Apple’s relationship with China persists, regardless of challenges
Good morning! It’s a beautiful day. Hit the ground running. 🎉
China has the largest populous in the entire world, so it’s also natural that a tech company like Apple would focus on meeting the requirements of that market, right? Well, China’s “zero-Covid” pandemic measures and tension with Taiwan have put Apple in a tight spot.
Check out today’s featured article from Inventiva to read about Apple’s extensive relationship with China and what can be expected from the tech giant in the future if that partnership is to continue amicably. ☕️
Featured Article:
Apple can’t quit China, Why? - Inventiva
“There has been an inextricable link between Apple and China for more than two decades.”
Investing 🤑
Investors are setting their sights on the supply chain industry
Since the beginning of 2022, the supply chain sector of the economy has been involved in 53 private equity interest infusion deals. The total value of these deals amounted to $20 billion. It begs the question - why are these investors so interested in the supply chain?
It’s a high-demand industry. Many companies involved in the supply chain are looking to outsource further, while still keeping speedy delivery a priority. Investors view the supply chain sector as a wise investment because it is currently bubbling with opportunity. Drone and automation innovation, diverse providers, and creative e-commerce solutions have signaled that the industry is itching to grow.
They just need the cash infusion to do it.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
Going There Where Am I GIF By SoulPancake via GIPHY
🇲🇽 About 200 miles south of the Texas border is a factory responsible for building Jeeps in Saltillo, Coahuila. Stellantis NV, the owner of Jeep, Ram, and Peugeot car brands, is conserving investing billions of dollars into the factory in order to bring more electric vehicles to the country of Mexico. The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Tavares, met with the Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in late July to discuss the possible project and why the infusion of electric vehicles is critical for Mexico’s future. Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O and Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier, both also at the meeting, have advised that Stellantis NV’s significant investments in the infrastructure will create a plethora of jobs for the citizens of Mexico.
🇩🇪 The Rhine River situation is escalating, fast. Germany’s government is rushing to approve legislation that would provide priority to train transport rather than water amid unusually hot weather causing the river corridor levels to become dangerously low. Vessels that normally use the river as shipping lanes have been forced to sit delayed for safety precautions. These hiccups in Germany’s supply chain are pairing up with the energy crisis in the country after its decision to cut back on Russian exports of gas. The country’s rail network expects to receive a significant increase in freight.
🌏 The global chip manufacturing industry can’t seem to catch a break. But has this been a long time coming? Production of microchips hit a major roadblock during the 2020 pandemic due to shutdowns of factories across the globe. However, as the rest of the world tries to get back to normal, the surging demand for semiconductor chips is excessive - manufacturers cannot keep up. Now, as the world suffered an energy crisis, war, and regulatory pushes for electric vehicles - one has to wonder, can we ever get back to speed?
U.S. Politics 🇺🇸
Actually yes, 87,000 new IRS agents are likely to audit you
Regardless of what the Biden Administration says to quell frustration, the fact of the matter is that 87,000 new IRS agents are more than three times what would be needed to audit households that make over $1 million. An estimate of a 30-fold increase in audits is likely overstated, but those who make under $400,000 per year have reason to, at the very least, be annoyed.
Experts suggest that the IRS should be focusing on simplifying taxes for Americans, not increasing time-consuming and costly audits. This way, there is less room for error.
Manufacturing ⚙️
Building in America hindered by environmentalist interests
The Inflation Reduction Act had some environmentalists frustrated. Some groups, such as Earthjustice, claim that the bill passed by Congress helps “fossil fuel interests” by cutting through key environmental measures.
But the problem is regulatory stagnancy. Environmentalists are being asked to face the reality of the situation - clean energy infrastructure will require compromise. We’ve put in place regulations that make it nearly impossible to repair or build our insrasture in the United States.
Network Association 🤝
The Power of the Network: ERP vs. Spend Management - Logistics Viewpoints
“GEP and the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Supply Chain Resource Cooperative surveyed supply chain, procurement and IT professionals across a range of industries to gain insight into their priorities and strategies regarding supply chain resilience and optimization.”
White House supply chain data exchange doubles in size - SupplyChainDive
“A White House pilot to share freight data among shippers and supply chain stakeholders has doubled in size, with participants beginning to exchange information.”
Legacy carriers and newcomers have created two trucking industries - TruckNews
“Earlier this summer I accepted a speaking gig at the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario’s annual conference.”
Customer Relations 📋
U.S. Consumers Are Reluctant to Order Mission Critical Items for Delivery | SupplyChainBrain
“A report released August 11 on current U.S. adult consumer perception and trust for high importance or time critical deliveries, such as medical devices and travel documents, indicates there are many opportunities to improve.”
Industry Forecast 📊
“As greenhouse gas emissions continue to stand as a major threat to the climate, the United Nations launched a Net Zero initiative.”
