[#266] Supply Chain in Numbers - Dec 30, 2024
Utz Brands opened 650k sqft DC, Cofactr raises $17.2M, FedEx to spin-off LTL business, South Korea plans $38B on critical materials supply chain, Beximco lays off 40k textile workers
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.
650,000 sqft DC
Salty snack manufacturer Utz Brands opened a logistics center in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The 650,000-square-foot Rice Distribution Center — named after the recently retired grandson of founders Bill and Salie Utz — will handle inventory storage, consolidation, and distribution for Utz facilities in the U.S. The center has a warehouse management system, 73 dock doors, and 375 trailer parking spots. Utz estimates the facility will handle 2.3 million pallets of product and 1.1 billion pounds annually. [Supply Chain Dive]
$17.2 million in Series A
New York startup Cofactr raised $17.2 million in a series A investment round. With the new funding, Cofactr will hire engineering and customer-service personnel to support its supply chain and logistics management platform, designed for high-compliance industries like aerospace. Catering to regulated industries requires Cofactr to ensure its platform meets changing government requirements. For instance, the platform helps customers comply with International Traffic in Arms Regulations. In addition to the platform, Cofactr operates warehouses for electronic components used by high-compliance industries. With the recent investment, Cofactr plans to open additional warehouses. Meanwhile, Cofactr will expand its product line to enhance collaboration. [Space News]
30,000 vehicles for LTL
FedEx will spin off its LTL trucking unit, FedEx Freight, into a separate, publicly traded company within the next 18 months. The separation will allow for more customized operational execution along with more tailored investment and capital allocation, FedEx said, underscoring the differences between LTL and parcel shipping. Rival UPS sold its LTL unit, UPS Freight, to TFI International in 2021. FedEx Freight boasts the largest real-estate network of any U.S. LTL carrier, with about 400 service centers, according to its website. The business has around 40,000 employees and 30,000 vehicles. [Supply Chain Dive]
55 trillion SK won over the next 3 years
South Korea has pledged to spend 55 trillion won ($38 billion) over the next three years to shore up the nation’s supply chain for critical minerals and the components needed for key industries like electric vehicles and battery making. The hefty investment comes as Korea seeks to shield itself from an escalating US-China trade war and minimize the impact tariffs levied on companies from other nations may have on its supply chain. South Korea’s pledge comes after the country suffered shortages of critical minerals and raw materials for semiconductors, batteries, and automobiles due to China’s ban on such input ingredients. In 2023, China strengthened export controls on some graphite categories, an important component in EV batteries. Korea also suffered a shortage of urea in 2021 when China restricted exports of that material. [Bloomberg]
40,000 textile workers laid off
Beximco, one of Bangladesh’s largest vertically integrated textile and garment manufacturers has axed 40,000 of its employees across 16 factories, calling its future into further question as a once vast and impressive empire continues to crumble in the wake of its co-founder and vice chairperson’s arrest in August, first for his alleged role in the death of a shop owner, then on charges of money laundering, embezzlement, and other fiscal misconduct. The conglomerate, whose clients have included Marks & Spencer, Target, Calvin Klein owner PVH Corp., and Zara owner Inditex, has spent 300 crore taka ($25.1 million), including 100 crore taka ($8.4 million) it financed through bank loans, since August, primarily to meet employee wages that can cost 60 crore taka ($50 million) each month. The 5–6 crore taka ($419,000-$502,000) that Beximco generates in monthly revenue from subcontracting with other factories has also been “far from sufficient”. [Sourcing Journal]