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Supply Chain by the Numbers

May 15, 2025

Supply Chain by the Numbers for May 15, 2025

JP Morgan Cuts Recession Risk. A3 Says Q1 Robot Sales were Flat. FedEx to Deliver for Amazon again. DHL to Deploy Big Fleet of Boston Dynamics Robots


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0.4%
That was the slight rise in industrial robot sales I North America in Q1 versus the same period in 2024. That according to data this week from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). The A3 press release cited “broader economic uncertainty,” as the key factor in the lack of growth in the robotics market. More specifically, A3 says companies purchased 9,064 robot units, with a combined value of $580.7 million, in the quarter. That represented a 15% rise in order value versus Q1 2024. The stronger growth of value versus unit sales indicates companies on average are deploying higher end machines. Automative OEMs represented 40.4% of unit sales, with a 12% growth in unit sales.

That’s how many years it has been since FedEx last delivered shipments from Amazon, after FedEx ended its relationship with Amazon in 2019, citing low profitability of the business. But now FedEx is back in the Amazon fold, with a multi-year agreement announced this week under which FedEx will deliver some large packages to Amazon customers. The deal follows a January announcement by UPS that it will cut the number of packages it delivers for Amazon by half by the end of next year, according to a report this week from Bloomberg. Amazon said in the report that it does not plan to use FedEx to replace the business it still does with UPS; instead, FedEx will serve as one of several third-party partners that deliver to the retailer’s customers.



35%
That is the new chance the US economy will go into a recession in the next year from the bankers at JP Morgan in a revised forecast this week. That was down from the firm’s previous odds of 45% for a downturn. That came after a temporary tariff truce with China boosted hopes of some easing in the global trade war. On Monday, the U.S. and China announced an agreement to significantly reduce tariffs on each other's imports for 90 days, with the U.S. lowering its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145% and China cutting duties on U.S. imports to 10% from 125%.



1000+
That is how many logistics robots 3PL giant DHL will buy from Boston Dynamics, according to a new strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two firms signed this week. The agreement is for deployment of Boston Dynamics' Stretch robot - designed for case handling and initially deployed by DHL to automate container unloading. The agreement paves the way for the global deployment of more than 1,000 additional units, with DHL planning to expand the range of applications for the robots, including additional use cases such as case picking.

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