b'8American Journal of Transportation ajot.comChinas ban on TaiwanVWs Traton eyes China push after pineapples backfires as$3.7 billion Navistar dealnew buyers step in VolkswagenAGsTratonSEtruckunitfor the 83% of Navistar stock it doesnt own, will seek to expand in Asia to build a broaderwith parent VW providing a loan of 3.3 billion Chinassurprisebanonadd a pineapple-infused sweetglobal presence, after finalizing the $3.7 bil- euros ($3.9 billion) to fund the transaction that pineapple imports from Taiwantwisttoallsortsofdisheslion takeover of U.S. affiliate Navistar Inter- is due to close July 1. VW is Navistars second-fivemonthsagowaswidelyrangingfromshrimpballs,national Corp. largestshareholderwitha16.7%stake,nar-viewed as an attempt to under- fried rice and even the clas- The company plans to fill remaining gapsrowly behind billionaire investor Carl Icahn.mine President Tsai Ing-wenssic beef noodle soup. Taiwanin its industrial footprint in markets including standingwithapoliticalcon- RailwaysAdministrationChina, Traton said in a prepared statement forc apitalR aisingstituency. Trade data show theintroducedspecialeditionits annual general meeting. We believe Traton equity story is at an movehasproducedanythinglunchboxeswithpineapplesChinese fleet customers are increasinglyinflection point with potential capital raise in but the desired effect. as one of the side dishes. lookingtowardhigher-endvehicles, Tratonthe third quarter, Jefferies analyst Himanshu First-halfnumberscol- As a result, domestic pricesChiefExecutiveOfficerMatthiasGruendlerAgarwal said in a note. To help finance the lectedbyTaiwansCouncilof the fruit jumped 28% to ansaid. They are expecting more and more indeal, Traton could raise as much as 1.5 billion ofAgricultureshowgrow- averageNT$22.1(80cents)termsofefficiencyandsafetywewanttoeuros by selling shares for 27 euros a piece, ers of the fruit on the islandper kilogram in the March-Junemeet this demand. matchingthepriceofitsinitiallistingtwo have fared better since Chinaperiod, a three-year high. TheAcquiring Navistar marks a milestone foryears ago, he said.blockedimportsstartingtotalvalueofthepineapplesVWs long-standing efforts to forge a viableEven as analysts largely praised the acqui-March 1, as sympathetic Jap- sold locally rose 17%, accord- rivalforindustryleadersDaimlerAGandsition, Traton has in the past struggled to inte-anese shoppers stepped in toing to data provided by the farmVolvoABonaglobalscale.Tratonmakesgrateindustrialoperationsaftertakingfull providesupport.Shipmentscouncils Chen. ScaniaandMANvehiclesaswellasVW- control. Rivalries marred cooperation between toJapansurgedmorethanHigher prices driven bybranded trucks for emerging markets and hasScaniaandMANforyears,andTraton eightfoldto16,556tonsinstrongdomesticdemandledbeen largely dependent on sales in Europe andembarkedonadeeprestructuringatMAN the four months through Junetomoreprofitforthefarm- Latin America. after cost-sharing projects with Scania failed from a year ago. A domesticers, Chen said. Traton earlier agreed to pay $44.50 a shareto stop a dramatic erosion in earnings.campaign to drum up demand also helped.Thehelpinghandfrom Japanese importers has come as a pleasant surprise for Tai-wansrattledfarmerswho were bracing for a plunge in prices following the move by China,whichtermeditasa normalprecautiontoprotect biosecurity. The spiky fruit is among a long list of products from Australian wine to coal and lobster China has targeted forsanctionstohelpgain leverage in trade disputes.Japanhasnowreplaced Chinaasthemajorover-seasdestinationforTai-wanspineapples. Whileits unclearhowlongtheban will lastthe shift may well reverseoncetherestric-tionsareliftedthehumble tropical fruit has become an unlikelysymbolofdefiance intheregionsgeopolitical intrigues. Amid all the sabre-rattling by Beijing, Japan and theislanddemocracyhave expressedabroaddesireto forgecloserties.Leadersin Tokyoseetheirownsecu-rity directly linked to that of Taiwan, which China asserts is its territory.Pineapplesareanimpor-tantsourceofincomefor farmersincentralandsouth-ernTaiwan.Around11%of thetropicalfruitharvested inTaiwanaresoldoverseas. Until the ban, they were almost entirely shipped to China.Exportordersarelook-ing unexpectedly good, said ChiaoChun,chiefexecutive officerofHarvestConsul-tancy Co. in Taipei. Besidesthehelpfrom Japan, an increase in domestic demand fueled by a save the farmerscampaignonsocial mediaralliedlocalshoppers insupportofgrowers.Even President Tsai pitched in a day after Chinas ban took effect.Farmersalsoreceived passionatebackingfrom local businesses. Restaurants across the island rushed in to'