 |
|
|
|||||
After a viral disappearance and rumors of his demise, Duo the owl is aliveand hes finally ready to speak: I said, Its either Spanish or vanish. Watch the full tell-all interview and hear from the bird behind the chaos.
Category:
E-Commerce
U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trumps predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks. The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief. Demand for eggs is typically elevated until after Easter, which falls on April 20. Industry experts were expecting the index to reflect a drop in retail egg prices because wholesale egg prices dropped significantly in March. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline even though prices started to fall at the end of the month. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices. The bird flu effect Bird flu outbreaks were cited as the major cause of price spikes in January and February after more than 30 million egg-laying chickens were killed to prevent the spread of the disease. Only 2.1 million birds were slaughtered in March and none of them were on egg farms The farms that had fall outbreaks have been working to resume egg production after sanitizing their barns and raising new flocks, but chickens must be about six months old before they start laying eggs. Thompson said those farms did not come back online as quickly as anticipated. In the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture numbers, there were only about 285 million hens laying eggs nationwide as of March 1, down from 293 million the previous month. Before the outbreak, the flock typically numbered more than 315 million. Trump tried to take credit for the lower wholesale egg prices the USDA reported in recent weeks. But experts say the presidents plan to fight bird flu by focusing on strengthening egg farmers defenses against the virus is likely to be more of a long-term help. I think there are lots of people who are looking to see the egg prices coming down because they wanted to call it a win. And I think its a loss for everybody. I think we all want to see egg prices come down, Thompson said. Trump and Vice President JD Vance both trumpeted the overall decline in inflation last month before most of Trump’s tariffs took effect, but they did not directly address egg prices. Earlier this week, Trump said the annual White House egg roll would use real eggs again this year despite the high prices. Egg farmers typically donate more than 30,000 eggs for the event. But some consumers are already looking to plastic eggs to color for Easter to avoid the high prices. Egg prices around the country U.S. egg prices did began falling in mid-March, according to Datasembly, a market research company that tracks prices at thousands of stores. Datasembly said eggs averaged $5.98 per dozen the week beginning March 16 and dropped to $5.51 the week beginning March 30. But prices vary widely around the country, depending on the location of recent bird flu outbreaks and some state laws requiring eggs to be cage-free. At a Safeway in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, cage-free eggs were $9.99 per dozen. At a Safeway in Denver, the same cage-free eggs were $6.69 per dozen. And at a Safeway in Washington D.C., which doesnt require eggs to be cage-free, a dozen eggs were $5.29. In Omaha, Nebraska, Walmart is selling eggs for $4.97 per dozen. Egg prices are still expected to decline further later this spring, but the latest numbers could also increase scrutiny of Cal-Maine Foods, which provides 20% of the nations eggs, and other large egg producers. Earlier this week, Cal-Maine acknowledged it is being investigated by the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice, which is looking into egg price increases. Cal-Maine said it is cooperating with the investigation. In its most recent quarter, which ended March 1, Cal-Maine said its net income more than tripled to $508.5 million compared to the same period a year ago. The company said its revenue nearly doubled to $1.42 billion, largely because of higher egg prices. Since the current bird flu outbreak began, more than 168 million birds have been slaughtered, most of them egg-laying chickens. Any time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading. That can have an effect on the egg supply because massive egg farms may have millions of birds. The disease is difficult to control because it is spread easily through the droppings of wild birds that carry the avian flu virus. Bird flu has also inflected other animals, including dairy cattle. Egg prices hit $5.90 in February one month after setting a record at $4.95 per dozen, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But shoppers encountered prices much higher than that in some places; in California, the price per dozen topped $12 in some stores. Earlier in the outbreak, egg prices spiked to hit $4.82 in January 2023 before gradually falling as low as $2.04 per dozen in August 2023. Generally, prices have since increased steadily. Jush Funk, AP business writer Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the worlds best-known luxury brands. But since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees told Reuters. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, significantly underperforming other facilities, according to three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plants problemswhich havent previously been reportedhighlight the challenges for LVMH as it attempts to build its production footprint in the U.S. to avoid Trumps threatened tariffs on European-made goods. The ramp-up was harder than we thought it would be, thats true, Ludovic Pauchard, Louis Vuittons industrial director, said in an interview on Friday in response to detailed questions about Reuters findings. The Texas site, situated on a 250-acre ranch, has struggled due to a lack of skilled leather workers able to produce at the brands quality standards, the three former workers told Reuters. It took them years to start making the simple pockets of the Neverfull handbag, one source familiar with operations at the plant said, referring to the classic Louis Vuitton shoulder tote bag. Errors made during the cutting, preparation and assembly process led to the waste of as many as 40% of the leather hides, said one former employee with detailed knowledge of the factorys performance. Industry-wide, typical waste rates for leather goods are generally 20%, a senior industry source