Supply Chain by the Numbers: Week of September 2, 2009
   
 

-September 2, 2009
   
 

This Week’s Supply Chain by the Numbers – Wal-Mart Marketplace, China PMI, Maersk Rate Hike, US Manufacturing Growth Forecast

   
 

The Supply Chain and Logistics Numbers Worth Knowing This Week: Wal-Mart.com Moves to New Corner on the Market, China's 2009 PMI a High Sign, Maersk Ups the Ante with Rate Hike, MAPI 2010 US Manufacturing Growth "Magic 8-Ball" Prediction - "Outlook Good"

   
 
 
 

1 million

The approximate number of additional products that Wal-Mart says it will be able to sell on walmart.com, as the retailer starts to offer products that will be stocked and delivered by others as part of its new Wal-Mart Marketplace offering, similar to the approach of Amazon.com.
 
 



 

54

The August level of the Chinese version of the purchasing managers index (PMI), the highest level the Chinese PMI has reached this year, indicating continued manufacturing growth in the country. As with the US PMI, any number over 50 indicates growth. In July, the China PMI was 53.3
 
 
$400

Announced increase by Maersk for shipping a 20-foot equivalent unit container from Northern Europe to the US and Canada, among a series of price increases across the globe. Maersk and other ocean carriers have complained recent pricing levels are “unsustainable” and often below variable costs to run the ships.
 
 
 
 
3.2%

Forecast growth in US manufacturing output for 2010, according to the economists at the Manufacturing Alliance (MAPI), in a just released forecast. The better news for 2010 follows a prediction for an 11.9% decrease in manufacturing output for 2009 – but the good news is that almost all of that decline has already occurred.