Today's Pickup: No-Deal Brexit Might Unleash An Explosive Growth In Grey Market Goods

Good day,

In the U.K. there has been palpable fear going around in the logistics circles at the thought of a no-deal Brexit, a possibility that seems to be inching closer with every passing day. In that context, a British retail expert pointed out the odds of an "explosion" in goods sold in the grey market if no-deal Brexit becomes a reality. The grey market is the unaccounted for market that sells unauthorized but legitimate goods, predominantly to circumvent taxes and customs duty. 

A no-deal Brexit would cause the prices of legitimate products imported into the U.K. to rise by roughly 10 percent due to scarcity. Unauthorized sellers could make use of this situation to unload such products, which they typically overstock in bulk to leverage against an uncertain future. 

Did you know?

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) predicts trucking's share of total freight tonnage will dip to 68.8 percent in 2030 from 71.1 percent this year, even as tonnage grows to 14.2 billion tons in 2030 from 11.7 billion tons.

Quotable

"China has a 15-year head start – whatever you want, someone's doing it. You can't just shift your business to Vietnam and expect to find what you're looking for."

– Wing Xu, the operations director for Omnidex Group, on the practical difficulties in moving manufacturing from China to Southeast Asia. 

In other news

What is it about speed that upsets the shipping industry?

Unlike trucks on the road, it is not possible to accurately measure the speed of ships sailing in the oceans, as water currents and wind effects need to be taken into consideration. (Hellenic Shipping News)

A trade war with Europe would be more damaging than Washington's dispute with China

Data from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative shows that in 2018, the U.S. imported $683.9 billion of EU goods and $557.9 billion from China. (CNBC)

India needs to reduce ecommerce restrictions to revive economy: Amazon executive

India needs to encourage ecommerce and reduce red tape to help small businesses sell online and export goods to help revive sagging domestic economic growth. (Reuters)

Shale bleeds cash despite best quarter in years

For U.S. shale, higher oil prices helped to some degree, but by and large it was another period of disappointment for a sector that has underwhelmed for years. (Oilprice)

Volocopter reveals its first commercial aircraft, the VoloCity air taxi

German startup Volocopter is taking another key step with the revelation of its first aircraft designed for actual commercial use, the VoloCity. (TechCrunch)

Final Thoughts

The electric vehicle segment has seen consistent growth over the last decade, both with regard to the battery technology and with consumer demand. Increased market adoption has meant better economies of scale, pushing automakers like Tesla and Nissan to invest heavily in making their vehicles better and causing other conventional automotive brands to take notice. 

One of the primary talking points in the context of electric vehicles is the improvement in range over the years. For instance, the 2018 Nissan Leaf has a range of 151 miles on a full charge – a two-fold increase in range from its 2011 model, but at nearly the same price point. 

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc TSLA, has stated that the company will not bring down the costs of its Model 3 to below $35,000. However, even at this price, the Model 3 will be comparable to the cost of a gasoline-powered car. With continuous improvements in battery range, there could soon come a time when electric cars are functionally and financially a better option compared to a gasoline-powered car for the average consumer.

Image Sourced from Pixabay

Hammer down everyone!