Lawyers for the Section 301 test-case plaintiffs, HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, have until Sept. 14 to file their response to the Aug. 1 remand results on the Lists 3 and 4A tariffs from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said a scheduling order Monday from the three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade. DOJ’s reply is due Oct. 28, said the order. The two sides, in a joint status report earlier Monday, agreed on the Sept. 14 date for the plaintiffs to respond to USTR’s remand results, but the government asked for 60 days to Nov. 14 to file its reply, while the plaintiffs asked for the government's reply within 30 days, by Oct. 14. The court also gave the plaintiffs until Nov. 14 to respond to the government’s reply, rejecting DOJ's request to deny the plaintiffs the opportunity for a response. The court “will determine if oral argument is necessary” on USTR's remand results after briefing is complete, said the order. The plaintiffs requested oral argument, and the government took no position on the request.
Akin Gump lawyers for the Section 301 test plaintiffs and DOJ agree that plaintiffs’ comments on the Aug. 1 Lists 3 and 4A tariff remand results by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (see 2208020016) and a government response to those comments would aid the court’s evaluation of the remand results, said the two sides in a joint status report filed Monday in docket 1:21-cv-52 at the U.S. Court of International Trade. They propose that plaintiffs’ comments would be due Sept. 14 and DOJ’s response 30 days later, but the government says the plaintiffs aren't entitled to file a reply to the government’s response, as plaintiffs want to do by Nov. 4, said the report. The sides also disagree on the page limits for future filings, it said. Plaintiffs also are requesting oral argument on the remand results, but the government takes no position on the request.
U.S. importers sourced 9.07 million TVs from all countries in all screen sizes in the second quarter, 7.2% fewer sets than in Q1 and 16.2% fewer than in the 2021 quarter, according to Census data accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool.
Other ad-supported VOD services “have already learned that building an ad sales engine isn’t easy,” said Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment CEO William Rouhana on a Q2 earnings call Thursday. Disney+ and Netflix “will learn that soon,” he said.
U.S. importers sourced 45.96 million smartphones from all countries in the second quarter, said Census data accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb portal. The volume was down 2.9% quarter on quarter but up 3.2% year over year. The average second-quarter smartphone import had a customs value of $328.72, a 2.2% dip from Q1 but a 17.1% rise from the 2021 quarter. Q2 shipments from China declined 4.6% quarter on quarter to 34.33 million, and dropped 4.2% year over year. The average Q2 Chinese smartphone import was worth $322.92, down 6.8% from Q1 but 12.5% higher year over year. Q2 shipments from Vietnam soared to 9.39 million handsets, up 3.1% from Q1 and 43.8% higher than in 2021's second quarter. Vietnamese smartphones moved considerably more upmarket in recent quarters, DataWeb shows. The average Q2 import from Vietnam was worth $366.60. That was 12.1% higher than the average in Q1, and 56.9% costlier than in Q2 a year earlier.
The world is “waking up to the inevitability” of electric vehicles, said Vince Cubbage, interim CEO of EV charging company Volta, on a Q2 earnings call Thursday. That Volta is building a digital advertising platform into its network of chargers enables it to scale revenue “ahead of the EV adoption curve,” he said. Volta has master service agreements with seven of the 10 largest U.S. commercial property owners, “allowing us to install our chargers on their properties” under long-term deals, said Cubbage. There’s “a tremendous amount of capital that has been earmarked” under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the nationwide buildout of EV chargers, he said. “The allocation of that capital is still being determined.” It’s being directed at enabling long, cross-country trips, as well as toward making sure that “nobody is left behind in terms of the ability to adopt EV,” he said. "For EV adoption to roll out the way everyone expects it to and the way policymakers want it to, it needs to be ubiquitous. It needs to be available in the coastal high-income communities. It needs to be available in the inner cities. It needs to be available everywhere."
Cineplex generated 439% quarterly revenue growth to $349.9 million, proof that consumers are back to theaters “from every cohort and for all genres of films,” said CEO Ellis Jacob on a Q2 earnings call Thursday. “Like our industry peers globally, we are highly encouraged by the box office momentum reflected in our second quarter results,” he said. Comparing pre-COVID-19 pandemic periods with 2022, April's box office reached 56% of the box office volume of April 2019, and May reached 72%, June 89% and July 85%, he said. “We are driving these strong results even as consumers contend with concerns of inflation and speculation of a looming recession,” said Jacob. The theatrical business “has historically been resistant to recessionary pressures,” he said. Going to the movies “is an affordable form out-of-home entertainment,” especially compared with live sports and concerts, he said.
The Disney+ ad-supported VOD tier, branded Disney+ Basic, goes live Dec. 8 at $7.99 a month with a “thoughtful approach by launching with a lower ad load and frequency,” said CEO Bob Chapek on an earnings call Wednesday for fiscal Q3 ended July 2 . The ad-free tier, Disney+ Premium, will increase to $10.99 from $7.99 when Disney+ Basic debuts.
Fossil Group’s smartwatch sales “lagged” in Q2, with growth in Asia more than offset by declines in the Americas and Europe, said CEO Kosta Kartsotis on an earnings call Wednesday. Net sales in Fossil’s smartwatch category were down 18% in constant currency, said the company. “Heading into holiday, we expect sales trends to improve” with Fossil’s recently launched Gen 6 Hybrid smartwatch platform and its “refresh” of Gen 6 products to include Google’s Wear OS 3 operating system, Kartsotis said. “Both platforms will work on our proprietary new smartwatch app, which will have an improved wellness features set." Gen 6 with Wear OS 3 smartwatch and the Fossil app “are planned to launch in time for holiday 2022 selling,” he said. “We are particularly excited about the smartwatch app as it will enable us to get first party data and engage with our customers at a higher level.” Based on the negative “macro dynamics” that intensified in Q2, “we are taking a more cautious view of the consumer across all three of our geographies” for second-half 2022, said Kartsotis. Fossil’s revised outlook “reflects that our wholesale business will remain challenging and that we have reduced our prior expectations for a return to normalcy in our China business this year,” he said.
Several negative “macro level factors” combined to create “significant headwinds” for the Himax Technologies business in Q2, said CEO Jordan Wu on a Thursday earnings call. Himax supplies display-driver chips to the major panel makers and is viewed as an accurate bellwether of display industry conditions. Q2 revenue of $312.6 million was down 14.4% year over year and was 24.3% lower than Q1. High inflation, rapidly rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and the potential for more Chinese COVID lockdowns “caused widespread disruption to demand,” said Wu. “Faced with frozen demand, tied-up inventory and eroding panel prices, brands are downsizing their panel procurement plans,” he said. “Consequently, panel makers initiated downward and extended fab utilization adjustments along with rigorous IC inventory cuts. The sudden halt in demand together with the rise of our production lead time has led to elevated inventory levels for Q3.” Himax is “naturally cutting back on new orders with our suppliers,” said Wu. “However, the contracts that we entered with foundries and back-end suppliers when the industry experienced unprecedented demand in 2021 may incur charges if the minimum purchase orders are not fulfilled.”