Zhimeitong | International Highlights

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[Amazon will close its independent website Selz] Recently , Amazon announced that it will close the Australian independent website building platform Selz, which it acquired in 2021. In a statement to GeekWire, an Amazon spokesperson said: "We will continue to support Selz merchants , however, after a comprehensive review, we have made the difficult decision to no longer offer the Selz platform. We are committed, however, to give Selz Merchants have 60 days to transition to other platforms while waiving the associated monthly and annual fees.”

The risk of power shortages is rising across the U.S. U.S. power operators have warned that the risk of power shortages is rising across the U.S. as traditional power plants are being retired faster than renewables and battery storage can replace them. California energy officials have warned that the state could be at risk of blackouts for the next three summers due to power shortages and extreme weather. The state could experience a shortfall of about 1,700 megawatts of power supply capacity this summer, which could widen to 1,800 megawatts by 2025. The situation could be worse in the event of an extreme heatwave or wildfire.

Wind and solar power are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation, but both require large batteries to store their output for use. While vast amounts of battery storage are being developed, U.S. regional grid operators recently warned that the pace may not be fast enough.

[Best Buy expands into beauty and furniture categories] Best Buy, best known for selling electronics, is expanding its business into beauty products and outdoor furniture. The company announced that it now sells dozens of beauty and skincare devices, including face steamers and at-home groomers, in nearly 300 stores and websites. Best Buy's chief marketing officer said the moves were cues gleaned from feedback from the company's customers and employees.

[Amazon fires 'first unionized warehouse' management] Amazon fired about six executives at the Staten warehouse, most of whom were involved in unionizing. Multiple warehouse employees broke the news that Amazon's firing measure was a retaliation for the vote to join the union. In this regard, Amazon said that part of the company's corporate culture is continuous improvement of management, and the company believes it is necessary to assess whether its teams have achieved optimal management. Over the past few weeks, Amazon has reviewed Staten warehouse operations and management, and then made some management adjustments.

Paid service auto-renews, Amazon sued by users – Some users claim in a lawsuit that Amazon made canceling service subscriptions too difficult and unnecessarily confusing, a practice they say the internet retailer is doing in violation of California Provisions Regarding Automatic Renewal Services. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco by three California residents, claims that they signed up for free trials of Amazon's services, but the company converted those services into paid subscriptions without their consent.

[Organization: The value of the US live broadcast industry will reach $35 billion in 2024] Influencer Marketing data shows that from March 2020 to July 2021, the global live broadcast e-commerce purchase volume increased by 76%, and the live broadcast e-commerce industry is developing steadily, and , the conversion rate through live streaming is ten times higher than other forms of e-commerce. Some experts predict that by 2024, the value of the live shopping industry in the United States will reach 35 billion US dollars.

Notably, millennials make up more than half of the user base of the overseas version of TikTok. According to the agency's survey, 40% of this group purchased at least one good or service while watching a social media live broadcast. With a current purchasing power of $360 billion, millennials are undoubtedly a lucrative market.

[Google adjusts performance evaluation system: reduce evaluation frequency or disguised salary increase] According to reports, Google is adjusting the performance evaluation system, through some changes to "disguised salary increase" for employees, so as to ease the salary issue between ordinary employees and leadership. contradiction. Internal documents show that starting this week, Google will use an updated performance review process called Google Assessment and Development (GRAD), reducing the frequency of reviews from twice a year to once a year and giving managers greater assessment responsibility, and no longer rely excessively on peer assessment.

[Google forms Web3 team to provide services to blockchain developers] According to reports, Google is forming a Web3 team with the purpose of providing back-end services for developers running blockchain applications.

The team is understood to belong to Google Cloud Services, Google Cloud VP Amit Zavery told employees in an email Friday, saying the goal is to make Google Cloud Platform the first choice for developers in the field.

[Source: Ford is selling 8 million Rivian shares] Ford Motor (Ford) is selling its 8 million Rivian shares, sources said. Shares in Ford and Rivian, the popular electric car maker, will be locked until they expire on Sunday. According to reports, Ford will sell the shares through Goldman Sachs.

[U.S. non-farm payrolls increased more than expected in April and the unemployment rate was flat at 3.6%] The U.S. employment continued to rise strongly in April, and wage growth moderated, but the unexpected decline in the labor force participation rate showed that the labor market will remain too tight. Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 428,000 in April, largely in line with the increase in March. The unemployment rate was steady at 3.6%, and the size of the labor force fell. Average hourly wages rose month-on-month.

