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Supply
Chain by the Numbers |
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June 6, 2025
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2025 US GDP Forecasts Cut Sharply. EVs Cars Catch Fire at Sea. Automakers Desparate for Rare Earths. Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Soar |
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1.6% |
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| That is the new estimate for 2025 US GDP growth this week from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. If accurate, that would be a sharp reduction from the 2.8% growth recorded last year. Also downgraded was the forecast for 2026 GDP to just 1.5%. World economic growth is also forecast to slow to 2.9% this year and stay there in 2026, according to the OECD's forecast. That would mark a substantial deceleration from growth of 3.3% global growth last year and 3.4% in 2023. Without mentioning Trump, OECD chief economist Álvaro Pereira wrote in a commentary that accompanied the forecast that "we have seen a significant increase in trade barriers as well as in economic and trade policy uncertainty. |
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| That is the number of electric cars on a ship that caught fire and was abandoned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean this week, according to many reports. The fire highlights the growing risk for the transportation of electric vehicles. The fire aboard the Morning Midas occurred about 300 miles south of Adak Island in Alaska, according to the US Coast Guard. Smoke was first seen coming from a deck of the vessel, whose cargo included about 800 EVs, the ship’s manager, Zodiac Maritime, said in a statement. The Coast Guard evacuated all 22 crew members, transferring them to a nearby merchant ship. It is not yet clear how many EVs if any were not damaged. |
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50% |
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| That was the new tariffs on steel and aluminum effective this week in the topsy-turvy world of the Trump administration tariff world. That’s double the previous 25% rate. That move naturally has sparked concerns among businesses that rely on imported steel and aluminum, from car makers to can manufacturers that their costs will soar. The leap in tariffs likely won’t hit American pocketbooks immediately, but experts say that higher prices on construction projects, car lots, appliances and elsewhere are all but inevitable from the higher duties. |
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That is about the share of the production of so-called rare earth metals and minerals that is controlled by China. This fact was once again back in the news because four major automakers are racing to find workarounds to China’s stranglehold, which they fear could force them to shut down some car production within weeks. In fact, several traditional and electric-vehicle makers—and their suppliers—are considering shifting some auto-parts manufacturing to China to avoid looming factory shutdowns, according to the Wall Street Journal. China in April began requiring companies to apply for permission to export magnets made with rare-earth metals, including dysprosium and terbium.
