May 2 2024
Charts: Investment Trends in Operations Q1 2024

Most U.S. operations and supply chain officers say technology investments haven’t delivered the expected results. That’s according to PwC’s 2024 “Digital Trends in Operations Survey.”

PwC, the accounting and consulting firm, surveyed 600 operations and supply chain executives in the U.S. in January and February 2024 across consumer markets, energy, utilities, mining, health services, pharmaceuticals, industrial products, and technology and telecommunications. The survey revealed a notable difference between the executives’ expectations of new technology and the actual outcomes.

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Most survey respondents say their companies are somewhat involved in generative AI.

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Growth and cost reduction remain top priorities for respondents seeking digital operations solutions. Yet many cite a lack of investment objectives, which could have long-term impacts.

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Regulatory priorities such as cybersecurity and data privacy drive many decisions when investing in operations and supply chain technology.

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Apr 18 2024
Charts: Global Executives’ Plans, Projections Q1 2024

According to McKinsey & Company’s March 2024 survey, global executives are less optimistic about demand for their companies’ goods or services than in 2023.

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However, respondents maintain a generally positive outlook regarding their companies’ profitability.

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Most surveyed executives anticipate that the size of their companies’ workforces will remain unchanged over the next six months.

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The McKinsey March 2024 survey also queried respondents on their economic outlook for the coming year.

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Apr 11 2024
Charts: U.S. Manufacturing Trends Q1 2024

The Institute for Supply Management is a leading not-for-profit global procurement organization. Founded in 1915, ISM’s 50,000 members from 100 countries manage about $1 trillion annually in corporate and government supply chain procurement.

The monthly “ISM Report On Manufacturing” is among the most reliable economic indicators for supply management professionals, economists, analysts, and government and business leaders.

The report includes the closely watched purchasing managers index — “Manufacturing PMI” — based on data compiled from purchasing and supply executives. Participants report activity in multiple categories, such as new orders, inventories, and production. Those indices are then combined to create the PMI. A PMI above 50 designates an overall expansion of the manufacturing economy, whereas below 50 is a contraction.

In March 2024, U.S. manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in 16 months, with ISM’s Manufacturing PMI at 50.30, up from 47.80 in February and 46.30 one year ago.

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ISM’s data also shows new U.S. manufacturing orders in February 2024 were $576.76 billion, up from $568.57 billion in January and $571.26 billion year over year — an increase of 1.44% and 0.96%, respectively.

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ISM’s March 2024 U.S. Employment Index for the manufacturing sector is 47.40, indicating a slower decline from 45.90 in February and 46.90 one year ago.

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Mar 29 2024
Charts: Retail Sporting Goods Trends Q1 2024

The global sporting goods industry will grow at a compound rate of 7% through 2027. That’s according to “Time to move: Sporting goods 2024,” a January 2024 report by McKinsey & Company.

The report foresees optimism by sporting goods industry leaders in 2024, coming off an uneven, inflationary 2023. McKinsey suggests caution, however, owing to shifting consumer preferences and sustainability concerns.

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The study addresses shifting consumer preferences from traditional organized sports to individual varieties such as pickleball (159% growth from 2019 to 2022) and off-course golf (57% growth during the same period).

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Challenges to the global supply chain continue. The McKinsey study included the results of its 2023 survey of worldwide supply chain leaders. Most are implementing renewed planning and resilience measures to counter supply uncertainties.

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Feb 29 2024
Charts: U.S. Retail Ecommerce Sales Q4 2023

The U.S. Department of Commerce reports quarterly total domestic retail sales and ecommerce only. Newly released figures (PDF) for Q4 2023 show ecommerce sales of $285.2 billion, a growth of 0.8% over the prior quarter.

Per the DoC, ecommerce sales are for “goods and services where the buyer places an order (or the price and terms of the sale are negotiated) over an Internet, mobile device, extranet, electronic data interchange network, electronic mail, or other comparable online system. Payment may or may not be made online.”

The DoC’s estimated total retail sales (online and in-store) for Q4 2023 stood at $1,831.4 billion, an increase of 0.4% from Q3 2023.

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Ecommerce accounted for 15.6% of total U.S. retail sales in Q4 2023, up slightly from 15.5% in the prior quarter.

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The DoC estimates U.S. ecommerce retail sales in Q4 2023 grew by 7.5% compared to Q4 2022, while total quarterly retail sales experienced a 2.8% annual rise in the same period.

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Feb 15 2024
Charts: Global Economic Outlook Q1 2024

Global growth is projected to stand at 3.1% in 2024 and 3.2% in 2025. That’s according to the International Monetary Fund’s January 2024 “World Economic Outlook” report, subtitled “Moderating Inflation and Steady Growth Open Path to Soft Landing.”

The IMF updates its economic outlook twice a year. The IMF’s forecasts use a “bottom-up” approach, starting with individual countries and then aggregating into overall global projections.

According to the IMF, growth in the United States is projected to fall from 2.5% in 2023 to 2.1% in 2024 and 1.7% in 2025. The euro region is expected to rebound from its low growth rate of 0.5% in 2023, which was influenced by exposure to the conflict in Ukraine, to 0.9% in 2024 and 1.7% in 2025.