[Biden will speak on inflation] US President Joe Biden is preparing to deliver an important speech on inflation on May 10, local time, and he will give him the opportunity to reduce the pressure on the cost of living for American families, a US government official said. The plan contrasts with that proposed by Republicans. Biden, for example, is likely to criticize the plan proposed by Republican Senator Rick Scott, which Democrats say would raise taxes on about 75 million Americans and could cripple benefits such as Medicare and Medicaid.

[U.S. gasoline average price rose 15 cents to $4.38 a gallon] According to reports, the average price of regular-grade gasoline in the United States rose 15 cents a gallon to $4.38 a gallon in the past two weeks. The average price of diesel soared 43 cents a gallon in two weeks to $5.58 a gallon.

U.S. fuel prices surge faster than crude oil as U.S. export demand squeezes domestic market Faster than the price of crude oil. Traders said global fuel inventories were unlikely to build rapidly due to the slow pace of production increases by big producers such as OPEC. The tight fuel market is all the more worrying because it shows refiners are struggling to meet demand, even as the government unleashes massive reserves to make more crude available to the market. Since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on February 24, U.S. crude oil futures have risen nearly 17%, U.S. gasoline futures have risen more than 30%, and U.S. heating oil futures, the best approximation of diesel, have risen as much as 40%, data show.

[The United States makes the third anti-dumping sunset review final ruling on wooden bedroom furniture] The US Department of Commerce announced that it has made the third anti-dumping fast sunset review final ruling on wooden bedroom furniture imported from China (Wooden Bedroom Furniture). If the anti-dumping duties in this case are cancelled, the dumping of the products involved in China will continue or occur again at a dumping rate of 198.08%. The U.S. Harmonized Tariff Numbers of the products involved are 9403.50.9042, 9403.50.9045, 9403.50.9080, 9403.90.7005, 9403.90.7080, 9403.50.9041, 9403.60.8081, 9403.20.0018, 9403.90.190091, 9403.90.19009 .5000.

[The United States makes the fifth double-reverse sunset review of iron construction castings to finalize the industry injury] The US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to make the fifth anti-dumping against iron construction castings (Iron Construction Castings) imported from Brazil, Canada and China Affirmative final determination of industrial damage, the fifth affirmative final determination of industrial damage on iron construction castings imported from Brazil: ruling that if the current anti-dumping and countervailing measures are cancelled, within a reasonably foreseeable period, the import of the products involved will be exempted. Substantial damage to U.S. domestic industry may continue or recur. According to the final ruling, the current anti-dumping and countervailing measures in this case continue to be effective. In this ruling, five members of the US International Trade Commission voted affirmatively.

[The U.S. initiates the third anti-dumping sunset review investigation on frozen and canned warm water shrimp] The U.S. Department of Commerce issued an announcement on the import of frozen and canned warm water shrimp (Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp) from China, India, Thailand and Vietnam. Initiated the third anti-dumping sunset review investigation. At the same time, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) launched the third sunset review industrial injury investigation in this case to examine whether the current anti-dumping measures will be cancelled within a reasonably foreseeable period. Whether substantial harm to U.S. domestic industry caused by imports will continue or recur. Stakeholders should register with the US Department of Commerce within 10 days from the date of this announcement. Stakeholders should submit responses to the ITC by June 1, 2022, and comments on the adequacy of the responses in this case by July 14, 2022.

[The latest Global Food Crisis Report: Sudden food insecurity levels hit a new high] The Global Network for Response to Food Crisis (GNAFC) released its latest annual report on the 4th local time in Rome, showing that sudden food insecurity levels hit a new high. The number of people facing acute food insecurity and in need of emergency food aid and livelihood support continues to grow at an alarming rate. Therefore, it is more urgent than ever to address food crises at their root causes, not just to respond to them after they occur.

[World’s strongest heatwave on record confirmed] A heatwave swept across western North America, setting an all-time high temperature of 49.6°C for Canada (4.6°C higher than the previous peak) and leading the US state of California to declare a state of emergency. According to new research published in the journal Science Advances by researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK, the heatwave is one of the most extreme to be observed anywhere in the world on record, and will change in the future as the climate worsens be stronger.

[Canada's two largest telecom giants $16 billion merger deal will challenge antitrust agency decision] Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications, two of Canada's largest wireless, TV and Internet communications companies, said the country's antitrust watchdog intends to block the two sides' $16 billion Dollar merger plans, the two companies plan to try to save the deal in court. The two companies announced plans last year to merge. In one of the most high-profile deals in Canada in years, the two sides said the merger would help accelerate the rollout of 5G wireless services across the country.

