Supply Chain by the Numbers: January 17, 2008

Supply Chain by the Numbers

-January 17, 2008

The Numbers Worth Knowing this Week in Supply Chain and Logistics

This Week: Cheap Labor has Much to Do with the Price of Products from China; Amazon.com's Booming eCommerce Website Service; Nightmare Continues for Boeing's Dreamliner; Gasoline Tax Increase May Pay for Transportation Infrastructure Improvement



1.2%
The average amount of labor as a percent of total product cost for products made in China, versus 8% for the US, according to an in-depth analysis by Michael E. Marks of private equity firm Bigwood Capital.

290,000

The number of customers Amazon.com has for its ecommerce web site services that allow small companies and entrepreneurs to more easily and affordably build web sites, process orders, and perhaps, ultimately, use Amazon to do fulfillment. Some larger firms, such as SanDisk, also use Amazon web services.


Less than 109
The number of 787 Dreamliners Boeing says it will deliver by the end of 2009, referencing the previously promised delivery projections. The company said this week it will not make that number, but can’t say by how much the shortfall will be. The delay has been driven by a new supply chain strategy that relied much more on outside suppliers.




21.6
The number of cents by which a Congressionally-mandated panel, stemming from the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007, said this week it recommends raising the consumer gasoline tax per gallon over the next 5 years to pay for transportation infrastructure improvements. This would take the current federal tax of 18.6 cents to 40 cents. It is expected that the current diesel tax rate of 24.4 cents per gallon would likely see a similar increase.