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Supply Chain by the Numbers
   
 

- June 9, 2023

   
 

Supply Chain by the Numbers for June 9, 2023

   
 

Will UPS Workers Go on Strike; Global Economy Predicted to Slow; Here Come Waves of Order Picking Robots; China Imports to US Tanking

   
 
 
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340,000

That amazingly is the number of UPS workers – drivers and sortation center employes – who are voting right this week on whether to authorize a strike if the Teamsters union does not reach a new contract with the parcel giant by August 1st. But late in the day Wednesday, Teamsters officials said they had reached agreement on two key issues: increasing the number of arbitrators to help workplace grievances be processed “fairly and quickly,” and on clarifying the penalties UPS would owe to full-time Teamsters who are not paid correctly or suffer from payroll errors. UPS employees have not gone on strike since 1997. The 15-day strike cost UPS some $600 million in business, the New York Times estimates. One of the major issues in the 1997 strike was the number of full-time positions that had become part-time. It is not clear if that is an issue this time. The vote results will be announced on June 16, the union said. Strike authorization votes are routine during contract negotiations, and almost always pass.

 
 
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$6.8 Billion

That will be the size of the market for robotic order picking systems in 2030, up exponentially from $226 million in 2022. That according to a new estimate from research firm Interact Analysis this week. However, despite the market currently being relatively small, there is huge growth potential for the robotic picking sector, Interact says, with a huge increase expected in warehouse automation. In 2022, the number of employees performing static manipulation tasks in warehouses was globally was 4.3 million, and by 2030 this figure will reach 7.5 million. This expansion will substantially increase the total addressable market for robotic picking, the report concludes.

 

 
 
 
 

2.3%

 

That was the share of US imports over the past 12 months that were from China, the lowest figure since 2006. China’s share of trade with the US dipped again in April, the Commerce Dept. reported las week, continuing a downward trend. US companies have been looking for alternatives to Chinese manufacturers in recent years, for a variety of reasons. That includes geopolitical tensions between the two world countries, widespread supply disruptions coming out of China since 2020, and the Trump administration imposing tariffs on thousands of goods imported from China, which the Biden administration has continued. But most of the decline in imports from China have been picked up by countries such as Mexico and other Asian sources, not US production.

 

 
 

15.4%

That was the share of US imports over the past 12 months that were from China, the lowest figure since 2006. China’s share of trade with the US dipped again in April, the Commerce Dept. reported last week, continuing a downward trend. US companies have been looking for alternatives to Chinese manufacturers in recent years, for a variety of reasons. That includes geopolitical tensions between the two world countries, widespread supply disruptions coming out of China since 2020, and the Trump administration imposing tariffs on thousands of goods imported from China, which the Biden administration has continued. But most of the decline in imports from China have been picked up by countries such as Mexico and other Asian sources, not US production.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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