Last Thursday was the Fourth of July, and cities and towns across the country celebrated with fireworks displays to the oohs and aahs of large crowds. And while professional fireworks displays are generally safe, for the average person, setting up your own show can be very dangerous. In 2023, roughly 9,700 people were injured by fireworks in the US. But now, some cities and states are starting to re-examine just how safe fireworks displays are. Cities like Napa, Calif., and Salt Lake City, Utah, have opted out of traditional pyrotechnics this year. They say they’re worried about pollution and the risk of wildfires, so instead, they’ll create a tribute to America with a light show made by drones. And while some people may think that drones cannot compare to a good old-fashioned fireworks display, drones have significant advantages over pyrotechnics. High among these advantages is safety and a much lower environmental impact. They don’t leave debris or smoke behind or risk sparking a fire, and they buzz lightly instead of exploding, making them more suitable for pets and people who are sensitive to noise or may have post-traumatic stress disorder. I can’t say one way ore the other about drones replacing fireworks, but I’d be interested in checking out a show. And now on to this week’s logistics news.
Walmart’s members-only sales event is in the rearview, and Amazon’s Prime Day isn’t for another week, but that doesn’t mean the war between the two biggest retailers is on pause. Until July 18, Walmart is offering Walmart+ memberships for $49 a year, or half off the usual $98 fee. If that date catches your eye, it’s because the timing gets ahead of Amazon’s Prime Day, which happens on July 16 and 17. Offering a discounted membership in the days leading up to Prime Day is another way Walmart has been stepping up its effort to woo customers over from the e-commerce giant. Look no further than remarks from Walmart’s chief financial officer, John David Rainey, who said the company’s delivery orders had overtaken in-store pickup orders in recent months. He also said Walmart+ members were starting to make more frequent orders with fewer items — acting a little more like Amazon shoppers. Meanwhile, Walmart has aggressively expanded its marketplace of third-party sellers, following a strategy that has enabled Amazon to offer a mind-boggling range of products on its website.
Ongoing attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis continue to disrupt shipping lanes in the chemical industry’s supply chain, according to Al Greenwood, chemicals expert and deputy editor at ICIS. “It’s having an impact mainly in Europe and Asia. It’s rearranging routes because the rates for containers have really gone through the roof,” Greenwood said. The Houthis are creating significant supply chain disruptions for chemical companies and governments. About 15% of the world’s ocean carrier traffic normally goes through the Red Sea, according to the International Monetary Fund. But now ships between Europe and Asia are instead going around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa, which can add anywhere from 10 days to a month of travel time compared to the Red Sea/Suez Canal route. Rates for 40-foot containers from Asia to North Europe are at $8,764.14.
Cargo ships avoiding Houthi attacks in the Red Sea face a different kind of delay-causing threat as they go around the southern tip of Africa: storms and 30-foot swells. The South African Weather Service on Tuesday forecast a second cold front making landfall in Western Cape province with more rain expected. An earlier system included waves peaking at 10 meters (32.8 feet) in the southwest, along with gale to strong gale force north-westerly to westerly winds and heavy rainfall. “Vessels are expected to seek shelter/alter their course to avoid the impacted areas,” Maersk, the world’s No. 2 container carrier, said in an advisory. “Please expect delays over the next few days.” Meanwhile, harsh weather in the US this week is disrupting a key gateway for energy commodities and their byproducts.
Companies looking to sell guilt-free garments have long struggled to track a global supply chain that spins out 54 billion pounds of cotton per year. Traceability is important, because among the world’s 10 largest cotton-producing countries, seven are facing accusations of using child or forced labor. Agribusiness giant Cargill and retailer Target have responded to consumer demand for transparency in clothing and textiles by teaming up with a tech company that can follow the fabric around the world. FibreTrace uses a digitally trackable pigment that follows a bale of cotton from initial processing to finished product. Cargill, one of the world’s largest buyers of raw cotton, will use the technology on 50,000 tons of cotton from the U.S. and Brazil this year that will end up in products on Target shelves early next year. For Target, it’s both about meeting consumer demand and living up to its own corporate pledges. Target’s cotton policy states the retailer “does not knowingly buy or sell products that are made, in whole or in part, using forced or underage labor.” The company specifically doesn’t accept products with cotton from Turkmenistan or China’s Xinjiang province, where forced labor is reportedly widespread in cotton fields.
When I think of WWF partnerships, my mind immediately goes to my favorite tag team of all time: Demolition. But the WWF is now the WWE, and this is a different kind of partnership. Discount grocer Lidl and WWF, one of the world’s largest independent conservation organizations, have launched an international and strategic partnership active in 31 countries to ensure a more sustainable future. Lidl’s partnership with WWF builds on previous commitments to achieve a more sustainable future. For example, the grocer released its first report on corporate social responsibility efforts last year. In it, Lidl outlined such efforts as reducing scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse-gas emissions by 63% by the end of 2022 as it works toward a 70% reduction by 2030. Lidl also shared that it had identified 11 critical raw materials and committed to setting responsible sourcing targets for each group of items. Its partnership with WWF will focus on the following key areas:
Conservation and promotion of biodiversity
Responsible management of water resources
Climate protection through science-based climate targets
Building and expanding traceable, deforestation-free and conversion-free supply chains
Responsible sourcing of critical raw materials such as palm oil, soy, cocoa, tea, coffee, wood and paper products
Responsible sourcing of farmed and wild-caught seafood, including the safeguarding of critical fishing grounds and stocks
Engaging in advocacy for more conscientious, sustainable diets and consumption
Reduction of food waste
The Port of Los Angeles is getting closer to reaching its goal of zero emission operations, deploying five electric top handlers each capable of grabbing 100,000 lb. shipping containers and stacking them up to six high. Visibly similar to forklifts, top handlers grab containers from the top instead of lifting from the bottom. The use an overhead boom to load heavy shipping containers onto truck trailers and train cars, unloading them, and stacking them on terminals between pickups and deliveries. And, after piloting a pair of prototypes back in 2020, Yusen Terminals has picked up the first five production units and put them to work at the Port of Los Angeles. Each of the Taylor Machine Works-built top loaders pack an enormous, 1 MW battery designed to operate for up to 18 hours between charges. Taylor says that’s enough for each 650V all-electric drivetrain to two-full shifts to cover back-to-back shifts moving hundreds of tons of materials, then be ready to go again after a five-hour session with a 180 kW DC fast charger.
Australia is facing an egg supply crunch thanks to bird flu outbreaks — and it’s led McDonald’s to trim breakfast hours by 90 minutes, the company announced. Australia has been battling outbreaks of the Avian influenza virus in the past few months, which has resulted in about 1 million egg-laying affected hens that have been euthanized to limit the spread of the disease, according to Murray Watt, the country’s minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Citing “industry challenges,” McDonald’s announced that it was temporarily serving breakfast until 10.30 a.m. instead of midday across Australia. Supermarkets have also reportedly restricted Australians, imposing a two-carton limit per consumer. Australian retail giants Coles and Woolworths reportedly imposed restrictions on how many cartons of eggs could be purchased in one transaction across most states.
That’s all for this week. Enjoy the weekend and the song of the week, Firework by Katy Perry.
