Today's Pickup: US Postal Service Now Does Not Deliver To Roughly Half The World

Good day,

Effective today, the number of international markets that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will not service until further notice has gone up to 111 countries, with major economies like India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa on the list. "The reasons for suspension can be capacity issues, as transportation is unavailable due to widespread cancellations," said Krish Iyer, director of strategic partnerships at ShipStation. 

Iyer explained that although the import-export volume to some of the markets was low, it is a question of what it means for larger economies that border the ones on the restricted list. For instance, Colombia, Peru and Paraguay are all in the restricted list and border Brazil, which is a significant U.S. trade partner. 

"If you look at the list and sell to a market that has not been added, but the neighboring countries to it have been, it would make you, as a retailer, start to ask yourself what kinds of contingency plans you need to make," said Iyer. 

Did you know?

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM sees gross domestic product in the eurozone falling at an annualized rate of 45% in the three months through June, with the U.K. economy expected to contract by 59.3% and Japan by 35%.

Quotable

"With such a rapid decline in fracking already visible, very little activity will be happening in the oil basins during the remainder of the second quarter of 2020. The natural base production decline, which we have seen as an absolute floor for production, therefore becomes an increasingly relevant production scenario."

– Artem Abramov, the head of shale research at Rystad Energy, commenting on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on U.S. shale production.

In other news

Oil rallies on Gulf tensions and output cuts

Oil rose on Thursday, spurred by rising tensions in the Middle East, output cuts by producing nations and the promise of more government stimulus to ease economic pain. (Reuters)

Battered automakers lure buyers with steep incentives

Auto sales forecasts have fallen by millions of units from where they were in early 2020, sparking automakers to roll out unprecedented deals. (CNBC)

The truck industry bets on the other electric vehicle

World's top two truck manufacturers are teaming up to develop hydrogen fuel cells. (WSJ)

Global container shipments set to fall 30% in next few months

European and U.S. warehouses are full after the pandemic decimated demand. (Bloomberg)

Dry bulk shipping rates fall back again

The Baltic Dry Index fell 4.67% to 694 points in London to follow on the 3.83% decline on Tuesday. (Seeking Alpha)

Final Thoughts

Digital freight marketplace Uber Freight has announced a partnership with supply chain software provider BluJay Solution. The companies will jointly help businesses build resilient global supply chains by leveraging freight technology. By integrating with BluJay's transportation management platform, shippers can instantly access Uber Freight's real-time pricing and tendering capabilities with reliable capacity. 

BluJay's customers get to tap into Uber Freight's pricing insights and the marketplace that has over 50,000 registered carriers. Some of the first businesses to benefit from this would be food manufacturers and packaging companies, which contend with volume surges in essential products during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Hammer down everyone!