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The IMF projects growth in advanced economies will decline slightly from 1.6% in 2023 to 1.5% in 2024 before rising to 1.8% in 2025.

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Meanwhile, in emerging markets and developing economies, growth is expected to remain at 4.1 percent in 2024 and to rise to 4.2 percent in 2025

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According to the IMF, the global consumer inflation rate, including food and energy, will fall from an estimated 6.8% in 2023 to 5.8% in 2024 and 4.4% in 2025.

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Dec 7 2023
Charts: Top Publicly Traded Ecommerce Companies, Q3 2023

The definition of an “ecommerce” company varies depending on the source. Yahoo Finance’s watchlist of publicly traded ecommerce stocks includes retailers, marketplaces, and platforms. Notably, it features Etsy while excluding Shopify. Other data providers make similar subjective classifications.

My curated compilation of leading publicly traded ecommerce companies for Q3 2023 combines diverse sources. The list continues to be dominated by U.S. and Chinese companies.

As for Q3 revenue, Walmart secured the top spot, generating $161 billion. Amazon posted $143 billion, followed by China-based marketplaces JD.com with $34 billion and Alibaba at $31 billion.

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Amazon reported the top Q3 net income with $9.88 billion, surpassing Alibaba at $3.65 billion.

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Amazon maintains its lead in market capitalization (stock price times the number of outstanding shares) at $1.52 trillion in December 2023.

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SimilarWeb estimates global website traffic. In October 2023, Amazon had the most traffic for an ecommerce company with a huge 2.4 billion visits, followed by eBay at 673 million.

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Nov 23 2023
Charts: U.S. Retail Ecommerce Sales Q3 2023

The Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce reports quarterly domestic retail ecommerce sales. Newly released figures (PDF) for Q3 2023 show sales of $281.1 billion, a growth of 2.3% over the prior quarter.

Per the DoC, ecommerce sales are for “goods and services where the buyer places an order (or the price and terms of the sale are negotiated) over an Internet, mobile device, extranet, electronic data interchange network, electronic mail, or other comparable online system. Payment may or may not be made online.”

The DoC’s estimated total retail sales (online and in-store) for Q3 2023 stood at $1,825.3 billion, an increase of 1.5% from Q2 2023.

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Ecommerce accounted for 15.6% of total U.S. retail sales in Q3 2023, up slightly from 15.5% in the prior quarter.

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The DoC estimates U.S. ecommerce retail sales in Q3 2023 grew by 7.6% compared to Q3 2022, while total quarterly retail sales experienced a 2.3% annual rise in the same period.

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Nov 16 2023
Charts: U.S. Wholesale Trends Q3 2023

Every month the U.S. Census Bureau gathers data from domestic wholesale firms on sales and inventories. The “Monthly Wholesale Trade” survey includes wholesale merchants, distributors, exporters, and importers but excludes manufacturers, refiners, and miners selling their own products.

U.S. wholesale revenue in September 2023 (PDF) stood at $678.14 billion, up from $663.72 billion from the previous month and $671.79 billion in September 2022, an increase of 2.17% and 0.95%, respectively.

Per the Census Bureau, the info from the survey “offers business leaders and policymakers a current assessment of the nation’s economic status and plays a vital role in estimating the quarterly gross domestic product.”

U.S. wholesale Inventories for September 2023 were $901.81 billion, slightly higher than $900.27 billion in August and down from $912.42 billion one year ago.

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Separately, every two weeks the Census Bureau conducts its “Business Trends and Outlook” survey gauging the broader state of the U.S. economy. The survey queries around 1.2 million companies on their performance, revenue changes, employment levels, working hours, operating status, demand trends, prices, and other factors.

The “Wholesale Trade” sector of the survey consists of (i) merchant wholesalers who sell goods on their own behalf and (ii) B2B electronic markets, agents, and brokers who facilitate sales and purchases for others.

According to the November 2023 data, wholesale businesses in the U.S. assessed their current performance thus far in 2023 as “growing,” although at a slightly slower pace than the previous month.

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Although moderately higher than the previous month, revenue for U.S. wholesale businesses continues to decline as of November 2023.

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Oct 12 2023
Charts: Top Global Social Networks Q3 2023

Facebook is the world’s most popular social media platform with over 2.9 billion active users as of July 2023. That’s according to Kepios, a digital-trends analysis firm, as reported by DataReportal. Meta owns four of the biggest social media platforms, each with more than 1 billion users: Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram.

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Per a Q1 2023 survey (PDF) by Jungle Scout, the Amazon tools provider, Facebook is the leading U.S. social media platform for shopping, but Instagram takes the lead for Gen Z consumers (ages 18 to 27), followed closely by TikTok and YouTube.

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According to Insider Intelligence, TikTok will account for 6.5% of U.S. video ad spending in 2023, lower than YouTube’s 8.3% and Meta’s 30.1%.

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As of July 2023, the United States had the largest TikTok user base, per Yahoo Finance, with roughly 122 million users. Indonesia was the second-largest market with nearly 99.8 million TikTok users, and Brazil ranked third with approximately 83.33 million users on the platform. Those numbers exclude Douyin, TikTok’s China counterpart.

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