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Supply Chain by the Numbers

Oct 30, 2025

Supply Chain by the Numbers for Oct. 30, 2025

Truckers Want more Pay. UPS Laying Tens of Thousands. Big Bucks for Robo Taxi Company. CSCOs not Prepared for AI, Gartner Says


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That is the rank of basic economics issues for truck drivers – driver compensation – in the annual critical issues report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released this week, based on a large survey of US drivers. Truck parking was the No. 2 concern in 2025 for drivers. English-language deficiency for drivers, broker issues, and detention/delay at customer facilities rounded out the top five among the 27 topics drivers could choose from. Wages are up 2.4% for drivers in the past year, according to ATRI research, but that is 0.5% below the rate of inflation. Commenting on the report, one trucking exec said that it has been difficult as a carrier to raise driver wages because of the on-going freight rate recession.

$375 Million

That was how much new investment Austin, Texas-based autonomous delivery vehicle tech vendor Avride announced this from two high-profile backers; its owner, the Dutch artificial intelligence (AI) developer Nebius Group, and Uber Technologies. The company already had a commercial partnership with Uber, which plans to launch Avride’s robotaxi service on the Uber platform by the end of 2025. Also, Avride’s delivery robots are already fulfilling orders through the Uber Eats platform for hundreds of restaurants in Jersey City, Austin, and Dallas. The Jetson’s world appears to be almost here.



48,000
That is how many workers have been let go by UPS in 2025 with more to come. That according to UPS’ earnings report issued this week. That count includes both laid off and those who took a package and is made up of 34,000 truck drivers and warehouse employees and 14,000 from management ranks. UPS started the year with about 500,000 employees. That 48,000 thousand number is larger than UPS has previously let on. In April, UPS indicated the lost job tally for the ear would be about 20,000 blue collar workers and 12,000 from the white-collar force.



67%
That is the share of US companies that are not pursuing the needed aggressive redesign of their manufacturing operations to deliver on expectations for advanced automation, including the use of AI technologies and autonomous robots, new Gartner research this week found. “CSCOs picture a near future of advanced automation where machines are involved in completing a majority of tasks, yet most operating models are not keeping pace to enable these strategic priorities,” says Simon Jacobson, VP Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice.

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