Albertsons, Kroger reportedly to sell 400 stores to C&S | Bearings Distributors, Cangro acquired by Applied Industrial | Manufactured goods orders fell 2.1% in July
Albertsons and Kroger are reportedly nearing a $2 billion deal to sell more than 400 grocery stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers as part of an effort to secure regulatory clearance for their planned merger. SoftBank Group reportedly is considering helping C&S finance part of the deal, which could be finalized as early as this week and would cover locations mainly in the Pacific Northwest and the Mountain states.
Applied Industrial Technologies acquired South Carolina-based Bearing Distributors and New York-based Cangro Industries. Bearing Distributors includes a dozen locations, while Cangro operates two, and the two entities are expected to provide the Cleveland-based industrial distributor with roughly $50 million in added sales. The latest deals follow the company's June acquisition of Advanced Motion Systems.
US manufactured goods orders decreased by 2.1% in July after four consecutive months of increases. Durable goods orders decreased by 5.2%, with non-durable goods orders increasing by 1.1%. Orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft, rose 0.1% in July, and orders rose 0.8% with transportation excluded. Experts attribute the decrease in orders to higher interest rates, which have pressured business equipment spending.
Amazon has reduced its lost-time injury rate by 69% by relying on an AI-powered "goods-to-person" strategy that moves items via robots and pods to employees in safety zones, while Propak taps the technology to spot potential safety problems such as the need for floor markings and mirrors. AI proponents say the technology can bolster worker safety and costs associated with employee injuries but other experts warn firms to be cautious and transparent regarding data collection.
Shippers face "a perfect storm of carrier challenges" heading into fall, including FedEx network and location consolidations, uncertainty regarding UPS changes following the resolved labor contract, increasing package fees and surcharges and consumer shopping shifts, writes Gary Frantz. Micheal McDonagh, AFS Logistics president of parcel, suggests shippers divide volumes among shippers and remain aware of spend levels to retain discounts and expected savings.
At least 80% of marketers in a LocaliQ survey use artificial intelligence, with ChatGPT getting 55% of the market and Copy AI following at 42%. Email copy, social media copy and social media images are the top three forms of AI-generated content.
Some 53% of business-to-business marketers have more to spend this year compared to 2022, 75% are upping their AI marketing investment and 61% are prioritizing social media, according to research by B2Breviews.com. Respondents said their top uses for AI in marketing are content ideation, collecting data, optimizing ads and market research.
According to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey, the US economy and jobs market experienced a slowdown in July and August. Most districts reported modest economic growth and slowing inflation, and many businesses expect wage growth to slow down in the near term. US consumer spending remained strong in travel and other services. Still, the manufacturing sector was weighed down by slowing demand for goods and high interest rates pressured the housing market.
Recent robust economic performance, including solid consumer spending and residential investment, has economists revising US GDP growth forecasts for the third quarter, with some estimates reaching 5.6% on an annualized basis. Federal Reserve officials are likely to update their growth projection for 2023 in response to this strong performance, which could lead to a reduction in projected interest-rate cuts for 2024.
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