Supply Chain by the Numbers
   
 

- Nov. 9, 2012
   
  Supply Chain by the Numbers for Week of Nov. 9, 2012
   
 

Walmart's New Supercube Trucks; US Trade Deficit with China Rises Yet Again; JB Hunt Transformation Continues; Megaships will Keep on Coming in 2013
   
 
 
 

30%

Increase in total truck capacity of a new truck design Walmart is currently testing in Canada called "Supercube."The pilot uses a 60-foot long trailer, plus adds a separate "drome box"that sits between the tractor and the traditional trailer, as shown in the illustration to the right. All this fits in the total length of a truck using a traditional 53-foot trailer, made possible in large part from use of a squashed cab that puts the driver right up at the front. The interior floor of the Supercube's trailer is lower, and there's a built-in scissor lift inside to help loaders stuff cargo into the far reaches.


 
 



 
 
 

$29.1 Billion

US trade deficit with China in September, according to data released by the Commerce Department this week, as the usual story continues on. That even as the Chinese Yuan currency has risen sharply of late against the US dollar. The US deficit with China is running 6.8% ahead of last year’s record pace., while America’s deficit with China last year was the highest imbalance ever recorded with a single country. Though many have called the situation "unsustainable,” the story is the same month after month, year after year.
 
 
 
 
 
48

Number of new "megaships"with capacity exceeding 10,000 TEU that will be delivered to ocean shipping lines in 2013, according to recent research from global shipping broker Braemar Seascope, in its quarterly report on the sector. Those 48 ships will in total contribute TEU capacity of 650,000 out of a record total of 1.7 million TEU that will come on line in total in 2013, even as container growth continues to slow. Net capacity additions factoring in demolitions and taking capacity out of service will be 9.5%, Braemar says, which will certainly be well above container shipping growth in 2013.
 
 
 
 
 
9%

The level that straight trucking revenue as a percent of total revenue has fallen to at JB Hunt in Q3, down from 11% in Q3 2011, as the company's almost complete transition to intermodal and dedicated carriage business services continues on. Trucking's share of total profits at Hunt was even smaller, delivering just 3% of income. Intermodal, by contrast, represented 62% of revenues and a full 74% of profits in Q3. Many other truckload carriers are also pinning their growth hopes in intermodal, dedicated, brokerage and other non-line haul areas.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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