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Retailers scramble to save the US summer shopping season
After Washington and Beijing agreed on a temporary tariff cut, U.S. retailers such as Walmart and several clothing companies are racing to get China-made products for the busy summer season that begins in late May. According to Portless, the logistics company that helps U.S. brands import goods via air from China, orders for sundresses as well as bathing suits, clogs, and sunscreens have increased since Monday's agreement between Washington and Beijing to temporarily lower tariffs. Izzy Rosenzweig is the CEO of Portless. Portless counts Hapari swimwear and bug repellent manufacturer NatPat as clients. "They said, 'let's resume production and shipping.' John Harmon, managing Director of Technology Research at Coresight Research said that U.S. companies rely heavily on ocean shipping. However, it can take up to 60 days to get goods from China to the United States, depending on their destination and the size of the ship. Orders for summer can be placed in the late winter or the early spring, to allow time for new designs to be manufactured. Typically, U.S. retailers begin importing merchandise from China two to three months prior to Memorial Day this year. After U.S. President Donald Trump slapped Beijing with retaliatory fentanyl and tariffs totaling 155% on April 9, many U.S. firms paused orders. According to Vizion, data from brokerage TD Cowen on container bookings to the U.S. from China in the final week of April fell by nearly 50%. Harmon says that it could take a while to restart supply chains following the April pause. "It's been super busy the last two days," said Liu. A toy maker from Dongguan, an export hub in Southern China who declined to reveal her full name out of respect for her privacy. "We're booking containers, and some of our products are already on their way to Shenzhen Port." "In recent months, there were fewer trucks on the road, but today, there's a traffic jam heading to the port," Liu said. Liu serves Walmart, which is the largest importer of container goods in the United States. CONTAINER COSTS WORRIES Freight rates are not rising despite the rush to get goods to the U.S. Freightos data shows that the spot rate for a 40-foot (12-meter) container to be sent from China to U.S. West Coast increased 3% on a week-to-week basis to $2,395 Monday. This indicates that businesses are not flooding shippers with orders. The price is now half what it was in February when large companies were stocking up to avoid the tariffs that Trump had promised. Companies like Bogg Bag, however, are beginning to worry about container costs going through the roof. Kim Vaccarella said that the CEO of a tote bag maker sold by retailers such as Target has accelerated production for her China-made bags to ensure they arrive in New Jersey as soon as possible. She has chosen to focus on a few products that are popular instead of launching many new items at once. This allows them to move quickly. Walmart, who reported earnings on Thursday, as well as Costco and Target, rival retailers, front-loaded their orders at the beginning of the year. CFRA research analyst Arun Sunderam wrote on May 13 in a note. Sundaram reported that Walmart's inventory rose by about 3% during the quarter ending January 31. This was the first increase in almost two years. In the three-month period ending in February, Costco's inventories rose by nearly 10%. Zumiez, a retailer of surf and skateboard clothing, saw their inventories rise about 14%. Target's inventory rose by 7% in the same time period. Sundaram, a freight expert who anticipates an increase in freight prices, says that while the tariff reprieve on Monday is likely to be a boon for U.S. companies eager to stockpile summer merchandise, it may also create supply-chain congestion, although this will probably be less severe than the pandemic year of 2021-2022. On Wednesday, some Halloween decor manufacturers said they'd have to rush to make and ship hanging skeletons as well as costume props into the United States before the 90-day deadline. Gene Seroka said that businesses might not be able prepare fully for the summer as well as back-to school in July, which is another major retail season. Right now, we are looking at the final orders that will be sent in for back to school and perhaps some orders for summer fashion. Seroka explained that the situation was very tight. Stephen Lamar of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (of which Adidas America is a member) warned of congestion in ports if companies rushed to import goods. The tariff war has caused a delay of a month in the shipping back to school. Lamar said that school districts cannot delay the start of school for a whole month. (Reporting from Siddharth Cavale in New York, and Casey Hall and Jessica DiNapoli at New York; Additional reporting from Lisa Baertlein and Matthew Lewis in Los Angeles. Editing by Lisa Jucca & Matthew Lewis.
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Maguire: US and Europe are driving global power emissions up to 2025.
