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Trade Wars
Retailers Rush In Holiday Imports Early to Avoid Looming Costs
Ocean shipping rates are surging as U.S. retailers rush in clothes, electronics and holiday items to get ahead of rising costs caused by tariffs and the Iran war. The average cost to ship a 40-foot container from China to the U.S. West Coast hit $5,933 on Friday, a threefold increase from the end of February and the highest rate since September 2024, according to transportation intelligence company Xeneta. Peter Sand, Xeneta’s chief analyst, said rates could rise by another 30% before they peak.
Logistics industry specialists say importers are bringing forward orders for the busy end-of-year shopping seasons, including Halloween and Christmas, to avoid new tariffs taking effect at the end of July. Some companies have also been scrambling to beat a new round of bunker fuel surcharges that ocean carriers are expected to implement in the coming weeks to account for rising oil prices resulting from the war. The rush of imports caused the U.S. trade deficit to jump to $105.8 billion in May, a 27% increase from April, according to Commerce Department data.
Read more at WSJ
Rocket Lab to acquire Iridium Communications for $8B
Rocket Lab reached an agreement on Monday to acquire satellite services provider Iridium Communications for approximately $8 billion in cash and stock. “This acquisition fundamentally enhances our business model by combining our strong satellite subsystems, satellite platforms, and launch businesses with Iridium’s proven cash-generating satellite services business,” Rocket Lab CFO Adam Spice said in a video presentation. The companies’ boards of directors have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to be completed in mid-2027.
Rocket Lab’s acquisition of Iridium will be the manufacturer’s entrance into the space applications market, which the entity has “been talking about for a long time now,” CEO Peter Beck said during the company’s announcement. Rocket Lab, which was established in 2006, has access to space through its own launch capabilities and the ability to build spacecraft at scale, Beck said. The acquisition could also help level the playing field with rival SpaceX, which is in the process of completing its purchase of EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses for approximately $17 billion. The deal will enable EchoStar’s Boost Mobile subscribers to access SpaceX’s Starlink direct-to-cell service, according to the September 2025 press release.
Read more at Manfuacturing Dive
Ukrainian Drone Manufacturer Chooses Ohio For First US Assembly, Manufacturing Center
Ukrainian Defense Drones will build its first major factory in Holland, Ohio, according to a June 29 announcement from JobsOhio and the Ohio governor’s office. According to the release, UDD announced it would build the factory after its Ukrainian subsidiary, F-Drones, placed sixth in a Defense Department competition for drone manufacturers and receiving a prototype contract for 2,000 drones. To fill the contract, UDD will spend several million dollars to build its new factory in Holland, Ohio, JobsOhio reports. The exact cost of the factory was not disclosed. In addition to the contracted 2,000 drones, the new factory will include space for other unmanned systems, training and testing areas, and nonmilitary applications for drone hardware.
“Becoming the first Ukrainian drone manufacturer authorized by the Government of Ukraine to export drone systems to the U.S. military is a historic milestone, and the next step is to share the technology to produce these drones on American soil. We're proud to support the vision behind the emerging U.S.–Ukraine Drone Deal and to help strengthen the security and technological leadership of both our nations," said Stas Khutor, CEO of F-Drones.
Read more at Plant Services
Pirelli Plans Investments Worth Up To $1.2 Billion To Expand US Capacity
Italian tyremaker Pirelli on Tuesday said it had a multi-year investment plan for the United States worth around $1 billion to $1.2 billion and aimed at increasing production capacity in the country, including of its so-called Cyber Tyres. Pirelli said its new board was informed of the investment plan for the U.S., which will be submitted for approval at an upcoming meeting.
Pirelli in May said it would start producing Cyber Tyres at its U.S. plant in Rome, Georgia. The announcement came after the Italian government intervened to curb the powers of Pirelli's Chinese investor Sinochem (600500.SS), opens new tab because of the risks posed to the premium tyremaker's business ambitions in the United States. Cyber Tyre technology combines sensors embedded in tyres with software able to transmit real-time data to vehicles
Read more at Reuters
German Politicians Vow To Stop VW’s Mass Layoff Plan
German political leaders are responding to Volkswagen's bombshell plan to slash 100,000 jobs — potentially one of the largest corporate layoffs in history — with predictable pledges to prevent the cuts, even as Germany's economic reality grows darker. That sets up a clash between VW's increasingly aggressive corporate management and the politicians and unions that sit on the automaker's supervisory board — and who have the power to block the plans. Because of VW's unique corporate structure — and its partial ownership by the state of Lower Saxony — politicians and workers' representatives have an outsize role in how the company is run.
