The cost of Foxconn's new Wisconsin plant is rising
The tech giant's $10 billion plant in Wisconsin is getting more and more expensive, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, which may discourage other companies from pulling similar moves, negating Trump's attempts to bring investment and manufacturing back to the U.S.
As one of Apple's suppliers, Foxconn's plan has been heralded by President Trump as an example of success for his America First policy. The project is bringing investment and manufacturing jobs to the U.S. — a double win.
Wisconsin originally offered Foxconn $3 billion in financial incentives, and now they're offering $1 billion more. According to the Journal, the state is responsible for 40% of the public bonds financing the project, so if it fails, Wisconsin will be in big trouble. And so will Trump's America First policy.
The Reaction: Corporate America is watching the Foxconn investment very closely. Trump is trying to force American companies to move overseas operations back to the U.S. by slapping tariffs on trading partners and limiting Chinese investment, but whether such a move is practical for supply chains remains to be seen.
If Foxconn's plant succeeds, more companies may follow suit. If not, businesses may shift or continue production overseas.
Amazon, eBay promise the EU they will crack down on counterfeits
The European Commission just signed a deal with four big e-commerce companies — including Amazon and eBay — to remove potential counterfeit items from their websites within two days of an alert from authorities and five days of an alert from a consumer, Reuters reported.
The announcement comes as the European Union (EU) reported 10% of EU consumers bought a fake product online in 2017 and 35% "wondered" if the item they were buying was fake.
The Reaction: As e-commerce rises, so do the number of counterfeits. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released a report outlining a plan to prevent counterfeit goods from entering the U.S., and the EU hosted a "Blockathon" last weekend to test blockchain as a way to track and verify authentic goods and nab fake ones before they pop up on an e-commerce site for purchase.
Getting e-commerce titans like Amazon and eBay on board with federal agencies' plans is the next step toward strengthening and securing supply chains.
If business and government can come to a successful arrangement to eliminate counterfeits without government mandates, it may preempt federal attempts to regulate e-commerce companies' sourcing strategies to stem the flow of counterfeits.
Big grocers are moving forward with blockchain
It seems Walmart's blockchain pilot has produced successful results, because now the retailer is joining forces with other food and grocery companies like Dole, Driscoll, McCormick, Nestlé, Kroger, Tyson and Unilever to build a blockchain platform to track produce from farm to table, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Reaction: Despite being written off as hype, blockchain appears to be proving itself useful to grocers. After multiple e. Coli and salmonella scares over the last few years affecting romaine lettuce at grocery stores and ingredients used by Chipotle, grocers are more committed than ever to finding a surer way to track and trace their products.
Earlier this year, the FDA urged the food industry to address the issue, and for major grocers, blockchain has passed enough initial tests to be worth a try, which may lead to more widespread adoption in various industries' supply chains.
In case you missed it
Domino's and Pizza Hut have teamed up with Ford and Toyota respectively to explore driverless car pizza delivery. American Express is partnering with Amazon to provide a new credit card for small businesses, which offers more options especially for online small businesses seeking to make a splash in e-commerce.
Chinese e-tailer JD.com has a fully automated warehouse that can process 200,000 packages a day and employs only four people, FreightWaves reported. DHL rolled out its first electric vehicle in Cambodia (and the first one in the country) to pick up and deliver packages, according to a press release emailed to Supply Chain Dive.
Jump Technologies will provide a cloud-based software to Texas hospitals to help them better manage and track inventory, potentially streamlining the healthcare supply chain, according to a press release emailed to Supply Chain Dive.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) posted a new infographic to its website that tracks electronic logging device (ELD) compliance and hours of service (HOS) compliance rates, which the agency said it will update monthly. According to the data, HOS compliance has improved as ELD implementation ramps up.
Looking ahead
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed a bill to improve maritime safety by instructing the Coast Guard to crack down on vessel inspections, which is likely to affect ocean carriers and ports and could temporarily delay some supply chains if the bill becomes law.
This Maritime Safety Act of 2018 is now headed to the House for a vote, according to World Maritime News.