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Supply Chain by the Numbers

Oct. 3, 2025

Supply Chain by the Numbers for Oct. 3, 2025

US Manufacturing Contracts again in September. Amazon Launches New Value Grocery Brand. Autonomous Truck Maker Kodiak Goes Public. Industrial Robot Sales Flat in 2024, IFR Says


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542,000 Trillion
That is how many industrial robots were installed in manufacturing and distribution across the globe in 2024, according to a report this week from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). That was up just a bit from the 541,000 installed in 2023. That 2024 figure was just a little below the record number of 553,000 seen in 2022, and up just a bit from the 541,000 installed in 2023. China was by far the world’s largest market in 2024, representing 54% of global deployments. The latest figures show that 295,000 industrial robots have been installed there last year- the highest annual total on record.

1000+

That is how many items are being released under a new low cost private label brand called Amazon Grocery, the company announced this week. The new brand aimed at “price-conscious” shoppers, with most products priced under $5. It’s the latest move by Amazon to crack the huge US grocery market, including a similar move It launched last September, called Amazon Saver, that was “focused on value.” The move comes as Amazon’s grocery business has been in flux. The company last month expanded same-day delivery of fresh foods to more pockets of the US as it looks to encourage shoppers to add meat and eggs to their order while they’re browsing its sprawling online store.



33
That is how months out of the last 35 that the US Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute for Supply Management has been below the key 50 score that indicates manufacturing expansion. That trend continued in September, with a PMI of 49.1, up a little from 48.7 in August but still showing contraction, according to the ISM report released this week. Other economic indicators in the month were mixed. The New Orders Index contracted in September following one month of growth; the figure of 48.9 was 2.5 percentage points lower than the 51.4 recorded in Augus, in bad news for future US manufacturing activity. However, the September reading of the Production Index (51.0) was 3.2 percentage points higher than August’s figure of 47.8, moving into expansion territory.



$2.5 Billion
That is the new market valuation of autonomous truck maker Kodiak Robotics, after it went public last week using the SPAC method, in which a firm basically merges with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company instead of following the IPO route. Kodiak merged with SPAC Ares Acquisition Corp. and changed its name in the process to Kodiak AI. Kodiak’s business model is to sell its autonomous driving technology, called Kodiak Driver, through a driver-as-a-service approach, with fleets paying a per-mile or per-vehicle license fee to access trucks and support.

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