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Supply
Chain by the Numbers |
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- July 2, 2020 -
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Cargo Thefts Expected to Jump this Weekend; Maerk Lines Invests Big On CO2 Research in Ocean Shipping Sector; US PMI Positive in June; YRC Worldwide Gets Huge Bailout |
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$5.9 Million |
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That is the expected amount of cargo theft over the long July 4th weekend in the US, according to a new report this week from insurance company Travelers and security firm CargoNet. The average heist will be worth $128,415, according to the report, and will involve about 130 separate heists. Food and beverage items, household goods and building materials are the most likely items to be stolen. A Travelers manager said this week that cargo theft always go up on long holiday weekends because thieves believe the extra day will give them a better chance to get away with the crime because it will delay discovery of the incident. Cargo theft is most likely to occur in parking lots, unsecured yards and truck stops. The report specifies two types of thefts: stealing the entire truck, often done by organized crime rings; or breaking into the back of the trailer when the driver is asleep in the berth, or has stepped away from the truck, which more often involves amateurs. The report says crime rings are increasingly sophisticated, often getting gang members hired at a target company to get an inside view of opportunities and vulnerabilities.
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That was the level of the Purchasing Managers Index for June, as announced Wednesday by the Institute for Supply Management. That puts it back above the key 50 mark that separates US manufacturing expansion from contraction for the first time since February. However, that increase is coming off a depressed base, with the index at just 43.1 in May. The New Orders Index registered a strong 56.4, an increase of 24.6 percentage points from the abysmal May reading of 31.8. The optimistic report from ISM noted that "Demand, consumption and inputs are reaching parity and are positioned for a demand-driven expansion cycle as we enter the second half of the year." Of the 18 manufacturing sectors ISM follows,13 reported growth in June. |
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$700 Million |
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That's how much federal government is going to lend to financially beleaguered LTL carrier YRC Worldwide, it was announced Wednesday. In return, the government will amazingly now get a nearly 30% stake in the company. YRC qualified for the loan under a provision of the $2.2 trillion law Congress enacted in late March that authorized $17 billion for companies deemed essential to national security. The loan is by far the biggest the government has extended to a US business outside of the airline industry, and the first loan the government has awarded from a special fund for firms with ties to the Defense Department. That's because YRC, one of the largest truckers, with nearly $5 billion in revenues, moves lots of freight for the DoD. But YRC has struggled for years under a heavy debt load and its union contracts, and with a recent drop in demand due to the virus crisis, it was again in trouble. It recently had been trading at about $1.75 per share, but rose 75% after the news to about $3.25. |
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That is how much the parent company of ocean container shipping giant Maersk Line is investing to start a new research center focused on reducing CO2 emissions in the ocean freight sector. The goal, the Center says, is to collaborate globally to accelerate the development of selected decarbonizing fuels and power technologies, and support the establishment of regulatory, financial, and commercial means to enable transformation in the sector, which accounts now for about 3% of global CO2 emissions, a percentage expected to rise in coming year if things do not change. But in the short term, a Wall Street Journal article says container lines are resisting investments in green technologies under financial pressures due to low rates and volumes resulting from the virus crisis. Climate change initiatives are on the "back burner," the article says, as shipping lines focus on survival. The industry is also naturally reluctant to invest in next-generation alternative fuel ships that don't yet exist and have uncertain futures.