[How to solve the "capacity bottleneck" of the sharp drop in sales of new energy vehicles in Europe in April] The latest data shows that in the eight European countries (ie Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Sweden), the number of new energy vehicle registrations in April was only 122,000, down 39% month-on-month and 5% year-on-year. All segments performed poorly. In April, the two largest markets for new energy vehicles in Europe, Germany and France, saw a drop of nearly 30% month-on-month in new energy vehicle registrations. As the market with the highest penetration rate of new energy vehicles, Norway fell by more than 40% month-on-month.

[Germany starts injecting gas into the Leyden gas storage facility to help increase natural gas supply] According to media reports, Germany began injecting gas into the Leyden natural gas storage facility in the north of the country on May 5, local time, to help Germany increase supply. The gas storage facility was originally controlled by Gazprom, but has been taken over by the German government since April. The Raiden gas storage can reportedly hold 4 billion cubic meters of gas, but received only a small amount last winter.

The RBA sharply raised its inflation forecast, signaling more rate hikes to come In its quarterly statement on monetary policy, the RBA warned that core inflation could hit 4.6% by December, a full two percentage points higher than the forecast given in February. That would be well above the RBA's 2-3 per cent target range, and inflation is not expected to return to the top of the range until mid-2024, suggesting a protracted tightening cycle is on the horizon. RBA President Lowe wrote that this will require further rate hikes in the period ahead. Markets are pricing in another rate hike to at least 0.60% in June, followed by monthly hikes to 2.75% by Christmas.

[Colombia’s inflation rate rose to 9.23% in April this year, a new high in nearly 22 years] The latest data released by the Colombian National Bureau of Statistics on the 5th local time showed that Colombia’s inflation rate rose to 9.23% in April this year, the highest level since July 2000. the highest level. In the month, the national consumption cost of residents rose by 1.25 percentage points, an increase of 0.59 percentage points over the same period last year. Among them, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased the most, up 26.17% year-on-year, and the price of catering, hotels and household goods increased by more than 10%.

[Mercado libre plans to recruit 14,000 people in Latin America in 2022] According to reports, Argentine e-commerce merchant Mercado libre plans to recruit 14,000 people in Latin America in 2022, increasing the total number of employees from 32,000 to 46,000. Of the 14,000 new hires, 8,000 will be used in logistics networks, 4,000 in technical areas, including programmers, data analysts and application designers, and the remaining 2,000 will be in marketing, administration and finance and other business areas. At the same time, the company decided to adopt a long-term telecommuting system so that its 18,000 office employees can optimize work arrangements, balance their personal lives and better avoid infection.

[Argentina makes preliminary anti-dumping ruling on Chinese acrylic sheets] The Ministry of Production and Development of Argentina issued Announcement No. sin metalizar, de espesor superior o igual a 2mm, pero inferior o igual a 200mm,incluso presentadas con láminas de protección descartables en una o ambas caras y placas, láminas, hojas y tiras de poli (Metacrilato de Metilo) exclusivamente,no celular, sin metalizar; cuadradas o rectangulares con los vértices ligeramente redondeados, incluso combinados con plástico bordeando todo superímetro, de espesor superior o igual a 2mm pero inferior o igual a 200mm, presentadas con o sin láminas descartables de protección en una o ambas caras) Preliminary ruling, preliminary ruling not to levy temporary anti-dumping duties, continue anti-dumping investigation. The product involved is a thickness of 2 mm or more but less than or equal to 200 mm, square or rectangular (with slightly rounded corners), single or double-sided with or without disposable protective film, non-honeycomb, non-metallized polymethyl methacrylate (also known as acrylic or plexiglass) sheets and strips, involving products under MERCOSUR tax numbers 3920.51.00 and 3926.90.90. The announcement takes effect from the date of publication.

[SIA: Global chip market growth slowed in March] According to data, in the first quarter of 2022, the global chip market grew by 23% year-on-year, but the year-on-year growth rate in March dropped from 32.4% in February to 23.0%, of which China The market fell to 17.3% from 21.8% in February. The slowdown in monthly growth may represent an inflection point after strong growth in previous months, but it is unclear whether this is a temporary phenomenon caused by the confinement of the outbreak in Southeast Asia, or a more fundamental cyclical change before the recession.

[Organization: Samsung's smartphone shipments in the first quarter ranked first in the world] Canalys issued a document stating that in the first quarter of 2022, global smartphone shipments reached 311.2 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 11%. Samsung regained the crown after updating its 2022 product mix, with shipments reaching 73.7 million units, still down 4% from a year ago. With strong market demand for the iPhone 13 series and the launch of the new iPhone SE models, Apple achieved a steady growth of 8%, with shipments reaching 56.5 million units. Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo rounded out the top five.

