Supply chains. We have devoted the last few entries to this topic and as it turned out, they did not exhaust the topic at all. As expected, this problem will only increase. The question is how can it be solved?
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You probably remember our text about huge queues in the Pacific? Container ships often have to wait several weeks before being unloaded in the largest dedicated port in the world - Los Angeles / Long Beach. All this, of course, causes a shortage of goods in various industries. This situation applies not only to industrial automation, where stagnation in the case of important components leads to a reduction in production, but also to other sectors, which, however, due to the approaching Christmas, are of great importance. Of course, we are talking about industries such as electronics, furniture, construction, automotive and clothing.
It's time for interventions
They are all faced with a serious problem, as the goods that should already be on the market are still stuck on board ships or, worse, still in the countries where they were produced. This is not surprising, however, as the number of container ships and the containers themselves is limited and if many of them are at anchorages in front of the ports of unloading, it is logical to conclude that they are not there where the goods should be prepared for shipment.
- The goods that reach us and the associated delays are one of the main challenges we are currently facing. Unfortunately, this is a supply chain bottleneck, White House Press Secretary Jen Pisaki said. So, since the problem with congestion ports was dealt with by the administration of President Joe Biden, it was possible to abandon all doubts as to whether the situation was serious or not.
In the United States, it has been recognized that the only way out of this situation will be a 24-hour work order. The representatives of the White House met with representatives of the largest delivery companies in the country and, as it turned out, they managed to come up with the following solution: working 24 hours a day, seven days a week is to get out of this situation and try to relieve the above-mentioned congestion. The order is to apply not only to the employees of the already mentioned port in Los Angeles, but also to all those without whom it would not make sense to sacrifice one side - warehouse workers, workers dealing with sorting goods, as well as dockers, couriers and employees of transport companies.
The only solution?
As you can see, the government administration listened to the voice of the environment. Ed DeNikke, president of SSA Containers, made it clear not so long ago that without extensive cooperation, extending the opening hours of the port itself would not make any sense. - We have already opened our gates wider, but it does not matter, since we do not have adequate support from truck drivers. There just is nowhere to take this cargo - said the New York Times.
The steps taken may seem drastic, but they show that the time for discussion and debate is over, especially in the face of the relentless threat of the virus. It is true that in Germany there was a proposal to lift the state of emergency, which was introduced in connection with the pandemic, but in distant Japan the government is announcing the arrival of the sixth wave, which of course has left its mark on the markets. - The expected sixth wave of the Covid-19 epidemic in Japan requires 42,000 hospital beds to be prepared, 5,000 more than the previous peak - the local government announced.
Skeptical forecasts
Therefore, it is not surprising that various agencies that analyze the situation in the global markets raise quite skeptical forecasts. One of them is "Moody's", the latest report of which shows that we can expect the crisis to worsen in the near future. So before this is finally averted - read, supply chains will become strong and tailored again - it will be some time, which in turn means that the economic slowdown will continue.
Obviously, this situation does not only apply to the US market. The hardships associated with these problems will also affect the European backyard, but unlike what is happening in the Atlantic, there is no possibility of prescriptive 24-hour work for supply-related industries in the Old Continent.
