Global supply chain crisis 2021 ->

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caltrek
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Inflation Isn’t Just a U.S Thing
by Jen Kirby
November 24, 2021

https://www.vox.com/2021/11/24/22799217 ... germany-uk

Introduction:
(Vox) In the United States, it’s the gas and Thanksgiving dinner and holiday toys. In the United Kingdom, it’s the energy costs and snacks and Uber fares. In Brazil, it’s the cost of food. In Germany, it’s fuel, rent, and electronics.

Consumers around the world are seeing higher prices for goods and services, and though some reasons for this vary by country, inflation is turning into something of a worldwide phenomenon.

In the US, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks what consumers pay for goods and services, rose by 6.2 percent in October compared to a year ago, the fastest increase since 1990. But other parts of the world are also seeing bumps: The eurozone (all countries using the euro) saw its inflation at about 4.1 percent, the highest in 13 years.

Covid-19, which has wreaked havoc on global supply chains, gets a lot of the blame for this. “Underneath it all, the key theme is a Covid disruption,” said Gregory Daco, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. “That’s the key reason why we’re seeing inflationary pressures around the world.”

It turns out, the global economy can go a little haywire when a once-in-a-generation pandemic rolls around. The virus scrambled supply chains, squeezed off international travel, and shut down businesses and services. Now, even as the world is recovering from these shocks, Covid-19 is still surging and resurging, and combined with other disruptions — like climate-related events — supply chains are still trying to sort themselves out.
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caltrek
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The Supply Chain Mess
by Robert Kuttner
November 23, 2021

https://prospect.org/economy/the-supply-chain-mess/

Introduction:
(The American Prospect) The bout of recent inflation has been mistakenly blamed by some economists on President Biden’s program of economic stimulus. The reality is that Americans need this economic recovery, and most of the price hikes are the consequence of bottlenecks in the global supply chain.

The supply crunch in turn reflects the interaction of just-in-time production and extreme offshoring with a privatized and deregulated logistics system. More on that in a moment.

Biden’s defenders have aptly pointed out that if we want to repair the supply chain mess and reshore American production, we need to maximize outlays on infrastructure and under Build Back Better. That’s surely true. But there is concern that these overdue investments will take years to bear fruit.

In the meantime, voters are blaming inflation on Biden, going into a crucial midterm election year. With congressional action on Biden’s key legislation, his overall approval rating has rebounded somewhat to 44 percent, but just 33 percent approve of his performance on inflation.

On this front, however, there is some good news. Even before we bring more of the supply chain home and rebuild the national logistics system as a kind of public utility, there is a lot the administration can do, and is doing.
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caltrek
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Congress' Chip-funding Pause Raises Alarms
by Margaret Harding McGill
December 6, 2021

https://www.axios.com/congress-usica-se ... 9184c.html

Introduction:
(Axios) Despite bipartisan support in the Senate, a plea by the Commerce Secretary and growing desperation from industry officials, Congress still can't get a key bill that funds the U.S. chip business over the finish line.

Why it matters: With the global chip shortage continuing to crimp the economy, the semiconductor industry has ramped up pressure for funding of U.S.-based manufacturing facilities as one remedy.
  • Intel and memory chip maker Micron have both said they will spend $150 billion in the next decade, but have pressed for government help to close the cost gap with some Asian markets.
The big picture: The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing has dropped from 37% in 1990 to 12%. Executives from Intel and Micron told lawmakers it costs at least 30% more to manufacture chips in the U.S. than it does in many Asian countries for three main reasons:
  • Labor costs more in the U.S. than in Asia both for operating fabrication facilities and for building them.
caltrek's comment: This is another example of a growing pressure for neo-mercantilist policies within the United States. This can be seen as a countervailing force to a neo-liberal free trade orientation. Some of this, in turn, is caused by a slippage from the economic dominance that the U.S. once held in the world trade system.
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Executive Order Re: Federal Supply Chain Sustainability
December 8, 2021

https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... ainability

Extract:
Executive Order 14057 --- Sec. 301 . Federal Supply Chain Sustainability. Federal supply chains should support a Government and economy that serves all Americans by creating and sustaining well-paying union jobs, protecting public health, advancing environmental justice, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and building resilience to climate change. Consistent with applicable law, agencies shall pursue procurement strategies to reduce contractor emissions and embodied emissions in products acquired or used in Federal projects.

