Supply Chain by the Numbers: Week of May 28, 2009
 

-May 28, 2009
   
 

This Week's Supply Chain by the Numbers - Electronics Consumer Demand, Iron Ore Pricing, Descartes Systems Net Income, Dreamliner Profits

   
 

The Supply Chain and Logistics Numbers Worth Knowing This Week: Electronics Knee-Jerk Over-Reaction, Iron Ore Price Bust, Software Market not Softening, Dreamy Supply Chain Strategy Equals Zero Profit
   
 
 
 

8/10/20

The respective Q4 2008 declines in consumer demand for electronics at retail, retail orders to OEMs, and OEM orders to component suppliers, as panic and lack of visibility set in, according to Rick Tsai, CEO of chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. last week.
 
 



 

45%

The reduction in price for higher grade iron ore that mining giant Rio Tinto agreed to this week in mid-contract with Japan’s Nippon Steel amidst the global economic slump and depressed demand for steel. Rio Tinto’s stock actually rose on the news, as many were expecting an even steeper price drop.
 
 
100%

The increase in Q1 net income announced this week by logistics software and services provider Descartes Systems, as supply chain software sales in general continue to hold up relatively well in the downturn. Descartes largely uses a “recurring revenue” model (subscription/
transaction-based).
 
 
 
 
0%

The gross profit or even loss on Boeing's first deliveries of its new Dreamliner 787 aircraft expected in June, some two years behind schedule because of late delivery penalties and other costs associated with the delays, the company said this week. That lack of gross margin is largely driven by an outsourcing strategy gone bad that led to the schedule delays. The problems with the 787 were cited as #2 in our recently updated list of the worst supply chain disasters of all-time.