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Supply Chain by the Numbers

Sept. 4, 2026

Supply Chain by the Numbers for Sept. 4, 2026

US PMI Strong again in August. More DOT Crackdown on Truck Driver Schools. Descartes Acquires WMS Company. California Warehouse Fire is Malodorous


h
8
That is now the number of consecutive months the Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute for Supply Management has been above the key 50 mark that separates US manufacturing expansion from contraction, with the numbers for June released by ISM late last week. With a score of 54.6 in Aug, the PMI was down a little from 55.6 in July, but still above the 50 level. The New Orders Index expanded for the eighth consecutive month after four straight readings in contraction, registering 53.7, down 3 percentage points compared to July’s figure of 56.7 but again above the key 50 mark, in good news for future US manufacturing activity.

85 Million

That is about how many pounds of beef, chicken, seafood and other food when a warehouse run by 3PL Lineage Logistics when a fire erupted and burned for more than a week in June. Hundreds of workers and contractors have been involved in the sprawling cleanup, which Lineage has estimated will cost about $100 million. Why is that in the news this week? Residents of a California community are raising a stink over truckloads of rotting food being dumped at a nearby landfill after the massive warehouse fire left millions of pounds of meat and produce spoiling. People in Simi Valley’s Big Sky neighborhood say a foul odor has lingered for weeks as spoiled food from the fire-ravaged Lineage Logistics facility in Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights was hauled to the area for disposal, according to ABC7.



300
That’s about how many truck driving schools Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced his agency has shut down that he said were failing to train drivers properly – and perhaps training illegal aliens. Immigration officials have been setting up stings on interstate highways for months, sweeping up hundreds of migrants who allegedly are in the country illegally. US officials this week said they are intensifying those efforts. The efforts have tightened trucking capacity nationwide, in turn pushing up rates after a years-long slump in demand.

$120 Million
That is the seemingly high price Canadian logistics software firm Descartes System said this week it was paying to acquire California-based Extensiv, a provider of warehouse management and fulfillment solutions for third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and the brands they serve. According to Ontario-based Descartes, the move adds to its warehouse and inventory management capabilities while deepening its reach into the 3PL and ecommerce fulfillment market. Extensiv was previously known as 3PL Central, rebranding itself in 2022.

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