QAD Precision News Round-Up: 21 May 2021

In the QAD Precision News Round-Up: 21 May 2021, Japan exports surge; US-EU agrees to avert tariff hike; China factory output slows; DPD Ireland invests in green fleet; UK retail sales spike; plus the impact of migration on last mile delivery and more. 

Global Trade

JAPAN EXPORTS HIGHEST IN 10 YEARS 

In April, Japanese exports increased by the largest amount in over 10 years as global demand for cars and electronics surged. Furthermore, confidence among the country’s manufacturers hit a two-year high in May. This was as a result of overseas orders, according to a Reuters survey on Thursday. 

Official data released on Thursday showed exports in April grew 38 percent from a year previous. This follows a 16.1 percent increase in Match. Economists had predicted a 30.9 percent increase. China-bound exports increased 33.9 percent year-on-year in April while exports to the US surged 45.1 percent in the same period. For more information, please see RTE.  

US-EU AGREES TO AVERT TARIFF HIKE

On Monday, the US and the EU agreed not to escalate their row over US steel and aluminium tariffs. The EU said it would suspend for up to six months a threatened doubling of retaliatory tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, American whiskey and motorboats that was to take effect from June 1. Furthermore, the EU said it will refrain from imposing tariffs on more US products from lipstick to sports shoes. 

Despite this, US tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium will remain. In addition to the EU, these tariffs apply to imports from China, India, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan and South Korea as well as other metals-exporting nations. For more details, please see Reuters. 

CHINA FACTORY OUTPUT SLOWS 

Last month, output slowed at Chinese factories and retail sales were lower than expected. This comes amid officials warning of new problems affecting the rebound of its economy. Global supply chain bottlenecks and increasing raw material costs have caused production to slow. On Monday, National Bureau of Statistics data showed factory output increased 9.8 percent in April from a year ago, consistent with forecasts. However, this result was slower than the 14.1 percent surge in March. Retail sales rose 17.7 percent, below a forecast 24.9 percent and the 34.2 percent surge in March. For more details, please click here. 

Carriers

DPD INVESTS IN ELECTRIC DELIVERY FLEET IN IRELAND 

DPD Ireland announced an additional €2m (US$2.4m) investment to green its vehicle fleet. The company aims to deploy an additional 100 new electric vehicles by the end of 2022. DPD Ireland added 30 electric vehicles in 2021 and is on track to deliver its one millionth parcel using electric power in the next 18 months. 

The investment in new electric vehicles is part of a €200 million (US$240m) commitment by DPDGroup. By 2025, it intends to operate 7,700 new low-emission vehicles in 225 European cities. For more information, please see Parcel and Postal Technology.  

Retail 

MACYS RAISES FORECASTS 

On Tuesday, Macy’s boosted its annual sales and forecasts citing the government's pandemic relief and the speed of vaccine distribution. The US department store reported a 56 percent year-on-year Q1 sales increase to $4.71 billion along with a revised outlook. E-commerce expanded 34 percent in the period compared to 32 percent in 2019. Macy’s now forecasts net sales for 2021 to increase between 25 percent and 28 percent over last year to between $21.7 billion and $22.2 billion, higher than the $19.75 billion to $20.75 billion it forecast previously. The retailer expects e-commerce sales to reach approximately $8 billion. For more details, please see Retail Dive.  

UK RETAIL SALES UP IN APRIL 

On Friday, data from the UK’s Office of National Statistics showed retail sales in the UK grew 9.2 percent in April compared to the month previous. Economists had forecast a 4.5 percent expansion. The ONS director of economic statistics, Jonathan Athow, said retail sales in the UK are now more than 10 percent above levels seen before the pandemic. Last month, the sale of clothing grew by almost three-quarters while sales in other non-food stores increased 25 percent from March. However, online sales decreased to 30 percent from 35 percent in March as stores reopened. For more details, please see The Irish Times. 

QAD Precision 

HOME AND AWAY: POPULATION SHIFTS AND LAST MILE DELIVERY

In March 2020, government leaders across much of the world faced a stark choice — should they lock down their countries? As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe, governments ordered businesses to close, and told people to stay at home, or “shelter in place” to avoid spreading the virus.

Businesses that could do so, switched to remote working. Many formerly office-based jobs can be done — generally successfully — from anywhere you can plug in a computer and log on to the internet. 

Over a year later this realization has impacted the way both businesses and individuals consider the future of working. Urban to rural population shifts are poised to make the last mile delivery more expensive. In this QAD Precision Report, we look at the impact of migration and argue that more delivery partners are the key to simpler, cost-effective shipping. To read the full report, please click here. 

[LIVE WEBINAR] LESSONS LEARNED: TURNING IMPORT CLASSIFICATION INTO A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Please join us for this 30-minute live webinar where QAD Precision’s VP of Product Strategy Jerry Peck will discuss a number of lessons learned from his time in the industry. Most importantly, he will discuss how classification can be used as a competitive advantage. Topics discussed include:

• Why is Classification so important?

• How savvy trade-dependent companies are leveraging the Classification process

• When and where to best implement product Classification in your operation

• How enabling technology is supporting the Classification process

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