[#284] Supply Chain in Numbers - May 5, 2025
DHL's new 8.2k sqm pharma hub, 21% pass rate of CBP exam, 54 ships abandoned so far, UPS acquires AHG for $1.6B, Mid-harvest cocoa in Ivory Coast results in lower quality than baseline
8,200 sq.m pharma hub
DHL Supply Chain has opened a new Pharma Hub in Singapore, adding to its expanding Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) infrastructure across Asia Pacific. The 8,200 square metre site is part of DHL Group’s €500m (US$569m) regional investment and marks a targeted move to improve healthcare logistics and meet growing demands in the sector. Located at 8 Jurong Pier, the hub offers temperature-controlled zones and advanced cold chain systems. These facilities help preserve the integrity of medical products through every stage of transport and storage. By 2030, Asia Pacific’s medical market is expected to reach US$138bn (€127bn). An ageing population, personalised treatments, and increasing demand for accessible care drive this. [Supply Chain Digital]
4.5-hour exam with 21% pass rates
Being open-book doesn’t help ease the pain of the 4 ½ hour exam that covers the technicalities of classifying merchandise, entry, and valuation procedures. A minimum passing score of 75% isn’t nearly as low a bar as it seems, either, test-takers say and statistics show: The last six exams, which are held twice a year, have an average pass rate of 21%, before appeals. For those lucky and resilient candidates who pass, an interview and background check await before they get the Customs and Border Protection stamp of approval. Most consumers don’t think much about the supply chain when ordering online or buying a shirt in a store. But for each item, every stitch, label, fabric, quantity of fabrics, weight, button, whether it is a men’s or women’s shirt, how it was made, where it was made, where it originated, packaging, must be accounted for in tariff filings. [WSJ]
54 ships abandoned
A total of 54 ships and their crews have been abandoned so far this year, according to data carried by the International Labour Organization (ILO), putting 2025 potentially on track to be the second-highest toll for ships being ditched by their owners. Cases of crew abandonment more than doubled last year from 2023’s record levels to set an alarming new high, with experts linking the rise to the ongoing growth of the so-called shadow fleet. Cases of seafarers being left to rot on abandoned vessels have picked up dramatically in the 2020s, first thanks to the COVID pandemic, and latterly in step with the increasing size of the dark fleet. [Splash 24x7]
$1.6 billion acquisition
UPS will acquire Andlauer Healthcare Group for $1.6 billion, advancing its goal to grow its healthcare logistics services. AHG, headquartered in Canada, serves healthcare manufacturers and distributors in North America with a mix of supply chain services. The deal’s closure is targeted for the second half of 2025. The deal will strengthen UPS’s end-to-end cold chain services portfolio for healthcare customers, as the company can leverage AHG’s facilities and specialized transportation for temperature-sensitive products. AHG operates 31 facilities in Canada that are equipped with temperature control and monitoring systems. In the U.S., AHG provides healthcare transportation services in the contiguous 48 states through its trucking subsidiaries Skelton USA and T.F. Boyle Transportation. [Supply Chain Dive]
5–6 percent of cocoa of poor quality
Problems with the cocoa supply are feared to worsen amid quality control problems in Ivory Coast, the leading global supplier of cocoa beans. The mid-crop harvest is now underway, a harvest period that produces tinier beans processed locally into cocoa butter. Still, indications appear that this harvest’s crop is unexpectedly low-quality. The main cocoa crop is typically about one percent of poor quality per truckload. However, this mid-harvest has increased to 5–6 percent of cocoa, with some truckloads coming in 15 percent low quality, becoming an issue in a business that has suffered back-to-back annual shortages. [NumLock]