Supply Chain by the Numbers
   
 

- Oct. 21 , 2010 -

   
 

This Week’s Supply Chain by the Numbers for Oct. 21, 2010

   
 

Kraft Estimates Impact from Higher Truck Weight Limits; Rare Earth Metals Really are a Big Deal; WalMart to Invest Big in Produce Supply Chain; 3PL DC Market Share

   
 
 
 

6%

The reduction in truck shipments that Kraft Foods believes it could achieve if a federal bill to allow six-axle trailers carrying 97,000-pound loads (versus the 80,000-pound ceiling today) to travel interstate highways is passed, according to Harry Haney, VP of transportation, in an interview with SCDigest this week. Haney is very active in the Coalition for Transportation Productivity, which is lobbying the change in current law. Full story soon next week in On-Target.
 
 



 

25

The number of pounds of "rare earth metals" (mostly found in the battery and motor) that are part of a Toyota Prius hybrid car, as just one example of why the tiff over China's purported politically-motivated embargo of rare earth metals (in which it now has a near monopoly) this week is such a big deal. Reports say China plans to sharply curtail overall rare earth exports in 2011, for its own economic advantage. The metals are used in cell phones, chemical processes, catalytic converters and more, mostly to impact a metal alloy's response to temperatures. Even an  average automobile might use 12-15 pounds of the stuff.
 
 
$1 Billion

The amount WalMart said this week it plans to spend to upgrade its fresh grocery (perishables) supply chain, largely in the US but also around the world, as part of a plan to use more locally grown produce in its stores.  Through the investment, WalMart can source produce from more areas of the country, and get the food to its store shelves quicker, extending the selling period and reducing spoilage

 
 
 
 
45%

The level of US warehousing and distribution managed by 3PLs (contract and public warehouses), in 2009, according to a report issued this week from Armstrong & Associates, whose business it is to follow  such matters. That number is defined as the percent of total distribution spend, both private and with 3PLs, with totaled some $102 billion last year, according to Evan Armstrong. That breakdown is expected to stay about the same in 2010, according to the report.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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