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Supply Chain by the Numbers

April 2, 2026

Supply Chain by the Numbers for April 2, 2026

US PMI looking Strong for a Change. Thieves like Taste of that KitKat Bar. Amazon Buys Humanoid Robot Companies. Supplier Dispute Shuts Down Jeep Factory


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413,793
That Is precisely how many KitKat chocolate bars were stolen in Europe late last week, in a cargo heist of some 12 tons. The confectionery, which is manufactured by Swiss firm Nestle, was stolen when the vehicle was distributing the bars along a route running from a factory in central Italy to Poland, KitKat said in a statement. This is not the only massive chocolate heist to have taken place recently in Europe, with a British man sentenced to 18 months in jail in July 2023 for stealing 200,000 chocolate eggs. “We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat – but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally,” said a Nestle spokesperson in a statement.

$26 Million

That is how much auto OEM Stellantis paid to supplier ZF Chassis Modules last December as well as granting substantial price increases mid-contract to avoid parts not being shipped, according to a lawsuit filed by Stellantis alleged last week. That’s because the December concessions apparently weren’t enough, as the suit filings said that the supplier is seeking additional price increases on contracts, according to the lawsuit - reportedly again totaling tens of millions of dollars. Stellantis said that a factory in Toluca, Mexico, has been shuttered since March 14 because of a payment dispute with the supplier. The Mexican factory makes the Jeep Compass and Cherokee sport-utility vehicles.



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That is now the number of consecutive months the Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute for Supply Management has been above the key 50 mark that separates US manufacturing expansion from contraction, with the numbers for March released by ISM this week. With a score of 52.4 in March, just above the 52.1 level seen in February. The New Orders Index also expanded for the third straight month after four straight readings in contraction, registering 53.5, down 2.3 percentage points compared to February’s figure of 55.8, but still above the key 50 mark, in good news for future US manufacturing activity.

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