Supply Chain by the Numbers: March 13, 2008

Supply Chain by the Numbers

-March 13, 2008

The Numbers Worth Knowing this Week in Supply Chain and Logistics

This Week: Low Cost of Rail pounds a Spike in Trucking Glut; Less Variety in "What's for Dinner?"; The Fickle Finger of Low-Cost Sourcing Points Away From China; US Exports on the Rise



14%
The average cost difference in favor of rail transport versus truckload shipping, according to respondents to the most recent Bear Stearns Shippers Survey (See Quarterly Bear Stearns Shippers Survey Suggests Trucking Capacity Glut may be Reaching Bottom)

The number of Hamburger Helper varieties General Mills says it will now make, down from 75 previously, as surging commodities costs for wheat and other ingredients force the need to reduce manufacturing and supply chain costs.


54%
The percent of Western companies in a new study by consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and the American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai that said they believed China was losing its competitive advantage as a low-cost country sourcing location, due to labor cost increases and currency changes.




7.7%
The rise in US exports in 2007, driven by the fall in the value of the US dollar, according to recently released government figures. This compares with just a 1.4% rise in imports last year. For the first time in a dozen years, trade (net exports) added to GDP growth in 2007, as exports added more than imports and took aay from GDP growth.