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Supply
Chain by the Numbers |
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- March 3, 2022
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Oil Prices could Soar still Higher; Automobile Ship that Caught Fire Sinks; US January PMI is Strong; Target Announces Big Jump in Store and DC Wages |
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$150 |
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| That is the price per barrel of oil the world should expect if Russia was to cut it oil exports in half – or various sanctions reduce the amount countries buy from Russia by a similar amount. That according to a new projection from the oil analysts at Wall Street firm JP Morgan. That after prices for Brent crude jumped to $112 per barrel on Wednesday on the invasion by Russia of Ukraine. Russia is currently the number 2 global oil producer, just below the US in terms of barrels produced per day. Gas and diesel prices are rising in lock step with soaring oil costs. The US national average for regular gasoline already stands at $3.61 a gallon, according to AAA. That's up 8 cents in a week and 25 cents in a month – and appears to be heading higher. "Russia's energy supplies are very much at risk, either due to being withheld by Russia as a weapon or swiped off the market due to sanctions," Louise Dickson, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy, wrote this week. Get ready for fill-up sticker shock. |
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| That was the February level of the Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), up 1 percentage point from the January reading of 57.6. It is also well above the key 50 mark that separates US manufacturing expansion from contraction. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 21st month in a row. The New Orders Index registered 61.7%, up 3.8 percentage points compared to the January reading of 57.9, in a good sign for future US manufacturing activity. But inflation is still a concern. The Prices Index came in at 75.6, and while that was down 0.5 percentage point compared to the January, it still means 75.6% of companies are seeing higher prices for materials and other inputs. Meanwhile, average lead times from suppliers in February set record highs in all three ISM categories (capital goods, production materials, and MRO items. |
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$24.00 |
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That incredibly is now the new starting wage at Target for workers in some US areas, both in-store and in its distribution centers. Target this week that said that it will offer minimum wages that range from $15 to $24 per hour, with the top wages going to new hires in the most competitive labor markets. It currently pays a starting wage of $15 per hour for all employees. The compensation scheme is a component of Target’ previously announced plan to spend an additional $300 million on its labor force in 2022, including high wage and improved healthcare programs. Will the Target wage move spread? |
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That is the estimated value of the 4000 automobiles that were on the ship Felicity Ace that caught fire last week off the coast of Portugal while sailing from Germany to the US. While most thought there was little left of the cars after a fire started in the hold and spread rapidly, any hope of salvaging undamaged cars from the ship ended when the Felicity Ace sunk this week after an attempt to tow the ship to a port failed. The vessel, had developed a list as the tow began, and there was bad weather. All the cars were exports from the Volkswagen Group, and included 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys and unspecified numbers of cars from Audi, Volkswagen, and Lamborghini. Did electric car batteries start the blaze? That is the big question.