Speaking of high prices, our first thoughts turn to receipts paid in supermarkets or gas stations. However, it is worth looking at the increases a bit more honestly, through the prism of the industrial automation industry, in which the situation is also far from ideal.
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It goes without saying that in both cases the price situation has been overshadowed by the events of the last two years, during which the whole world has struggled with the coronavirus. This influenced many aspects of our functioning, and in this particular case, the pandemic hit transport and logistics the most.
Price increases by 215%
According to the information from the industry portal "Sourceability", prices in this particular sector increased in an unbelievable way. Counting only the last quarter of 2021, which has already been included in various reports, the prices of sea freight between Asia and the United States - and therefore a key one for supply chains in global terms - increased by as much as 138% compared to the same period in 2020! If this is still not enough, then it is worth going back another twelve months and then it will turn out that the mentioned price is higher today than that - attention, this is not a mistake - 215%!
The reason for this is the huge backlog. As the pandemic raged around the world and countries closed their borders, supply chains were compromised. After the virus gave up a bit, things started to slowly return to normal, or so it might seem.
The number of available container ships is not unlimited, as are the trucks that transport their goods inside the United States or Europe. The same applies to employees who work long hours anyway, but cannot work 24 hours a day. Therefore, even in the world's largest unloading ports, huge problems arise. Ships stay at anchor even for several weeks, waiting for unloading, being unable to return to the port of loading during this time and take any further goods on board. The circle is closed. The demand for such services is huge and it is no wonder that customers are able to pay more, although it is really hard to talk about any choice in this situation.
Many have already switched to air transport, which is faster, but the number of flights is also not infinite, and prices in this market are also going up due to growing interest.
Cheaper? Maybe in half a year
However, it is not only transport and logistics that suffer from the disease of "rising prices". The problem also concerns the components necessary for the production of industrial devices, including those that are currently most lacking on the market, for exemple chips. Already in September it was predicted that the increase in their prices would be extremely painful. Shortages and growing demand made producers react. Higher prices have actually affected the whole world, but this does not mean that there are no people willing to pay several times more money than a year or two ago. On the contrary, if components are available, many choose to stock up on them so as to have peace of mind, at least in the short term.
The mentioned source reports that compared to the corresponding periods in 2019 and 2020 - we are still trading in the last quarter of this year - the prices of components necessary for the industry have increased by up to 40 percent! Importantly, a slight improvement in this state of affairs is not expected until the second half of 2022, but it is still inextricably linked with the pandemic situation.
