Good day,
Costco gets high marks from customers for its low prices and high quality products. But the big box retailer scores toward the bottom when it comes to online grocery delivery, Yahoo reports. According to a survey of 2,000 U.S. shoppers and 220 supermarket store managers by Citi, just 18 percent of Costco’s members shop the company’s website on a regular basis, and only 7 percent have shopped for food online. But change may be on the horizon, as the retail giant has closed deals with Instacart and Shipt, and is opening a new $100 million e-commerce fulfillment center in southern California.
Did you know?
Class 8 truck production is expected to continue growing in 2019, before an anticipated drop late in the year and into 2020. Diesel is still the dominate power source and vocational truck demand is more stable than tractors demand.
Source: Act Research and Rhein Associates, N.A. Commercial Vehicle On-Highway Engine OUTLOOK
Quotable
“There are growing calls on the U.S. side for complete decoupling, which is causing Chinese enterprises to re-evaluate their reliance not just on U.S. technology but also on other U.S. resources, including financial markets.”
–Andy Mok, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, referring to the ways in which the trade war could expand into Wall Street (NewYorkTimes)
In other news
SoftBank’s Vision Fund aims to borrow $4 billion against its stakes in Uber, Slack and Guardant Health
The fund is arranging a loan secured against its holdings in the three Silicon Valley companies. (Financial Times)
Europe gets first luxury CBD e-commerce site
The Chillery aims to bring CBD beauty and wellness products to the high-end European market. (BusinessofFashion)
Seattle explores options for congestion pricing
The city released its initial findings showing how congestion pricing could work in Seattle. (Curbed)
Biodiesel fuels made greatest impact on emissions reductions
Data from California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard program shows that biodiesel and renewable diesel fuel use eliminated 4.3 million tons of carbon dioxide in California in 2018, more than any other fuel type. (Truckinginfo.com)
Final thoughts
Everett, Washington has always had a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to Seattle, its more glamorous cousin down south. Yesterday’s announcement that NSF International, a global public health and safety organization, has moved its seafood services program from Seattle to the Port of Everett should give the region an ego boost. The new location allows for more convenient access for both U.S. and Canadian seafood industries, and marks a new collaboration with the Washington State University/University of Idaho Center for Advanced Food Technology. “The Port of Everett is in the midst of a commercial and private expansion wave,” said Tom White, global manager for certification and audits for NSF International’s seafood services, in a release. “We’re excited to open our new headquarters in such a bustling and visually stunning location.”
Hammer down, everyone!
