Lower gasoline prices in the US and UK have temporarily ‘rescued’ economies from rising inflation.
LOGISTICS
A pending U.S. rail strike has been averted, at least for now, as a tentative agreement has been reached, per Bloomberg Markets.
Asia – US West Coast rates have fallen by nearly 75% since the start of the year and are at their lowest level since May of 2020, said Freightos.
Supply (capacity) has been pretty stable for the last two quarters and there’s been monthly improvements in transit reliability. At the same time U.S. demand has continued to fall as retailers look to reduce inventories, said Flexport.
In response to easing demand and falling rates, carriers are canceling some transpacific sailings through October, said Freightos.
The Indian Subcontinent – North America is seeing further rate decreases across most port pairs as capacity continues to outweigh demand, per Flexport.
Air cargo demand out of Southeast Asia remains soft with rates either maintaining at similar levels or decreasing slightly from last week, said Flexport.
The Tuas Port in Singapore is officially open. Upon completion, this port is expected to be the world’s largest fully automated port, according to UPS.
TRADE
The US Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that Section 301 tariffs against China will continue to remain in effect.
PODCAST
How to Build – and Retain – a Team of A-Listers
Employee retention is one of the most talked about topics these days. Even heading into what looks like an economic slowdown, many companies are struggling to find and retain top talent.
In this podcast Marc Reifenrath, CEO & Co-founder of Spinutech, talks about how he has helped Spinutech grow from a college start-up to one of the nation’s premier full-service digital marketing agencies – with zero staff turnover in 10 years.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why the first 100 days are so critical for a new employee.
- How having the right core values attracts A-Players from diverse backgrounds.
- Why people are a company’s key competitive advantage – even in a digitally-driven world.
SUSTAINABILITY
Crystal Group International (Hong Kong) has set a goal of planting 10,000,000 trees throughout 2022 under the Canopy Project. This will include planting 100,000 mangroves in Bangladesh to help strengthen communities at risk from climate change and environmental degradation. READ MORE.
MATERIAL SOURCING
The Leading Choice for Premium, Sustainable Cotton Yarn
A ‘quality first’ strategy has put one mill at the top of a very competitive market.
“To survive in this business quality must come first because as you can see, there are many competitive spinning mills out there. So if we can’t maintain our quality it’s going to be very difficult for us to maintain our place in the market. So quality actually must come first and then we focus on price,” said Suphakon Pinyawat at The Phiphatanakit Textile Co.
Regardless of the product category, the company invests in quality materials, “so the end product will always be of top quality.” READ MORE
MARKETS
The UK economy edged back to growth in July with output up by an estimated 0.2% in the month, after a sharp 0.6% fall in June.
- The nation’s inflation rate fell back below 10% in August thanks to falling gasoline prices
In the U.S. lower gas prices, down 10.6% in August, helped to cool annual inflation to 8.3%, from 8.5% in July, said the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Households expect inflation to settle at 5.7% in a year thanks to easing fuel costs, per the New York branch of the Federal Reserve.
The euro has remained little changed at $0.9982, not too far from its 20-year low of $0.9864 hit last week, per Reuters.
The British pound is trading at a near 35-year low against the dollar as a rise in core prices intensifies concerns that price rises have become embedded into the UK economy, per Yahoo Finance.
MATERIALS PRICES
Oil futures increased week-on-week, but are still well below the highs seen in late May/early June. A weakening global economic outlook is keeping prices in check.
Cotton futures were trading around 106 USd/Lbs, the lowest in over four weeks, as traders weighed prospects of lower demand and reduced supplies.
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