QAD Precision News Round-Up: 8 October 2021

In the QAD Precision News Round-Up: 8 October 2021, EU delays trade talks with Australia; WTO projects trade growth; GM unveils ambitious targets; Walmart partners with Home Depot; DHL Express opens new Paris hub; plus deemed export compliance and more. 

Global Trade

EU DELAYS TRADE TALKS WITH AUSTRALIA

The European Union has delayed the next round of negotiations for a free trade agreement with Australia. It is thought that the decision to postpone the talks is a result of the cancellation of a $90 billion submarine contract with French company, Naval Group. The negotiations are now expected to take place in November. European Commission officials in Brussels listed a number of unresolved issues for the delay. This includes geographical indications, market access, intellectual property rights, public procurement and sustainable development. For more information, please click here. 

WTO PROJECTS GLOBAL TRADE GROWTH

The World Trade Organization (WTO) raised its projection for global trade growth in 2021 and 2022. For 2021, the WTO raised its projection to 10.8 percent, and 4.7 percent for 2022. Previously, in March, the WTO estimated that trade would increase by 8 percent in 2021 and 4 percent in 2022. This year’s increase is the largest year-over-year increase since 2010. In its report, the WTO cited uneven access to the coronavirus vaccine and a possible inflation spike as issues that could affect global trade growth. For more information, please see The Washington Post.

IMF LOWERS 2021 GDP FORECAST 

In more global economic news, on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief, Kristalina Georgieva said the IMF expects global economic growth this year to decline below its July forecast of 6 percent. According to Georgieva, the global economy is rebounding however, the pandemic is still limiting recovery. In addition, Georgieva said the World Economic Outlook, coming out next week, would forecast that advanced economies will return to pre-pandemic levels of economic output by 2022 but most emerging and developing countries will take longer to recover. For more details, please see Reuters.  

Carriers

DHL EXPRESS OPENS NEW HUB AT PARIS AIRPORT

DHL Express has opened a new expanded international parcel hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport as e-commerce shipments continue to grow. The facility is 10 times greater than the previous site and cost $200 million, according to the company. The hub has a high-speed sorting system with the capacity to process 38,000 parcels and letters per hour. Charles de Gaulle airport is now DHL’s fourth-largest facility in Europe in terms of size and parcel processing volume. For more details, please click here. 

Auto

GENERAL MOTORS ANNOUNCES REVENUE  PROJECTIONS

General Motors announced its plans to double its annual revenue by 2030 to $280 billion. It aims to accomplish this by transitioning to all-electric vehicles and diversifying beyond only selling vehicles. In addition, GM announced an operating profit margin increase from 12 percent to 14 percent. 

Last year, GM reported revenues of $122.5 billion. This was down 10.8 percent compared to 2019 due to factory shutdowns from COVID-19. GM is looking to electric vehicles to increase its revenue with plans to scale manufacturing in both its North American and Chinese plants. It currently only has two plants in North America capable of producing electric vehicles but it plans to add an additional three plants by 2023.For more details, please click here.

Retail

WALMART PARTNERS WITH HOME DEPOT

Walmart announced a new partnership with Home Depot on Wednesday. Walmart launched its delivery service, GoLocal in August and Home Depot is its first customer. GoLocal delivers goods purchased from partners' websites to customers the same day or next day. 

Walmart is using independent contract drivers from its Spark platform to deliver merchandise for its GoLocal initiative. Home Depot will be using the service to deliver smaller items like paint, tools, and fasteners. The service is currently available to customers in Texas, New Mexico, and Arkansas with plans to add more areas in the coming months. Walmart hopes to compete in the last-mile delivery space by making deliveries more efficient and profitable by combining deliveries from multiple retailers.For more details, please see CNN.

QAD Precision News 

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPLIANCE WITH DEEMED EXPORT REGULATIONS

Ask just about anyone what an “export” is and they will define the term as goods — and sometimes services — produced in one country and made available for sale in another. While that is an export, the term encompasses far more than the movement of items or services from one country to another. However, export regulations do not simply control the movement of goods, but can also apply to the sharing of information. In this QAD Precision Report we look at the “deemed export” laws of the United States and what these restrictions mean for manufacturers and universities. To read the full report, please click here.