Good day,
“If we would go back 30 years to 1989, milk was present at 15% at all occasions in the home. Fast-forward to today, that number is now 9%,” Darren Seifer, NPD’s food and beverage industry analyst, told Fast Company on Nov. 12. “It’s a pretty steep decline in how often we’re having milk, not to mention dairy alternatives.” Seifer was quoted in a story about Dean Foods, the nation’s largest milk producer, filing for bankruptcy earlier this week. The $10 billion company has struggled as millennials shifted to plant-based milks and Walmart, a former customer, opened its owned dairy plants. Dean Foods’ sales declined 7% in the first half of the year, and profit fell 14%. So far in 2019, the company’s stock has lost 80% of its value. The Dallas-based company’s brands include DairyPure, TruMoo, Land O’Lakes, Country Fresh, Dean’s, Garelick Farms and Friendly’s.
Did you know?
Tariffs the U.S. imposed over the past two years – and retaliatory tariffs that followed – threaten more than $186 billion in U.S. economic activity and could add $31 billion to $35 billion in additional costs to manufacturers and consumers, according to a study released Nov. 12 by the Port of Los Angeles.
Via FreightWaves
Quotable
“If they’re going to throw things at us as if they are a news story, it does have to be vetted as a news story. If they are going to throw a picture of a ball at us because they want us to buy a ball, it’s very different.”
– Author Ben Mezrich, on Facebook needing to vet the content of political ads (FreightWaves)
In other news
Egyptian transport start-up targets Philippines, Bangladesh after Pakistan launc
Swvl, an Egyptian startup with an app to book bus tickets, plans to launch operations in the Philippines, Indonesia and Bangladesh by the end of next year.(Reuters)
Port of Auckland hydrogen plant delays won’t affect 2020 opening
The facility, which will be the first of its type in Auckland, will initially produce the carbon-free fuel for forklifts and cars. (Stuff.co.nz)
UCLA health center receives electric Winnebago as nation’s first zero-emission mobile surgical instrument lab
The mobile facility will travel between UCLA hospitals to sterilize surgical instruments. (PRnewswire)
Amazon loses as avowed socialist declares victory in Seattle city council race
The e-commerce giant tried (and failed) to swing the election by giving $1.5 million to an opponent through a political action committee. (Vox)
Final thoughts,
The trucking industry is stepping up opposition to AB5, the California labor law that seeks to limit the use of independent contractors. On Nov. 12, the California Trucking Association (CTA) filed a legal challenge against the bill, stating that more than 70,000 independent truckers will be unable to work under the new law, FreightWaves reported. “At the core of the trucking industry of this fight is that 80% of our drivers don’t have college educations,” Chris Shimoda, vice president of government affairs for CTA, said. “So the pathway for them to become entrepreneurs and to become part of the middle- and upper-middle class that has been an opportunity is to own multiple trucks and become part of the American dream.”
Hammer down, everyone!