China, the world's biggest power polluter, has made its largest reduction in power emissions since 2020 this year. However, global power emissions are still largely flat, due to increased fossil fuel power production in the United States, and Europe. Ember data shows that the United States and Europe combined emitted 801 millions metric tons (CO2) of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel based electricity production from January to March. This was the highest quarter-on-quarter emissions since 2022, at 53 million tons. As a result, despite China being the most polluting country in the world, global pollution levels are still high. The U.S. is about to enter the most fossil-fuel intensive generation period, while China's manufacturers are increasing output during the U.S. trade truce. This will cause global power emissions to continue rising. They may even reach new heights by 2025. FOSSIL RIFLED In the first months of 2025, both in the United States as well as Europe, power producers increased their generation from fossil fuels like coal and gas. In Europe, low sustained wind speeds have reduced clean energy supplies and forced utilities into compensating with 8% higher fossil fuel output from January to March 2024. According to Ember, the output of coal and gas-fired power plants grew by 6% in the first quarter 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. The United States' steadily increasing power demand, coupled with the strong support of fossil fuels by the new administration under President Donald Trump, prompted utilities to increase fossil fuel output from January to March by 4% compared to the previous year. The sharp rise in gas prices forced utilities to prioritize generation from coal plants that are cheaper to operate. Coal-fired output increased by 23% between January and March 2025 compared to the same months of 2024. The output of gas-fired electricity fell 4%. ECONOMIC DRAG China's power demand in the first months of 2025 will be affected by its stalled economy. This has been hindered by a long-lasting credit crisis in the construction sector and, more recently, by the United States trade war. The lower output of industrial plants and factories reduced the demand for electricity by the commercial sector. This allowed utilities to reduce their output from fossil fuels from January to March by 4% compared to the same period in the year 2024. China's manufacturers will likely increase production in the future, following the recent announcement of a 90-day truce on trade between China and the United States. The increase in factory activity will cause a rise in power demand and force Chinese power companies to boost their fossil fuel output to ensure sufficient power supply over the next few months. EMISSIONS PEAK The U.S. energy firms will also ramp up fossil fuel-fired production as summer is the time when the demand for power in the U.S. is highest. This is because air conditioners are the most energy-intensive. Solar power production in the U.S. reaches its peak during summer, providing utilities with clean energy. The majority of electricity will still be supplied by fossil fuels, particularly in the evenings, when solar power drops and air conditioners are used more. With benchmark U.S. Natural Gas prices around 40% higher than they were in May 2024, utilities are likely to continue to deploy large volumes of coal-fired electricity within their generation networks. This will increase overall power emissions as U.S. energy firms emit far more CO2 when they generate power using coal than with gas. According to Ember, in 2024, U.S. electricity firms will emit around 950,000 tons CO2 per terawatt-hour (TWh) for coal-fired power and 540,000 tons CO2 per TWh for gas-fired power. Add to that the fact that China is expected to increase its generation - 60% of the electricity in China comes from coal - and you have a recipe for an even greater rise in global power emission in the months ahead. These are the opinions of a columnist who writes for.
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Venture Global calls on FERC for a reaffirmation of Louisiana LNG project approval
Venture Global, a U.S. liquefied gas company, is requesting approval before June 26 for its CP2 Louisiana plant. This was stated in a Wednesday letter to Chairman Mark Christie of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The U.S. has the largest LNG exports in the world. The construction of the 28-million-metric-ton per annum plant (MTPA) will allow it to maintain its position as the top exporter of supercooled gas. Venture Global said that it would give financial approval to the project before the middle of 2025. However, the company does not have the authorization to build the plant as its initial approval was revoked by FERC pending a supplemental study on the effect of the plant on air quality. Last Friday, FERC concluded its environmental study. It found that there would not be any significant cumulative impacts on air quality. Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel wrote in a letter to Christie: "We are clearly committed to investing our own capital to advance the Project... but the Commission must act." According to LSEG, Venture Global is the US's second largest LNG exporter. It has also been responsible for the majority of the industry expansion in the United States since 2023. If built, CP2 would be the largest LNG facility in the United States. Reporting by Sherin Varghese, Curtis Williams and Ni Williams.
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Vizion reports that China-US ocean cargo bookings have increased after the tariff pause.
