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Supply
Chain by the Numbers |
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- Dec. 17, 2020
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Carriers Taking Hard Line on Parcel Volumes; Amazon with New Custom-Made Tee Shirt; US Manufacturing Output Rises Slowly; GE Appliances Investing Big in Louisville Factory |
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200 |
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That is the new limit on how many parcel packages UPS will accept daily from on-line retailer goTRG starting Dec. 2 - less than 10% of the 2500 or so orders the company was shipping per day right before then. That according to a report this week in the Wall Street Journal. That's because UPS, as well as rival FedEx, are sticking with hard limits on parcel volumes they will accept from etailers exceeding their previously forecast volumes, whether the shipper is Costco, Macy's or much smaller goTGRG. David Malka, goTRG's chief sales officer, says the limits came as a surprise. “We were told after the fact,” he said. Those limitations have actually allowed the parcel carriers to largely keep up with delivering parcels they accept, without experiencing mass congestion and long delivery times that would have resulted from more lenient policies. In addition to risking etailers' ability to get orders to consumer by Christmas, the restrictions are resulting in big back-ups of parcels ready to ship at distribution centers, forcing some companies to look for alternative carriers, including specialty delivery companies such as Instacart.
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That was the level of the US manufacturing output index for November, according to the monthly report this week from the Federal Reserve Bank. That was up a bit from the index level of 100.3 in October, indicating some continued US manufacturing recovery. However, at 101.1 it means manufacturing output is just 1.1% above the baseline year of 2012 (index = 100), now almost nine years later. It is also well down from the level of 105 or so before the pandemic outbreak in March, and is a decrease of 3.7% from November of 2019. Factory utilization crept up a bit to 72.6%, but is still well below the average from 1972 to 2019 of 78.2%. |
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$80 Million |
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That's how much GE Appliances will invest in a new production line to make dishwashers in its sprawling appliance factory in Louisville, the company announced this week. GE Appliances for some time has been cited as a leading example of a US company keeping manufacturing jobs in the US – even though for some years now it has actually been owned by China-based Haier. The new line will create about 300 new jobs, the company said, even though the line will use robotics to "eliminate difficult jobs, improve ergonomics and enhance the manufacturing environment," the company said. In July, GE Appliances said it was investing $43 million to transform the complex's refrigeration manufacturing building to add a new platform for a high-end, four-door refrigerator. All told, the company has about 7100 employees in the Louisville, areas, most in what is known as “Appliance Park.” |
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That's what Amazon says it will charge consumers for a custom-made T-shirt based on their precise measurements, as the on-line behemoth that continues to innovate. The news offering will be marketed as its Made For You brand. To have a shirt created, users will need to upload their measurements along with two full-body photos of themselves (front and back of their torsos). Amazon says the photos will be deleted after the shirt is made. Consumers will also be able select the shirt's length, the fabric blend, neckline, sleeve type, and the color of the fabric. You can also have a personalized name tag. For now, the Made For You line only includes shirts, but customers are able to leave feedback as to what items they would also like to see Amazon offer.