Many in Supply Chain Playing ‘Wait and See’ on US-China Talks, Says Jabil CEO

Recent supply-chain “activity” emanating from tariffs on Chinese goods “ebbed and flowed” among clients of contract electronics manufacturer Jabil, said CEO Mark Mondello on a Q2 call Thursday. “We've been very helpful to a significant amount of our customers in terms of game plans” for shifting supply chains outside China, he said. “Some have been proactive and some are taking a wait and see.” For customers seeking to modify supply chains to escape or reduce duties exposure, “we are very well-positioned to accommodate them,” he said. “It's kind of a wait and see for a lot of us in the next six to eight weeks” as U.S.-China trade talks move toward some unknown conclusion, he said. The U.S. "before too long" will have either "a good result or we’re going to have a bad result,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday (see 1903130036)