[Indian grocery delivery platform Zepto is valued at $900 million] According to reports, Indian grocery delivery platform Zepto said it has raised $200 million in Series D financing, bringing the company’s valuation to $900 million. Founded last year, Zepto is a grocery delivery platform that provides users with a one-stop service for daily necessities, grocery delivery within 10 minutes, and more. Zepto's CEO said the company is offering services in 11 cities and plans to use the new funding to expand to as many as 24 new cities in the next quarter.

Zhimeitong | Logistics Highlights

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[China United Shipping South China-West America TPC Route Upgrade] China United Shipping recently announced the launch of the TP2.0 version. According to reports, the upgrade of the TPC route is the core product of the TP2.0 version, and was officially launched at the Yantian International Container Terminal on May 5 through the MV RENJIAN 9 E2217 voyage. The new TPC route is the core liner route and has the following main features:

Ship order: China United Shipping will invest 7 RJ series 4250TEU container ships to operate TPC routes on a fixed basis;

Fixed terminal: US fixed terminal, special berth, TPC route and Los Angeles (LA) TraPac terminal company signed a long-term agreement, arriving and berthing at TraPac terminal fixed berth every Sunday. At the same time, in southern China, it calls at Xiamen, Nansha and Yantian ports, berths at Yantian International YICT every Thursday, and leaves the port early on Friday to Los Angeles.

Zhimeitong | Domestic Highlights

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[State Post Bureau: The postal industry business revenue in the first quarter increased by 10 % year-on-year] According to the data of the State Post Bureau, in the first quarter, the total business volume and business income of the postal industry completed 335.43 billion yuan and 326.88 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 10.7% and 10.0% year-on-year respectively. Among them, the express delivery business volume and business income completed 24.23 billion pieces and 239.28 billion yuan respectively, a year-on-year increase of 10.5% and 6.9% respectively. Affected by the multi-point spread of the epidemic, the growth rate of major economic indicators in the industry has slowed down.

Zhimeitong | E-commerce highlights

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[Policy update, FBA Ratings and Resale Program will no longer accept manually created orders] The FBA Ratings and Resale Program will no longer accept manually created orders. This policy is currently implemented on Amazon's US and UK sites. The automatic removal of unsellable items means that unsellable inventory in the Amazon fulfillment center does not need to be manually set, and will be automatically set to "automatic removal". Amazon has added a value recovery option for these unsellable inventory.

Save time, sellers can fully control product price discounts according to the status of second-hand products;

The seller's large inventory will be automatically checked, republished and possibly resold to buyers;

Automatically in the event of a return, making stock available for sale as quickly as possible;

Reduce the number of items that may be discarded and find a second buyer for buyer returns.

[eBay issued a statement: The partial refund of the transaction fee ratio for partial refunds in the United States will take effect from May 23, 2022] eBay announced that it will adjust seller fees to support sellers in handling related matters for buyers. Beginning May 23, 2022, after a seller issues a partial refund to a buyer, eBay will automatically credit the seller's closing fee portion on a pro-rata basis based on the adjusted total sales.

In addition, eBay will automatically pro-rate a portion of other applicable fees, including the Promoted Listings Standard fees for global sellers and international fees. Other fees such as the $0.30 per order fee, the Promoted Listings Express fee and the Promoted Listings Advanced fee will not be refunded.

[eBay issued a delayed loan policy for accounts that do not meet the effective tracking rate of logistics in Australia] In order to provide buyers with a better shopping experience, eBay requires sellers to use the same level of logistics services selected by buyers for delivery. If the buyer chooses the trackable logistics service, the seller needs to use the trackable logistics service for delivery, and upload the tracking number to the eBay platform in time. In order to standardize sellers' correct use of logistics services that are consistent with buyers' choices and to upload logistics tracking information in a timely manner, eBay will launch a delayed loan policy on eBay Australia on June 1, 2022 for accounts whose logistics effective tracking rate* fails to meet the standard.

According to the eBay Australia station logistics effective tracking rate * the delayed release policy of the account that does not meet the standard, if the seller's account on eBay Australia station logistics effective tracking rate (Valid Tracking Rate) is lower than 95%, and the seller's item is located in Australia, the buyer chooses For Trackable Logistics Service Shipments:

The relevant transaction amount will be delayed until the logistics tracking information of the transaction is connected to the eBay platform.

If the transaction has no tracking information, the transaction amount of the transaction will be delayed until 3 days after the estimated delivery date.

Last Morning Post: E-commerce growth slowed down: Shopify’s performance in the first quarter did not meet the target, and the number of Wayfair active users fell by 23% year-on-year | Cross-border E-commerce Daily

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