VW's push to cut nearly one in six workers and shut down four German plants is the most poignant sign yet of the growing desperation of Germany's manufacturing sector and its once-vaunted car industry, which have been hit particularly hard by competition from China and U.S President Donald Trump's tariff wars. The plan also shows that the problems inside Germany's largest and most iconic automaker are even deeper than previously acknowledged — and that Chief Executive Oliver Blume is growing more forceful in his push to restructure the company and cut costs.
Read more at Politico
How GE Vernova Builds The Massive Gas Turbines Powering The AI Data Center Boom
An exclusive look inside GE Vernova’s largest gas turbine plant in Greenville, South Carolina, offers fresh evidence that the artificial intelligence boom is going strong. Inside, engineers are working alongside factory workers to speed up production of this complex machine. The company hired 200 workers last year, and 300 more are expected to start working at this factory by the end of the year. Fueling the growth is AI.
The turbines are massive, at 31 feet tall and weighing 280 tons. One turbine can power roughly half a million homes. Microsoft just bought seven of them to power its data center in Texas. At 2.7 gigawatts, it’s enough electricity to power about 3 million homes. GE Vernova turbines are already online at Elon Musk’s xAI Colossus 1 campus in Tennessee, and nearly a gigawatt more are being deployed at OpenAI’s Stargate project in Texas, according to Cleanview, an organization that tracks data center development. Demand for these machines far outstrips supply, with the order book full through 2029. Pablo Koziner, chief commercial and operations officer at GE Vernova, told CNBC that the company is booking more into 2030 and even 2031.
Read more at CNBC
America Needs More Weapons. JPMorgan Wants to Add Its Firepower.
On a tour of a Huntsville, Ala., missile factory last fall, JPMorgan Chase JPM 0.10%increase; up pointing triangle Chief Executive Jamie Dimon nodded along as L3Harris executives explained why they need help building more of the expensive rocket motors for badly needed Tomahawk and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, missiles.L3Harris relies on procurement from the federal government, which can be stop-and-go, explained Ken Bedingfield, the company’s chief financial officer. Without enough capital, L3Harris can’t just build the motors at scale and have them on hand to sell later. The frustration comes as the U.S. faces a shortfall in weapon stocks, made even more dire since the war with Iran.
The discussion helped crystallize a broader idea Dimon had been pondering about JPMorgan’s role in national defense—and about his own legacy—people familiar with the matter said. JPMorgan, the biggest bank in America, has long lent money to and advised the defense industry. Now Dimon would start investing the bank’s own money—usually used for commercial and consumer lending or invested in Treasury bonds—into buying stock in the firms. It’s an inherently riskier strategy but also potentially more profitable. Soon after the factory visit, Dimon said the bank would use $10 billion of its capital to invest directly into companies the bank has defined as critical to national security and economic self-sufficiency.
Read more at the WSJ
China Eastern Airlines Picks Airbus for High-Volume Jet Order
Airbus is in line for a multi-billion aircraft order from one of China’s largest airlines, according to a statement by China Eastern Airlines. The state-owned carrier’s recent filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange indicates it plans to buy 25 A330neo aircraft for delivery between 2029 and 2033. The filing noted that the new jets will modernize and extend their current aircraft fleet. China Eastern Airlines is a longstanding Airbus customer, with 452 narrow-body and 56 widebody Airbus jets in service, and 155 A320neo and A321neo on order.
The A330neo is a widebody, twin-engine aircraft introduced in 2018 as a revision to the previous A330 to extend more fuel-efficiency thanks to the Trent 7000 engines and other aerodynamic improvements, as well as more passenger amenities for long-haul routes. The value of the investment was not stated in the filing, though reports estimated the purchase at $9.35 billion based on the book value of the aircraft. The additional cost of Rolls’ Trent 7000 engines would add as much as $2 billion to the total investment.
Read more at American Machinist
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