J.B. Hunt, University of Arkansas Collaboration Focuses on Future of Supply Chain - AJOT.com
“J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, and the University of Arkansas announced the Sam M. Walton College of Business program for studying supply chain, ranked number one by Gartner, has officially been renamed the J.B. Hunt Transport Department of Supply Chain Management.”
Supply chain bullwhip cracks back - FreightWaves
“On today’s episode Dooner and The Dude are talking to Daniel “Mr. Supply Chain” Stanton about how the supply chain bullwhip effect has impacted freight this year.”
Freight Rates' Wild Ride Has Crested, Says DAT's Croke - Trucking Info
“After a wild post-pandemic ride, the spot market is rebalancing, which has shippers looking for lower contract rates while lower spot rates and high fuel prices is likely driving many owner-operators out of business.”
Trucking freight costs, US wholesale inflation see declines for first time in 2 years - The Trucker
“Prices at the wholesale level fell from June to July, the first month-to-month drop in more than two years and a sign that some of the U.S. economy’s inflationary pressures cooled last month.”
“U.S. freight rates increased 28% year over year, but declined nearly 2% month over month in July, according to new data from Cass Information Systems.”
“Economists over the years have used various methods to estimate the economic benefits of highways, especially the Interstate Highway System, which introduced a nationwide system of limited-access super-highways comparable to Germany’s autobahns and Italy’s autostrade.”
Driver Issues 🚛
Truckers picket in demand of payment for hours spent waiting - CDL Life
“Truck drivers picketed outside of the Port of Baltimore on Thursday in protest of high wait times with no pay.”
PDA: Equipment, compensation top driver concerns - Fleet Maintenance
“Professional truck drivers still are most concerned with equipment and compensation issues, according to second-quarter data from PDA.”
Gross pay versus net pay: What the ATA driver pay survey did not mention - Back The Truck Up
“Drivers get paid more now than before the pandemic, but did the deductions stay the same?”
Artificial Intelligence 🤖
Facing supplier constraints, Aurora delays autonomous truck launch - SupplyChainDive
“Aurora Innovation, one of the startups pushing for autonomous truck commercialization, postponed the launch of its self-driving vehicle by a year due to delays in securing tier 1 suppliers for truck hardware.”
Workhorse has begun prototype drone production, CEO says - Freight Waves
“Electric van maker significantly increases drone personnel for last-mile deliveries.”
Warehousing 📦
E-commerce provider to pay warehouse workers more than $1 million in back wages | Dc Velocity
“Labor Department investigation found systemic pay violations at WIN.IT America, Inc. operations in California and Kentucky.”
Electric Vehicles 🔋
The Motor City is moving south as EVs change the automotive industry - CNBC
“Automakers are investing in towns across the American South.”
Tesla and Nikola Big Rigs Race for Up to $40,000 U.S. Incentives | SupplyChainBrain
“It was a budding rivalry that didn’t last long before scandal brought one of them down.”
Here are the electric-vehicle companies that could benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act - CNBC
“CNBC’s Phil LeBeau joins ‘Squawk Box’ to break down which electric-vehicle makers benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as a new tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk that said Tesla has now made more than 3 million cars.”
Leadership 🏆
51% of Supply Chain Leaders Increased the Number of Network Locations - MHL News
“Inflation, sustainability goals, and national industrial policies put global supply chains under pressure, says new Gartner report.”
ASCM Launches New Supply Chain Planning Certificate - Material Handling & Logistics
“The self-paced, online program is targeted at entry-to-mid-level supply chain professionals.”
CFI Honors Women Drivers with Commemorative Truck - Trucking Info
“CFI unveiled its fourth rig commissioned with its bold “She Drives CFI” large-format graphics.”
Business Strategy 💡
Building Supply Chain Resilience Is Much More than Fixing Supply Problems - Medium
“Companies need to map these critical linkages in their supply chains when evaluating risk and resilience.”
Three ways to future-proof your supply chain - Supply Chain Digital
“The global supply chain is facing unprecedented challenges.”
U.S. Economy 🇺🇸
Bank of America chief economist sees high chance of mild recession this year - Fox Business
“Is the U.S. economy on the cusp of a recession?”
How to Get Ready for The Next Recession - Small Biz Trends
“A hot topic among small business owners is that a new recession is coming or the country is already in a recession.”
Jobless claims rise to highest level in 2022 - Fox Business
“Number of Americans applying for unemployment hits the highest level in 8 months.”
Inflation 💸
What will the Inflation Reduction Act mean for small businesses? - USA Today
“Over the weekend, the Senate passed one of the most important pieces of legislation we’ve seen in many years – the ‘Inflation Reduction Act.’”
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for July 31, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.