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Supply Chain by the Numbers

Jan. 29, 2026

Supply Chain by the Numbers for Jan. 29, 2026

Cargo Theft Trends. Another Big Amazon Layoff. Carrier Support Tougher Rules on CDLs. US Population Growth is Flat, with Immigration Down


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16,000
That’s how many workers Amazon said it will be cutting soon, after whacking 14,000 in October, as it looks to trim bureaucracy and free up money for plans to spend heavily on artificial intelligence. The company did not rule out more job cuts in the future, although it said it was not planning to create a “new rhythm” of layoffs every few months. The cuts mirrored a large round of layoffs in late 2022 and early 2023, when the company eliminated almost 30,000 positions to trim costs as the world emerged from the pandemic. Amazon had 1,578,000 employees in the third quarter. Most of those were hourly workers in its fulfillment centers and operations not directly affected by the new cuts.

200,000

That’s about how many immigrants in the US hold so-called non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses that allow them to haul freight professionally. That represents about 5% of all CDL holders nationwide, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The licenses are available to drivers who aren’t US citizens or lawful permanent residents. That was in the news this week relative to an article in the Wall Street Journal on a proposed new rule from the Trump administration that would in part limit the types of visas eligible for non-domiciled CDLs. The FMCSA estimated about 97% of current non-domiciled CDL holders would no longer be eligible under the new rule, said to be focused on highway safety. But it would also reduce effective trucking capacity. Law-enforcement officers at the same time have been taking commercial drivers off the road who are deemed not to be proficient in English. Big trucking companies have said the administration’s efforts could help reverse their fortunes after more than three years of grappling with rock-bottom freight rates.



341.8 Million
That is how many people lived in the US at the end of July, according to a report last week from the Census Bureau last week. That after growth of 1.8 million from the end of July 2014, meaning the population increased just 0.5% over that year. In the previous 12 months, the population grew by 3.3 million people. What’s going on? A decline in immigration was a key factor, with a decline of 2.7 million versus the previous period. That against a backdrop of falling US fertility rates, which are currently below replacement rates. Demography, as the saying goes, is destiny.



60%
That was the growth in the value of goods stolen from cargo theft incidents in the US and Canada in 2025. That even though the total number of cargo theft incidents were basically flat last year, at 3,594 from the 3,607 events reported in 2024. All that and more from the annual report last week from Verisk CargoNet, a cargo security firm. The firm also estimated losses surged to nearly $725 million, a 60% increase as noted above from 2024. According to CargoNet’s the average value per theft rose to $273,990, up 36% from $202,364 in 2024, as organized crime involved in the thefts targets higher value goods.

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