said. Several former employees who spoke to Reuters described a high pressure environment. To boost production numbers, supervisors routinely turned a blind eye toward methods to conceal defects, and in some cases encouraged them, four former employees told Reuters. Pauchard acknowledged there had been such cases in the past, but said the issue had been resolved. This dates back to 2018 and one particular manager who isnt part of the company anymore, he said. Poorly crafted handbags deemed unfit for sale are shredded on-site and carted away in trucks for incineration, two of the sources with knowledge of the firms supply chain said. A former production supervisor who often travelled to the site, said Louis Vuitton mostly used the Texas plant for less sophisticated handbag models, producing its most expensive products elsewhere. Pauchard, Louis Vuitton’s industrial director, said the company was being patient with a young factory. Any bag that goes out of it must be a Louis Vuitton bag, we make sure it meets exactly the same quality, he said. I am not aware of any kinds of issues suggesting the quality coming from Texas is any different from that coming from Europe. Made in USA Perched behind a hill, the handbag maker’s two production facilities were built on grounds near grazing cattle and a gas well. Louis Vuitton named the site Rochambeau in tribute to a French general who fought in the Revolutionary War. Workers at the site make components and entire models of Louis Vuitton handbags like Felice pochettes and Metis bagswith “Made in USA” tags inside. The items sell for around $1,500 and $3,000 at high-end boutiques. LVMH declined to comment when asked which handbag models are fully or partially made in Texas but former workers interviewed by Reuters mentioned the Carryall, Keepall, Metis, Felice, and Neverfull handbag lines among the plant’s products. In its marketing material, Louis Vuitton says its handbagstypically made at French, Spanish or Italian leather ateliers by artisans known as “petites mainsare assembled using a process that it has perfected since the mid 19th century. After cutting canvas and leather using hand tools and laser-cutting machines, they stitch pieces together using industrial sewing machines. Workers at the Texas facility, which includes dedicated floors for cutting and for assembly as well as a warehouse, were initially paid $13 per hour. As of 2024, base pay for a leather worker position at the plant was $17 per hour, according to two people who recently applied for positions. The minimum wage in Texas is $7.25 an hour. A former leather worker who arrived as a migrant in the U.S. some years before, said she felt proud when she was hired by the prestigious French brand, but said some workers struggled to meet the brands quality standards and production targets. “We were under a lot of pressure to make the daily goals,” said the former worker, who left the factory at the end of 2019. Another person who worked at the facility until 2023 said she cut corners, like using a hot pin to melt canvas and leather to conceal imperfections in a particularly difficult piece called the Vendome Opera Bag. Another former leather worker said theyd seen people melt material to hide holes or other imperfections in stitching. Damien Verbrigghe, Louis Vuittons international manufacturing director, conceded some at the Texas plant had chosen to change jobs or leave because of its stringent quality requirements. There are artisans that we hire, who we train and who, after several weeks, or months, realize in light of the expectations, the level of detail that is required, they would rather work in other fields like logistics, he said. Some people chose to leave us, because its true that its a job that requires a lot of savoir faire. Three former workers at the plant said they received between two and five weeks of training. A current Louis Vuitton employee in France said receiving just a few weeks of training wasn’t unusual as most learning happens on the production line supervised by more experienced craftspeople. “Knowledge of sewing on leather/canvas is a plus, but not required. We offer comprehensive training, the company said in a job posting for artisan positions in Alvarado published on its website in January. Verbrigghe said training in Texas is exactly the same program that we have in all our workshops, that is, six weeks on the training line, where new artisans do nothing but learn basic operations and skills before going on to train on the assembly line. There, he said, they are accompanied and continuously mentored by trainers. Tax breaks LVMH got a host of tax breaks and incentives from Johnson County, including a 10-year, 75% property tax cut, promising the company an estimated $29 million in savings. We look forward to serving this exceptional company, wrote the countys top executive, Roger Harmon, in 2017 correspondence seen by Reuters. In its 2017 application letter for the tax abatement, obtained by Reuters through records request, LVMH said it was aiming to hire 500 people within the first five years of the plan. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2019, Arnault said, We will create approximately 1,000 high-skilled jobs here at Rochambeau over the next five years. Three former staffers, however, said headcount stood at just under 300 workers in February 2025, a figure Verbrigghe confirmed. The White House did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Pauchard said initial recruitment difficulties wre largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed, adding that a decline in local demand also played a role. Despite the problems, LVMH is planning to move even more jobs to Texas. LVMH said in its 2017 filing that its first Texas production facility would cost around $30 million. A second filing from 2022 to local authorities put the cost of its second workshop, completed last year, at $23.5 million. At a town hall last fall, workers at one of two California production sites were told that it would close 2028 and they could move to Texas or quit, according to a former employee who was present. Pauchard confirmed the town hall and said Louis Vuitton intended to streamline its California operations and transfer more skilled artisans to Texaswith so far limited success. Its executives, he said, underestimated the fact that Texas is far away from California. Tassilo Hummel and Waylon Cunningham, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||