[#314] Supply Chain in Numbers - Dec 1, 2025

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.

$280 million Chinese investment in Brazil’s port

China Merchants Port and Brazil’s MPort have inked an investment agreement for the Paranagua Container Terminal expansion project. The expansion involves investments of more than R$1.5bn ($280m), to be implemented over the coming years with a focus on increasing storage and cargo-handling capacity at the Paranagua Container Terminal (TCP) in Parana. TCP is the largest container terminal in South America, capable of handling 2.5m TEUs per year and simultaneously receiving up to three of the world’s largest vessels off the Brazilian coast. [Sea Trade Maritime]

Closing of 3 FCs at $2.6 billion

Kroger will close three automated fulfillment centers and expand partnerships with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart as part of an overhaul of its e-commerce operations. The grocer will book a $2.6 billion charge related to the closure of its facilities and underperformance of its automated fulfillment network. The closures in Florida, Maryland, and Wisconsin are expected to have a neutral effect on same-store sales, excluding fuel, with the changes increasing e-commerce operating profit by about $400 million next year. Under its new strategy, the company will lean more heavily on its store network and third-party delivery partners. [WSJ]

€1.5 million in pre-seed agentic workflows

Berlin-based Logistica OS raises €1.5M in pre-seed funding. Logistica OS develops AI agents to automate repetitive workflows in supply chain operations, with its flagship product, PalletClaim, streamlining pallet reconciliation from delivery slips. The funding will be used to expand its agent-based platform, support deployment across over 100 companies, and further develop its proprietary OCR and workflow automation tools. Despite automation in many other sectors, logistics remains under-digitised: fewer than 40 per cent of workflows are digital, and over 1.5 million roles in the industry are currently unfilled. [Tech EU]

50% reduction in appointment scheduling cycle time

Schneider National is leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline its logistics workflows and reduce inefficiencies. The carrier is using technology from EXL, a global data and AI company, to digitize and optimize appointment scheduling across intake and processing, as well as reporting. Since the collaboration commenced, Schneider has achieved a more than 50% improvement in average cycle time to schedule appointments and ...