Supply Chain by the Numbers: February 22, 2008

Supply Chain by the Numbers

-February 22, 2008

The Numbers Worth Knowing this Week in Supply Chain and Logistics

This Week: Oil Prices Break New Ground; "Steel" Yourself for Jump in Price of Iron Ore; Lots of Smiling at Wal-Mart Over 4th Quarter Revenue; When a Sortation System Makes Good Sense



$100.01
The closing price Tuesday for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the most common industry benchmark, as the futures price ended the day above the long-predicted $100 level for the first time, before sliding a bit later in the week.

65%

The staggering price increase achieved this week by Brazilian iron ore producer Vale and several steel companies, including Japan's Nippon Steel and ThyssenKrupp. It far exceeded many estimates that forecast a 30-50% increase, and will lead to large increases in finished steel prices as well.


$107.4 billion
The level of fourth quarter revenue for Wal-Mart, as the company became the first ever to top $100 billion in quarterly sales. Overall, sales jumped 8.4%, though currency gains from international operations helped that number.




10,000
The number of cartons per day our Material Handling Systems editor Cliff Holste says is typically needed to make an automation sortation system in distribution operations a potential option. See our complete Sortation Systems in Distribution Resources page.