Amazon destroying millions of unsold items in one of its UK warehouses every year
Online retailer giant Amazon is said to be destroying millions unsold items each year. The products are often new and unused. Footage shows waste on an astonishing level, and this is from just one fulfilment center currently operating in the UK.
Undercover filming from inside the Dunfermline warehouse in Scotland has revealed the sheer scale of the waste, ranging from smart TVs, laptops, and drones, to hairdryers, headphones, books and unsealed face masks. These are all sorted into boxes marked ‘destroy’. The boxes are then thrown into bins, taken away by trucks and dumped at either recycling centers or at landfill sites.
An ex-employee told that “from Friday to Friday our target was to generally destroy 130,000 items a week.” Due to Amazon’s business model, many vendors choose to house their products in the warehouses, but the longer the goods remain unsold, the more a company is charged to store them. To them, it is cheaper to dispose of the goods, especially stock from overseas.
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Porsche to make high-performance battery cells in Germany
In a new joint venture with a German lithium-ion specialist, Porsche AG will develop and produce battery cells for electric sports cars. The carmaker is investing a high double-digit million Euro sum in Custom Cells GmbH and will control an 83.75% stake in the Cellforce venture.
Small-scale production is expected to begin in 2024, and the German state will contribute around 60 million Euros ($71 million) in funding. Traditional carmakers are improving their expertise in battery technology in order to challenge Tesla and attract customers with improved driving range, performance and charging time.
Batteries for sports cars need to cope with high temperatures and be capable of fast-charging and effective energy recuperation. The new cells will allow charging in less than 15 minutes. The brand’s Taycan model currently needs 22 ½ minutes to charge the battery to 80% from 5%.
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Japanese shipping container conglomerate buys CAI International for $1.1 billion
The container leasing company CAI International Inc. has been acquired for $1.1 billion by Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc. The merger has come at a time when container shortages and high shipping rates are disrupting typical maritime import and export patterns.
That pressure has been exerted by a combination of pandemic economic shutdowns and rebounds, the Suez Canal blockage and the more recent partial closure of China’s Yantian port by another COVID-19 outbreak.
MHC also pointed to business conditions, saying that its reason for making the transaction was a forecast of stable demand for marine container leasing for years to come. The transaction is expected to close in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
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