Universal Electronics, Inc. shares bounced 15.2% Friday to close at $51.80 after the company’s Thursday Q4 earnings report showing 68 percent growth in earnings per share. For full-year 2019, net sales grew to $751.7 million, the highest in company history, up 11% over 2018, said Chief Financial Officer Bryan Hackworth on an earnings call. A rebalancing of the remote control maker’s product line away from low-margin devices to advanced, differentiated high-margin solutions contributed to the company’s strongest year ever, said CEO Paul Arling.

Coronavirus-induced travel and transportation restrictions that persist beyond March “are likely to pressure global supply chains and potentially create worldwide economic fallout,” said a Congressional Research Service report Wednesday. “Measures to contain the outbreak have significantly curtailed domestic and global transportation links, preventing the transport of many products and manufacturing inputs,” it said. Production has slowed across China, with “sharp slowdowns in sectors concentrated in Hubei,” including LCD panels, it said. Sourcing that diversified to other parts of Asia after the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods “often depends on intermediate inputs from China and thus is not insulated from China’s production slowdown,” it said.

Best Buy is “far from immune” from the negative impact of Chinese factory closures due to the coronavirus outbreak’s toll on the global retail supply chain, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Thursday. Though Best Buy reduced exposure to Section 301 tariffs implemented on electronics imported from China last year -- “as several small and relatively nimble companies moved their US-bound manufacturing to other countries” -- some of its largest partners weren’t able to divert manufacturing from China “and will feel the full brunt of the factory closures.” The retailer can mitigate the impact of supply chain disruption in TVs by pushing 55-inch and larger models manufactured in Mexico, Pachter said. Maintaining a “neutral” rating on the stock, the analyst applauded Best Buy for achieving “difficult financial targets” and setting long-term targets “within the realm of possibility.” Near term, he cautioned of the 2020 supply chain disruption “as Chinese factory closures appear likely to persist through Q1.” Wedbush expects Best Buy to post Q4 revenue next week of $15.19 billion vs. analysts’ consensus of $15.06 billion and the retailer’s guidance of $14.75 billion-$15.15 billion. It expects domestic Q4 comparable sales growth of 2.7% year on year, driven by appliance sales growth through the In-Home Advisor program and services via Total Tech Support. Pachter expects “some growth” in home theater in Q4 because over-55-inch TVs produced in Mexico weren’t subject to tariffs.

Coronavirus-induced travel and transportation restrictions that persist beyond March “are likely to pressure global supply chains and potentially create worldwide economic fallout,” said a Congressional Research Service report Wednesday. “Measures to contain the outbreak have significantly curtailed domestic and global transportation links, preventing the transport of many products and manufacturing inputs,” it said. Production has slowed across China, with “sharp slowdowns in sectors concentrated in Hubei,” including LCD panels, it said. Sourcing that diversified to other parts of Asia after the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods “often depends on intermediate inputs from China and thus is not insulated from China’s production slowdown,” it said.

Coronavirus-induced travel and transportation restrictions that persist beyond March “are likely to pressure global supply chains and potentially create worldwide economic fallout,” said a Congressional Research Service report Wednesday. “Measures to contain the outbreak have significantly curtailed domestic and global transportation links, preventing the transport of many products and manufacturing inputs,” it said. Production has slowed across China, with “sharp slowdowns in sectors concentrated in Hubei,” including LCD panels, it said. Sourcing that diversified to other parts of Asia after the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods “often depends on intermediate inputs from China and thus is not insulated from China’s production slowdown,” it said.

Best Buy is “far from immune” from the negative impact of Chinese factory closures due to the coronavirus outbreak’s toll on the global retail supply chain, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Thursday. Though Best Buy reduced exposure to Section 301 tariffs implemented on electronics imported from China last year -- “as several small and relatively nimble companies moved their US-bound manufacturing to other countries” -- some of its largest partners weren’t able to divert manufacturing from China “and will feel the full brunt of the factory closures.” The retailer can mitigate the impact of supply chain disruption in TVs by pushing 55-inch and larger models manufactured in Mexico, Pachter said. Maintaining a “neutral” rating on the stock, the analyst applauded Best Buy for achieving “difficult financial targets” and setting long-term targets “within the realm of possibility.” Near term, he cautioned of the 2020 supply chain disruption “as Chinese factory closures appear likely to persist through Q1.” Wedbush expects Best Buy to post Q4 revenue next week of $15.19 billion vs. analysts’ consensus of $15.06 billion and the retailer’s guidance of $14.75 billion-$15.15 billion. It expects domestic Q4 comparable sales growth of 2.7% year on year, driven by appliance sales growth through the In-Home Advisor program and services via Total Tech Support. Pachter expects “some growth” in home theater in Q4 because over-55-inch TVs produced in Mexico weren’t subject to tariffs.

The U.S. imported 102.68 million laptops and tablets last year under the 8471.30.01 tariff subheading, a 4.9% unit increase from 2018, said Census Bureau figures accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. It was the highest annual unit volume since 106.72 million were shipped here in 2015.

Tracking devices that use the Global Positioning System should be classified differently from smartwatches and other Bluetooth-connected devices that rely on a smartphone connection, CBP said in two recently released rulings. The Sept. 30 rulings both involve Globalstar products that use GPS signals and provide location updates. Neville Petersen lawyer Michael Tomenga requested the rulings for Globalstar, and said the trackers should be classified based on the wireless transceivers, similar to fitness tracking devices (see 1603070028).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new product exclusion from the second group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusion is reflected in "specially prepared product description," which covers "Skateboards with electric power for propulsion, of a power not exceeding 250 W (described in statistical reporting number 8711.60.0050)." The agency also converted a one exclusion for bulk silicone from a product description to an exclusion of a 10-digit HTSUS subheading, it said. The new exclusion applies from Aug. 23, 2018 and expires Oct. 1, 2020. The other change applies from when the original exclusion was announced, Oct. 2, 2019 and expires on Oct. 1, 2020, the agency said.

The Canadian Parliament is moving the successor to NAFTA along, so that a March ratification vote is still looking likely, news from Canada says. While the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be reviewed by the agriculture, natural resources and industry/science/technology committees, not just the trade committee, the other committees only have until Feb. 25 for that review, a report from ipolitics said.