BEIJING -- China accused FedEx of deliberately "holding up" the delivery of more than 100 Huawei packages after the US firm misrouted some parcels from the telecom giant, state media said Friday.
The ongoing tussle between the two firms comes as Beijing and Washington face off in a trade war in which both sides have exchanged steep tariffs on hundreds of billions of exports.
FedEx apologized in May for "misrouting" what it said was a "small number" of Huawei packages.
Huawei said at the time it would review its ties with the package service over the incident.
But a Chinese government probe, launched last month, accused FedEx of "holding up" more than 100 packages from Huawei, according to the official Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
"During the investigation, other leads of FedEx violating regulations were also discovered," it said.
In June, another Huawei package meant for the United States went undelivered by FedEx -- an incident FedEx called an "operational error".
But Chinese investigators said this explanation "does not agree with the facts", Xinhua reported.
Huawei is facing moves from Washington to blacklist the Chinese tech firm, cutting it off from American-made components it needs for products -- though it was issued a 90-day reprieve in May.
China has hit back by announcing it would create its own blacklist of "unreliable" companies and individuals, which could target US and international firms that have cut off supplies to Huawei.
US and Chinese officials will resume trade talks next week in Shanghai -- the first face-to-face discussions since negotiations collapsed in May after Washington accused Beijing of reneging on its commitments.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK -- FedEx warned Tuesday that its fiscal 2020 earnings outlook remains clouded by trade war uncertainty as the company's chief executive criticized the Trump administration's lurch towards protectionism.
Overall the company is projecting 2020 diluted earnings-per-share to be down by a "mid-single-digit" percentage point compared with the 2019 level.
FedEx expects higher operating income in fiscal 2020 from its domestic package and freight shipping services as growing e-commerce activity fuels higher revenues.
But operating income is expected to be dented at FedEx Express, its international shipping division, in part because of trade uncertainty.
"We've been very disappointed over the last few years with the assumptions that we made on the growth of international trade, particularly with the Trump administration," Chief Executive Fred Smith said on a conference call with financial analysts.
"The United States policy since 1934... was to expand international trade and now we have a huge dispute with China where the US has basically become protectionist, defined as 'I'll make everything I need in my own borders.'"
Smith, long an outspoken advocate of free trade, also took issue with China's policy on trade, which he described as "mercantilist."
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the G20 gathering in Japan later this week, an occasion that investors are hoping will bring the two countries closer to agreement after months of tariffs, countermeasures and threats.
Smith said the company remained committed to operating in China and "completely dedicated" to complying with Chinese laws.
He said the company has experienced more audits "to some degree" at its Guangzhou hub in the wake of the US-China dispute.
FedEx again apologized over delivery problems involving Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei following a US crackdown on the company that Trump has linked to the US-China trade war.
Smith said the company's newly-filed lawsuit against the Commerce Department over export restrictions was not directly related to the Huawei case but was due to a broader set of government actions that are "opaque" and put too much onus on delivery companies.
On Monday, FedEx sued the US Commerce Department over export restrictions it said impose an "impossible burden" on delivery firms and asked a US District Court to block enforcement of the measures.
FedEx says the US rules makes shippers liable for packages that could violate the restrictions, even if the shipper has no prior knowledge of the problem.
FedEx reported a net loss of $2 billion for the quarter ending May 31, compared with $1.1 billion in profits in the year-ago period.
The company cited lower international revenues and $316 million in costs associated with a voluntary employee buyouts as factors in the loss.
Revenues rose three percent overall to $17.8 billion.
Shares rose 0.7 percent to $157.05 in after-hours trading.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- Global courier service FedEx on Wednesday announced plans to test a "SameDay Bot" autonomous delivery device designed to carry purchases from retail shops to local customers.
FedEx said its robotic delivery carts, reminiscent of a large canister with wheels, would be tried out in its home city of Memphis, Tennessee later this year, provided it gets final approval from officials there.
"The bot represents a milestone in our ongoing mission to solve the complexities and expense of same-day, last-mile delivery for the growing e-commerce market in a manner that is safe and environmentally friendly," FedEx executive vice president Brie Carere said in a statement.
FedEx enlisted DEKA Development & Research to help develop the delivery bot, which is designed to travel along sidewalks or roadsides carrying small shipments to homes or businesses.
"The bot has unique capabilities that make it unlike other autonomous vehicles," said DEKA founder Dean Kamen, an engineer whose creations include the Segway.
Battery-powered FedEx bots have sensors to avoid pedestrians and other potential obstacles, and can even climb steps or curbs, according to the companies. The bot's top speed was reported to be 10 miles per hour (16 kilometers per hour).
The initial test will involve deliveries between selected FedEx offices.
FedEx said that it was exploring the potential of using the bots to meet short-range delivery needs of retailers including Walmart, Target and Pizza Hut.
It is common for people to live within three miles of retail shops where they are customers, creating an opportunity to serve them with "hyper-local," on-demand deliveries, according to FedEx.
An array of startups have been working on efficient, autonomous robots to carry purchases that "last mile" from restaurants, shops, or warehouses.
E-commerce giant Amazon in January began putting cooler-sized robots to work delivering packages to customers in a neighborhood outside Seattle.
Electric-powered, wheeled delivery vehicles named "Scout" were created by Amazon and guide themselves along sidewalks at a walking pace, according to Sean Scott, the vice president heading the project.
Results of the Scout experiment will determine whether the system is expanded.
Amazon has developed an extensive logistics network as it works to efficiently delivery goods to customers while controlling costs.
Chinese retail giant JD.com uses delivery robots, as do a number of startups operating in the United States and Europe.
Starship Technologies, based in Estonia, has tested operation in the US capital city of Washington, and another startup, KiwiBot, handles deliveries to US university students.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores announced Tuesday that it acquired New York delivery company Parcel as it girds to compete with Amazon and other supermarkets for home delivery of groceries.
The purchase of Parcel, a Brooklyn-based specialist in same day, overnight and scheduled deliveries of perishable and non-perishable items, adds to Wal-Mart's push into e-commerce following the $3.3 billion purchase of Jet.com in 2016 and other smaller acquisitions.
Many analysts expect stiff competition among supermarkets in home delivery of groceries following Amazon's purchase this year of Whole Foods Market.
Grocers including Wal-Mart now regularly take online orders that are picked up by shoppers at curbside. But analysts say more work is needed to improve home delivery of fresh food.
Wal-Mart senior vice president Nate Faust spotlighted consumers' shifting demands as an impetus for the deal.
"Customers' expectations around delivery and what is possible have changed significantly in the past couple of years," Faust said in a blog post.
"Whatever they need and however they'd like it, we aim to provide – including the ability to offer last-minute ordering with same-day delivery service."
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Wal-Mart said the price was smaller than previous acquisitions this year.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
