‌ute 1 No‌rth Monm‌outh Junc‌tion, N‌J 088‌52
You are currently subscribed as [email address suppressed]. For further assistance, please contact Customer Service at sup‌port@wsj.com or 1-80‌0-JOURNAL.
Copyright 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.   |   All Rights Reserved.
Unsubscribe