Supply Chain Research

U.S. retail sales growth, excluding autos, slowed to 6.9% year over year in October from 8.3% in September, raising doubts about whether retailers’ hopes for an earlier-than-normal peak shopping season have actually taken place. A moderate recovery raises the stakes for holiday shopping given the recent surge in consumer goods imports to the U.S. Seaborne imports of consumer electronics and household appliances jumped 21.1% and 71.6% higher year over year in October, while sales by electrical stores declined by 3.3%. The situation in furniture is even more extreme. That raises the concer...