Second quarter smartphone imports to the U.S. increased by double digits sequentially from Q1, clear evidence of the Chinese supply chain’s recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels after the pandemic brought factories to a halt for most of February and into March. But the quarter-to-quarter increase masked subdued smartphone demand attributable to the pandemic’s decline in consumer spending.
High demand for telework and remote-learning connectivity tools sent Q2 laptop and tablet imports soaring by triple digits from Q1, according to new Census Bureau data accessed Aug. 9 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Lockdown-induced TV import growth also was robust in the quarter, but intense commoditization was the story there, even in the largest screen sizes.
Rock Trade Law absorbed consulting firm Kennard & Associates “to offer expanded duty drawback capabilities,” the law firm said in a news release. The firm will also “expand its portfolio of services to include vessel repair entry filings,” it said.
Gebruder Weiss is expanding its import consulting operations in the U.S., the transport and logistic company said in an Aug. 4 news release. “By expanding our import consulting services, we're demonstrating our commitment to our customers so that they have a true partner in the U.S. import process,” Mark McCullough, CEO of Gebruder Weiss USA, said in a statement.
Buyers of transformers and transformer components have formed a trade group called The Core Coalition to argue that imports of transformers, cores, laminations and other transformer inputs “do not threaten the national security of the United States,” even if those imports increased after tariffs were placed on steel.
May PC monitor imports soared from April at a rate nearly four times that of laptops and tablets, the connectivity tools most commonly associated with COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates, according to Census Bureau figures accessed July 26 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb. May brought the highest monthly unit imports of monitors in 10 months.
Combining trade software companies International Trade Systems and GMS International will result in “one of the most powerful cloud-based logistics software platforms on the market,” ITS said in a July 21 news release. “Representing second-generation companies that have been leaders in logistics technology for 30+ years, ITS and GMS are combining their assets, wisdom, and experience to form one powerhouse entity,” ITS said. The companies will jointly launch “ITS NextGen 2.0, a new and innovative system which will provide an integrated online customs brokerage and freight forwarding cloud-based platform,” it said.
Nearly 200 unions and nonprofit organizations asked fashion brands “to cut all ties with suppliers implicated in forced labor and end all sourcing from the Uyghur Region, from cotton to finished garments, within twelve months,” a July 23 news release said. The groups criticized a Retail Industry Leaders Association statement that it does not tolerate forced labor, and that conditions in Xinjiang make auditing supply chains difficult. The advocates say that RILA has “offered no credible explanation” as to how apparel brands and retailers can avoid forced labor “while continuing to do business in a region where forced labor is rife.”
The $38 million in Section 301 tariff costs iRobot incurred in 2019 inflicted a hit of three percentage points on its gross margin for the year, CEO Colin Angle said. IRobot assumes the List 3 tariff exclusion it landed in April on the robotic vacuum cleaners it sources from China will expire at the end of 2020, he said. The reinstatement of 25% tariffs on Chinese goods will result in a “similar contraction” to 2021 gross margin, he said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer “made it quite explicit” in congressional testimony last month that any granted List 3 exemptions “would expire at the end of the year,” Angle said. Lighthizer’s testimony “is the most explicit guidance that we have been given,” he said July 22 following quarterly results.
The idea that the COVID-19 pandemic shock will “only accelerate retrenchment and deglobalization appears premature. The survey points to supply chains being reshaped, rather than reshored,” according to HSBC, which conducted a survey of 2,604 businesses in 14 countries between late April and early May.