Container-tracking software company Vizion reported on Wednesday that U.S. bookings of container transports from China to the United States increased by almost 300% after the United States and China suspended their punishing tit for tat tariffs. Ben Tracy, vice president of strategic development at the company, said that the average bookings during the week ended Wednesday increased by 277% from 5,709 20-foot equivalent unit to 21,530 TEUs. Importers in the United States slowed down their shipments following Trump's announcement on April 2 that he would impose 145% tariffs for goods made in China. The trade has resumed after the United States announced on Monday a 90-day truce in their brutal trade war. The United States announced that it would lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30% in April, while China reduced duty on U.S. imported goods to 10% from 125%. Tracy stated that "we are definitely beginning to see bookings returning now that this temporary pausing is in place." Hapag-Lloyd, a German container shipping company, announced earlier this Wednesday that its bookings for U.S.-China travel were up by 50% week-on-week in the first days of this week. Rolf Habben Jansen, the CEO of Rolf Habben Jansen, said: "I anticipate that we will see more volume between China and the U.S. This is what we've already seen in the past few days."
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New Fortress Energy reports a quarterly loss due to weak performance across all segments
New Fortress Energy reported a loss for the first quarter of the year on Wednesday. The U.S. LNG company struggled to perform well across all its segments. This sent the shares plummeting nearly 19% during extended trading. Excelerate Energy purchased the company's assets and operations in Jamaica for $1.06billion. The New York company delayed its announcement of first-quarter results from Monday to allow it to complete the deal. Wes Edens, CEO of Excelerate, said: "The sale of our Jamaican assets is a milestone for our company. We are able to streamline our operations while paying down corporate debt by selling assets." New Fortress had a long-term debt of $8.9 billion, according to LSEG, at the end the first quarter. It began to explore options last year such as bringing in strategic investors or selling assets after deferring a dividend to shareholders to conserve cash and working out a deal to delay maturities with bondholders. The company's financial problems stem from the fact that it was unable to secure LNG on long-term contracts for its power generation assets in Latin America because its credit rating wasn't investment grade and they had to purchase gas at higher rates. New Fortress total revenue dropped to $470.5 in the first quarter from $690.3 during the same period last year. Operating margins at its Terminals and Infrastructure unit fell 78.7%, to $74.6million during the quarter. The operating margin for the Ships segment dropped to $31.4m from $34.2m a year ago. The company reported a loss of $197.4 millions, or 73c per share, in the quarter that ended on March 31. This compares to a profit of $56.7million, or 26c per share, one year ago. (Reporting from Pooja in Bengaluru, Editing by Leroy Leo.)
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A regulator warns that a large part of North America could face power shortages this summer.
A changing mix of energy supplies is increasing reliability risks in the middle of the U.S. The North American Electricity Reliability Corporation reported that the demand for electricity in the United States has increased by 10 gigawatts, more than double the increase of last year. This is due to the retirement of fossil-fired energy sources and the rapid growth of solar power. As electricity demand increases from data centers, manufacturing, and electrification in industries such as transportation, power generation sources on the North American grid shift from 24/7 power plants, like coal and nukes, to intermittent supplies from renewables like solar and winds. According to NERC this change poses new challenges to grid reliability in the summer when energy-hungry air conditioners threaten to drain resources from the grid, causing power shortages. ERCOT will test the grid in the evenings, when the demand for electricity increases, but the solar output decreases. John Moura, NERC, said during the annual Summer Reliability Assessment call that "when the sun goes down and that time period of late evening or early morning, there is a potential for failure." Low wind power production could upset the balance between supply and demand in the Southwest Power Pool. This pool covers Montana, New Mexico, and Nebraska. MISO, the major Midwestern grid operator, will have less supply this year than last, as 1,575 megawatts in natural gas and coal generation has been retired since last summer. New England, a region that is outlier, is also at risk. Since last summer, North America is expected to retire more than 7 gigawatts in fossil-fired energy generation. This includes coal and natural gas. NERC's report states that, at the same time, as these 24/7 power supplies retire, 30 gigawatts solar capacity and 13 gigawatts battery storage capacity have been added to the continent in the past year. Moura, the NERC reliability assessment and system analyst, explained that to avoid shortages during summer, both the U.S. Moura: "As the demand increases, we need to build infrastructure."
