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Consolidating Commodity Suppliers; Coal Plants are Getting Squeezed By Paul Page
Consolidation may be about to change the global commodities map. Mining heavyweight Anglo American is facing a potential bidding war after rejecting a nearly $39 billion takeover offer from Australia's BHP, the world's largest mining company. The WSJ's Julie Steinberg reports that analysts expect BHP to return with another offer and that other large miners are also expected to take a run at Anglo American. A potential combination between the big commodity producers highlights the growing importance of copper, a metal essential to clean-energy products including electric cars and wind farms. Copper prices have defied a broader downturn in commodity prices, rising some 15% so far this year. That reflects expectations that demand will rise as the world decarbonizes and supply will be constrained. That may be why Anglo American believes the BHP offer undervalues its copper assets, and why more bidders may be in the wings.
The World Bank warned that declines in commodity prices likely have bottomed out. (Financial Times) Quotable CONTENT FROM: Penske Logistics Gain AI. Gain Ground with Penske.
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The coal sector in the U.S. is facing new headwinds even as trade in the energy commodity is shifting. The Biden administration issued sweeping new rules that mandate strict controls on emissions at existing coal plants and newly built natural-gas plants. The WSJ's Jennifer Hiller and Eric Niiler report that the rules, which will almost certainly be challenged in court, set the stage for a significant infrastructure build-out to capture and dispose of carbon dioxide emitted at power plants in order to comply. Those plants include utilities that are key customers for U.S. railroads, which are already seeing coal carload traffic retreat at a historic pace this year. Coal suppliers are finding new customers abroad to replace retiring U.S. coal plants. Consol Energy, which operates four mines, says new export markets took 60% of the 26 million tons of coal that the company dug last year.
CMA CGM and French investment bank Bpifrance launched a $214.5 million fund targeting maritime-sector clean energy. (Splash 247) Number of the Day In Other News
U.S. economic growth slowed to a 1.6% pace in the first quarter , as rising imports helped offset increased consumer spending. (WSJ)
U.S. wholesale inventories fell 0.4% in March. (MarketWatch)
South Korea's economy grew at a stronger-than-expected 3.4% pace in the first quarter. (WSJ)
Toyota is investing $1.4 billion in an Indiana plant slated to assemble battery-electric SUVs. (WSJ)
Micron Technology will get up to $6.1 billion from the U.S. government to build three chip-making facilities. (WSJ)
Airbus is stepping up production of its A350 wide-body jets. (WSJ)
S&P Global Ratings cut Boeing's outlook to negative from stable. (WSJ)
Southwest Airlines is pulling out of some airports as it copes with lackluster revenue and delays in deliveries of new Boeing jets. (WSJ)
Consumer-goods supplier Unilever projects sales revenue to grow 3% to 5% this year after sales volumes expanded in the first quarter. (WSJ)
The first of 11 ships trapped behind the wreckage of the Key Bridge left the Port of Baltimore through a new alternate shipping channel. (Baltimore Sun)
Tesla plans to begin delivering its Semi heavy-duty truck to customers starting in 2026. (Commercial Carrier Journal)
Congo's government is questioning Apple about the company's knowledge of "blood minerals" that could reach into its supply chains. (Associated Press)
Retailer Tractor Supply plans to open its 10th U.S. distribution center along with 80 more stores this year. (Retail Dive)
Sales at industrial supplies distributor W.W. Grainger rose 3.5% in the first quarter. (MarketWatch)
Harley-Davidson's global motorcycle shipments declined 7% in the first quarter. (MarketWatch)
India's IndiGo airline ordered 30 Airbus A350 jets , with options for 70 more. (Times of India)
Three low-cost passenger airlines are bidding to buy the cargo business of South Korea's Asiana Airlines. (Air Cargo News)
Executive Insights
Here is our weekly roundup of stories from across WSJ Pro that we think you'll find useful.
The Justice Department is investigating McKinsey's advice to manufacturers of OxyContin and other opioids. Two months after the Change Healthcare hack, its parent company faces a long slog to identify all the people whose personal data was compromised. One of Europe's fastest-growing energy companies wants a slice of the U.S. offshore-wind market . At Moderna, OpenAI's GPTs are changing almost everything. The next ad battleground will be the back seat of your ride-hailing cab. About Us
Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at [paul.page@wsj.com].
Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage , @bylizyoung and @pdberger . Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on X at @WSJLogistics .
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
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April 26, 2024 07:08 ET (11:08 GMT)
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