Trading Partners

San Francisco – A labor dispute that had reduced the 29 West Coast ports, which handle close to half the consumer cargo in the U.S. down to 50%-60% capacity appears to be over. Late in the evening of Friday, Feb. 20, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract covering workers at all 29 West Coast ports.
 

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation called for President Obama to become involved in the ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) if a deal is not reached.

“It has been nearly a week since President Obama dispatched Labor Secretary Perez to the West Coast to help settle the protracted contract dispute between the ILWU and PMA,” Jonathan Gold, VP for supply chain and customs policy, NRF, wrote in a statement issued Friday.

Montreal - Dollarama Inc. has named Elisa D. Garcia, executive VP and chief legal officer of Office Depot Inc., as an independent director and member of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Garcia’s appointment expands the corporation’s board of directors to 10 directors, seven of whom are independent.

The National Retail Federation has called for President Obama to become involved in the ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) if a deal is not reached.

“It has been nearly a week since President Obama dispatched Labor Secretary Perez to the West Coast to help settle the protracted contract dispute between the ILWU and PMA,” Jonathan Gold, VP for supply chain and customs policy, NRF, said in a statement.

Washington, D.C. -- The Merchants Payments Coalition applauded U.S. District Judge Nicolas Garaufis’ ruling on Thursday that American Express credit card rules constitute an unlawful restraint on trade.

The judge found that the credit card giant violated U.S. antitrust laws by barring merchants from encouraging customers to use one credit card over another. In a 150-page opinion, he wrote that such a practice constitutes “an unlawful restraint on trade.”

Los Angeles -- The 29 West Coast ports, which handle 44% of container cargo in the U.S., are currently running at approximately 50-60% capacity, according to a report released Thursday by CBRE Group, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. Five of the ports — Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle — are among the top 10 largest and busiest ports (by total TEU volume) in the United States.

New York - Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. has appointed apparel industry veteran Marc Schneider as CEO, effective Feb. 23. Schneider will assume responsibility for the company's retail, outlet, e-commerce, international, licensing and wholesale businesses. He takes over from founder Kenneth Cole, who has served as interim CEO since February 2011.

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp announced that David J. Oakes has been named the company’s new CEO, effectively immediately. Oakes has been DDR’s president and CFO since January 2013, and was senior executive VP and CFO for the three years prior. He succeeds Daniel Hurwitz, who stepped down December 31 by mutual agreement.

"After a thorough and robust search process, the board is confident that David is the right person to lead DDR into the future," said chairman Terry Ahern.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon talks about changes at Walmart.

Despite reporting a boost in fourth-quarter profits, Groupon says the impact of foreign exchange rates will affect first-quarter performance.

The e-commerce company posted fourth-quarter profit of 6 cents per share, up from 4 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue increased 20 percent to $925 million from $768 million.