Supply Chain by the Numbers
 

-November 13, 2008
   
 

The Numbers Worth Knowing this Week in Supply Chain and Logistics - November 13, 2008

   
 

This Week: Two's Company Comes at a Price; Closing up Shop in China; Labor's Secret to Success - No More Secrets; A Return to Open Return Policies

   
 
 
 

3%

The likely rise in UPS and FedEx parcel shipping rates over the next few years above what they would otherwise have been as the result of the announcement this week that DHL is closing US domestic operations, removing the low price competitor from the market.
 
 



 

100,000

The number of factories in China expected to close in 2008, according to Chinese government estimates, as export growth slows as the result of rising costs in China, product safety concerns, and most importantly the global economic slow down (see Will there Turn out to be a “China Import Bubble” Too?)
 
 
7.5%

The approximate percentage of US private sector employees in a union. This number is very relevant this week after the Obama victory, and the push from labor to get the “card check” law passed that would make possible to unionize a workplace without a secret ballot – perhaps leading to a major change in that number over time.
 
 
 
 
8.7%

 

 

The percentage of retail sales this year that will be returned by customers, according to NFR estimates this week, up from 7.3% in 2007. The retail trade organization said 52% of retailers are loosening their returns policies this season in hopes of improving sales, putting more pressure on reverse logistics processes for retailers and manufacturers.
 
 
 
 
 
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