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Supply Chain by the Numbers

April 10, 2025

Supply Chain by the Numbers for April 10, 2025

Another FC Push for Amazon? Truck Parking Study from ATRI. Weak Economy Ahead? Could iPhone be Made in USA?


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$15 Billion
That is how much Amazon is considering investing in a swath of new logistics facilities, according to a report this week from Bloomberg. Amazon is mulling over the addition of as many as 80 new sites, many in rural areas, Bloomberg, says, as it continues to pursue more same day deliveries. Most of the new sites would be delivery hubs, where Amazon’s contract drivers pick up goods for that day’s deliveries, but some would also be large fulfillment centers packed with robots, the report added. Amazon said the projects were currently under discussion and have not been finalized. Amazon spent heavily on its logistics facilities of several types during the pandemic, later taking a $2 billion in quarterly charge for excess warehouse and transportation capacity. The company has since reduced those real

313,000

That is about how many actual parking spots for truck drivers exist in the US at present, representing roughly one spot for every 11 drivers. That’s not nearly enough, many truckers say, with the lack of adequate parking for drivers reaching hours of service limits or otherwise needing a break perennially at or near the top issues for drivers. That data comes this week from a new report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ARTI) that looks at whether adding more spaces at government managed highway rest stops could be part of the answer to the problem. Currently, of the 313,000 total spots across the nation, only 40,000 are at public rest areas. According to the ATRI study, rest areas offer a potentially attractive path to grow truck parking capacity, but there are many issues, from state budgets to what amenities truckers want.



0.3%
That was the expectation for US Q1 GDP growth, according to the CNBC Rapid Update, which averagesm forecasts from 14 economists for GDP and inflation. Of note, the survey was taken last week before Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff madness. That low GDP forecast compares with the 2.3% reported in the fourth quarter of 2024. If accurate, 0.3% growth would be the weakest growth since 2022 as the economy emerged from the pandemic. The CNBC forecast also looked at core PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, and found the panel believe inflation will remain stuck at around 2.9% for most of 2025 before resuming its decline in the fourth quarter.



40+
That is the number of countries from which Apple sources components that go in to making an Apple iPhone. That according to an article this week in the Wall Steet Journal that looked at how – or even if – Apple could start making the iPhone in the US from Chia, where the item is primarily made in China. The summary opinion from a small panel of experts queried by the Journal: “Building the full stack of iPhone components and assembling it in the US? Impossible. But shifting some manufacturing here? Not totally insane.” In recent years, Apple has signaled its plan to move more iPhone assembly to India – but that was before the Trump tariffs.

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