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Supply Chain by the Numbers

May 15, 2026

Supply Chain by the Numbers for May 15, 2026

USPS Financial Woes. Inflation at Wholesale Level Soars in April. Cass Shipments Index on the Rise, Sort Of. US Robot Sales Flat in Q1


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$2 Billion
That was the Q1 loss by the United States Postal Service, according to the USPS later last week. The Postal Service “faces a growing financial crisis and has ‌warned it could run out of cash as soon as February, according to Reuters. USPS said mail volumes fell another 6.3% in the three months ending March 31, as operating revenue rose 2.3% to $20.2 billion over the same quarter last year. USPS has reported total net losses of $120 billion since 2007 as first-class mail, its most profitable product, has fallen to its lowest volume since the late 1960s. "We are in a cash crisis, and we are now taking serious and appropriate steps to conserve funds to operate," Postmaster General David Steiner said.

0.1%

That was the slight drop in unit sales of industrial robots In North America in Q1. That according to new data released last week by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Compared to the first quarter of 2025, this also marked a 6.4% decline in revenue for robot suppliers. All told, North American companies ordered 9,055 robots valued at $543 million in the first quarter of 2026. The decline in order revenue year-over-year was driven largely by a cyclical decline in Automotive OEM orders, which fell a hefty 35.1% in units and 48.2% in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.



1.4%
That was the sharp monthly rise in the producer price index for April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics this week. The PPI measures inflation at the wholesale level. Wholesale prices in April posted their highest annual increase in more than three years, signaling more nettlesome inflation as pipeline costs intensify. On an annual basis, the index was up 6%, the biggest increase since December 2022. Energy was at the root of the unexpectedly high gain in producer prices, as it was for a surge in consumer prices that the BLS reported the day before the PPI data was released.

0.6%

That was the small rise in the seasonally adjusted Shipments Index from Cass Information Systems month-over-month in April, according to Cass’ monthly report released this week. Still, it marked the third straight gain in the index, as the US freight sector is trying to leave more that two years of “freight recession” behind it. However, the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index fell 4.4% year-over-year in April. In other news from the report, after a brief lull truckload rates have resumed their upward march, Cass says, and are likely to continue in this direction, with spot rates up 25% year-over year in April.

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