CHARLES MELLEN ENVY? Vertical integration has its advantages, but Wal-Mart (a company that leases space to pop bottlers) buying a shipping line? That might not earn the brilliancy prize The Politics of CP envisions.

If Wal-Mart does follow through on this shipping deal, the world will be watching. Wall Street's jaws will drop, their competitors will wince, and no one will be able to touch them.

On the other hand, American President totes containers bound for Wal-Mart's competitors. Won't any advantages that accrue to Wal-Mart also benefit American President's other customers? (Yes, there are some advantages to running trucks part-empty. Are the economics of container ships comparable?) Not only that, aren't we seeing the same cult of the conglomerate that flowered in the late 1960s?