[#225] Supply Chain in Numbers - Apr 1, 2024
Baltimore port shutdown impacts auto imports, 5'8'’ and 160 lbs Humanoid, Whole Foods plans 7k to 14k sqft stores, 1.5M sqft logistics center near Charleston port, Bollore Logistics acquired for €4.8B
Welcome to “Supply Chain in Numbers.” This newsletter tracks significant digits from the world of the supply chain. Five prominent numbers are published every Monday. If you have any feedback, please send it to me.
847,158 cars and light trucks imported per year
Logistics companies up and down the East Coast were urgently relaying messages back and forth to clients on the status of their imports and exports after the Port of Baltimore was shut down in response to the collapse of the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. Over 52 million tons of foreign cargo, worth $80 billion, were transported out of the port last year. Baltimore, the 11th largest port in the nation, served an average of 207 calls a month the previous year. Last year, the port handled 847,158 cars and light trucks. It was the 13th consecutive year that Baltimore led all U.S. ports in the import of vehicles and light trucks. Other top imports include sugar and gypsum. [CNBC]
5'8'’ and 160 lbs
Humanoid robots took another step toward initial deployments in supply chain settings when Apptronik agreed to provide its two-legged “Apollo” model for tasks in Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facilities. It is the first application of humanoid robots for Mercedes-Benz. The Apollo model weighs in at 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds, with the ability to run for four hours on a battery pack charge and handle 55-pound payloads. Mercedes-Benz is exploring potential use cases for Apollo humanoid robots in logistics to bring parts to the production line for workers to assemble, the so-called delivery of assembly kits, while simultaneously inspecting the components. Apollo will also deliver the totes of kitted parts later in manufacturing. [DC Velocity]
7,000 to 14,000 sqft stores
Several years after shuttering its 365-store concept, Whole Foods is taking another crack at small-format grocery stores. Whole Foods Market Daily Shops will range between 7,000 and 14,000 square feet, about a quarter to half the size of Whole Foods’ traditional 40,000 square foot stores. The new concept will offer grab-and-go meal and snack options and grocery essentials. Whole Foods Market Daily Shops will also be equipped with Amazon One, Amazon’s palm payment service, at self-checkout kiosks and traditional checkout counters. [Retail Dive]
1.5 million sqft logistics center
A developer of industrial buildings serving the ports in Charleston and Savannah is asking federal regulators for permission to fill wetlands for a significant project in Ridgeville. Northpoint Development’s Creekside Logistics Center includes five warehouses totaling more than 1.5 million square feet on nearly 400 acres between Interstate 26 and Autonomous Drive, near the Volvo Cars manufacturing campus. The project, designed to handle cargo moving to and from the Port of Charleston, would be built in phases. [Post and Courier]
€4.8 billion acquisition
CMA CGM Acquires Bollore Logistics for €4.8B. CMA CGM is a global giant that provides end-to-end transport and logistics services. Bollore Logistics is a leading French transport and logistics company that transported 710K TEUs of ocean freight and 390K of air freight in 2022. This is CMA CGM’s largest acquisition to date, and the combined size of the two entities makes it the fifth largest in the world. [JOC]