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Algeria has bought 660,000 tonnes of milling wheat at a tender, traders claim
European traders reported that Algeria's state grain agency OAIC bought approximately 660,000 metric tonnes of milling wheat at an international auction that ended on Wednesday. They said that the total cost of the ton, including freight and other costs (c&f), was $244.50. Most traders estimated the volume to be 660,000 tonnes, while some estimates put it at 700,000. Initial assessments indicated that the bulk of the purchases would come from the Black Sea Region, primarily Russia and Romania, but also possibly Ukraine. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is possible to estimate prices and volume later. Algeria usually buys much more than the nominal volume. Wheat can be supplied from any approved origin. Wheat is needed for two shipping periods, including Europe. The dates are July 1-15 and then July 16-31. The wheat is shipped a month sooner if it comes from South America or Australia. Algeria is an important customer of wheat imported from the European Union and France in particular, but Russian exporters as well as those from other Black Sea regions have seen a strong expansion on the Algerian market. According to traders, a diplomatic split between France and Algeria has led the grains agency tacitly to exclude French wheat and trading firms from its tenders. Relations between the two countries remain tense. OAIC purchased an estimated 570,000 tonnes of milling wheat in its previous reported tender on 16 April. This was largely expected to come from the Black Sea area. Reporting by Michael Hogan, Hamburg; Gus Trompiz, Paris; Editing by David Goodman
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Algeria purchases milling wheat at tender, traders claim
European traders reported that Algeria's state grain agency OAIC bought milling wheat at an international auction which ended on Wednesday. They said that the initial cost of a metric tonne, including freight and costs (c&f), was around $244.50. It was initially unclear what the exact size of the order in terms of tonnage would be. The initial estimates of traders indicated a large order of between 600,000.00 and 700,000.00 metric tons. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. Algeria usually buys much more than a nominal volume of 50,000 metric tonnes. Wheat can be supplied from any approved origin. Wheat is shipped in two phases from the main regions of supply, including Europe: July 16-31 and July 1-15. The shipment date is one month earlier if the wheat comes from South America or Australia. Algeria is an important customer of wheat imported from the European Union and France in particular, but Russian exporters as well as those from other Black Sea regions have seen a strong expansion on the Algerian market. According to traders, a diplomatic split between France and Algeria has led the grains agency tacitly to exclude French wheat and trading firms from its tenders. Relations between the two countries remain tense. Reporting by Michael Hogan from Hamburg and Gus Trompiz from Paris
Canadian oil and natural gas producer Strathcona sold Montney assets to Canadian company Strathcona for $2.84 billion, and acquired Hardisty terminal
Strathcona Resources, a Canadian oil and gas company, announced on Wednesday that it had sold its Montney assets to Hardisty Rail Terminal for approximately $2.84 billion as part of a "core area consolidation strategy".
Hardisty, formerly owned by USD Partners is Western Canada's biggest crude-by rail terminal. According to USD Partners' website, it is one of North America’s largest crude oil hubs and an origination point of export pipelines into the United States.
Strathcona purchased Hardisty in the first quarter this year for approximately $45 million, according to its announcement. Strathcona, along with Hamlin Terminal would own and operate rail facilities that handle about 80% Western Canada's crude-byrail volume.
The company sold the Grade Prairie asset, which was worth around $850 millions, as well as its Groundbirch asset, to Tourmaline Oil, for $291.50.
The company expects to complete the asset sales for Kakwa, Grande Prairie and Groundbirch in the early third quarter of this year and in the second half.
The company has also revised its guidance and projected second-quarter production of 180 million barrels equivalent per day (Mboe/d) in 2025.
In a press release, the company said that the full-year production in 2025 is expected to be between 150-160 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with 120 - 125 thousand barrels a day (Mbbls/d), being anticipated in the third- and fourth-quarters after the Montney assets dispositions.
Strathcona became public in 2023, after it acquired its smaller competitor Pipestone Energy. According to LSEG, it has a $4.17 billion market capitalisation. Chandni Shah in Bengaluru, Sonia Cheema & Janane Venkatraman edited the report.
(source: Reuters)