[#258] Supply Chain in Numbers - Nov 4, 2024
23% growth in OR analysts in the US, Happy Returns is getting 150 Geek+ robots, Nimble raises $106M, Truck Driver wages in Mexico averages $423 a month, Apple exported $6B worth iPhone from India
Welcome to “Supply Chain in Numbers.” This newsletter tracks significant numbers from the supply chain world. Five prominent numbers are published every Monday. If you have any feedback, please send it to me.
23% growth in OR analysts
It’s a boom time for operations research and logistics degrees, as the pandemic supply chain disruptions highlighted the crucial need for — and solid career stability of — people who specialize in supply chains. They’re needed everywhere, from FedEx and Amazon to all sorts of unexpected places. Heck, some people look at the U.S. Navy and see not a bunch of boats but simply a 470-vector optimization matrix, and essentially, the consensus is that we need more of those people. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 23 percent growth in operations research analysts from 2021 to 2031, and already the number of supply chain management degrees grew 75 percent from 2012 to 2020. The estimated market size of the logistics business is expected to hit $21.91 trillion by 2033, triple the level of last year. [NumLock]
150 Geek+ robots
Happy Returns is slashing processing times at its East Coast hub after upgrading it with Geek+ robotics. The UPS company tasked Geek+ this year with creating its first automated returns hub, located in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. The installation process took less than six months. Now, the Pennsylvania hub features 150 Geek+ S20C robots and 10 robot induction stations. Returns are sorted by the robots, each of which can carry up to 44 pounds, before being transported to one of nearly 200 destination chutes. Volume is then shipped back to retailers’ warehouses. [SC Dive]
$106 million Series C
Nimble, a pioneering AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology company, announced the successful closure of a $106 million Series C funding round elevating the company to a $1 billion valuation. The funding round was led by FedEx and co-led by existing shareholder Cedar Pine LLC. As part of their strategic alliance, FedEx has entered into a commercial agreement to scale its FedEx Fulfillment service using Nimble’s technology and fully autonomous 3PL model. Nimble’s autonomous fulfillment centers are controlled by its Cloud Logistics Platform, which orchestrates fleets of its general-purpose warehouse robots. The platform provides omni-channel brands with a unified, all-in-one WMS, OMS, TMS, IMS, and RMS solution that not only manages and optimizes their logistics operations but also delivers real-time visibility and control across the entire supply chain. [Business Wire]
$423 per month
According to recent statistics from Data Mexico and the Ministry of Economy, wages in Mexico’s professional cargo trucking industry averaged $423 a month during the second quarter of 2024. As of the second quarter, the monthly average comes out to $5,076 annually, an increase of 8.4% from the same period in 2023, when truck driver wages averaged $390 a month. Mexico’s trucking industry employed 1.18 million people during the second quarter, a 1.7% increase compared to the same year-ago period. The average age of truck drivers during the quarter was 41 years old. Men make up more than 98% of drivers in the country. The highest average salaries for drivers were seen in construction material hauling ($876 a month), mining services ($845 a month), and retail goods ($645 a month). [Freightwaves]
$6 billion worth of iPhone
Apple Inc.’s iPhone exports from India jumped by a third in the six months through September, underscoring its push to expand manufacturing in the country and reduce dependence on China. It exported nearly $6 billion of India-made iPhones, an increase of a third in value terms from a year earlier. That puts annual exports on track to surpass the about $10 billion of fiscal 2024. Three of Apple’s suppliers — Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp., and homegrown Tata Electronics — assemble iPhones in southern India. Foxconn’s local unit, based on the outskirts of Chennai, is the top supplier in India and accounts for half of the country’s iPhone exports. [Bloomberg]