...
Sec. 511 . Coordination of Administration Priorities. The heads of agencies shall implement this order consistent with...Executive Order 14017 of February 24, 2021 (America's Supply Chains), which establishes the policy to strengthen the resilience of America's supply chains to fight climate change, create well-paying jobs, and secure our economic prosperity and national security.
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COVID-19 Disrupted Supply Chains. Now Illinois Farmers Face Higher Prices
by Amanda Perez Pintado
December 16, 2021

https://investigatemidwest.org/2021/12/ ... er-prices/

Introduction:
(Investigate Midwest) Kate Huffman and her family considered planting corn on their newly purchased 183-acre farm this year, but they ultimately decided against it. The input costs, she said, would have been too high.

“We ended up going with soybeans because of what it would cost for anhydrous (ammonia),” a commonly used fertilizer, said Huffman, a sixth-generation farmer in Henry County, Illinois. “It was just too costly to make it worthwhile.”

Higher fertilizer prices are just one consequence of a slew of global supply chain breakdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic, experts said. Despite an improving economy, bottlenecks at ports and labor shortages are expected to linger. It means farmers can expect to pay more for needed supplies, such as equipment and pesticides, University of Illinois researchers said.

The prices for fertilizers are at “record levels,” said U of I agricultural economist Gary Schnitkey. Prices for potash and diammonium phosphate — which are also fertilizers — have gone up, but “probably the most striking” is the increase for anhydrous ammonia, he said.

“Last month, anhydrous ammonia prices in Illinois were $1,343 (per ton),” Schnitkey said. “Last time we were close to this was back in September and October in 2008, and that was the financial crisis.”
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Yuli Ban
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Grocery stores could close if labour, product shortages worsen
Grocery stores are struggling with rising labour and product shortages that could threaten Canada’s food security, experts say.

Employee absenteeism due to workers calling in sick and COVID-19 protocols has hit about 30 per cent at some stores and is continuing to rise, Gary Sands, senior vice-president of public policy with the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, said Tuesday.

Without access to rapid testing in many provinces, he said workers are repeatedly forced to isolate for a week or more after an exposure to COVID-19.

If the situation worsens, some grocery stores won’t be able to stay open _ threatening food security in rural and remote areas that rely on a sole independent grocer, Sands said.

READ MORE: Truckers warn vaccine mandate at U.S. border could worsen supply chain issues

“If we have to keep sending people home, at a certain point stores are not going to be able to operate,” he said. “We’re very frustrated with the lack of rapid test kits for grocers.”
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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caltrek
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Trucker Shortage Leading to Empty Store Shelves Compels Companies to Increase Wages
by Amanda Perez Pintado
January 11, 2022

https://investigatemidwest.org/2022/01/ ... ase-wages/

Introduction:
(Investigate Midwest) C&K Trucking, based just outside Chicago, has been "under extreme pressure" to hire and retain drivers since the COVID-19 pandemic started, said Mike Burton, president of C&K Holdings. The company hauls freight between ports, railroads and shippers across the country.
“Our turnover has been higher than we wanted. It was above 60% this last year,” he said, adding the company tries to maintain a turnover rate below that percentage each year.

The truck driver shortage is not new. The industry has been reporting a lack of availability of drivers for years. But the situation has exacerbated supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, resulting in congested ports and empty shelves at stores.

“The most immediate impact is that people are going to have to wait longer for products to get there, or they may not have the brand of product that they want, or they might or might not have that product at all,” said Matt Hart, executive director of the Illinois Trucking Association.
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Los Angeles, Long Beach Ports See Progress Moving Backlogged Containers, but Bigger Issues Persist
by Edvard Pettersson
January 20, 2022

https://www.courthousenews.com/la-long- ... s-persist/

Introduction:
LOS ANGELES (Courthouse News) — The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which last year became the focal point of the massive supply-chain meltdown that left store shelfs empty and cranked up inflation, have been making much progress in recent months addressing some of the most acute bottlenecks on the docks, but many underlying problems persist.

The backlog of containers with furniture, clothing, electronics and other imports that were piling up at the largest port complex outside Asia last summer and fall has been dwindling. The so-called dwell time a container sits around on average before it gets picked up has fallen by more than half from late October and there are no longer dozens of ships at anchor outside the ports waiting for weeks before they can berth and offload their cargo.

Those encouraging numbers are only part of the story, however, and no one at the ports is declaring victory yet or seeing an end to the supply-chain disruptions caused by the unprecedented volume of imports from Asia. The ships that were waiting outside the ports last year are now spread out across the Pacific Ocean, slow steaming or drifting to avoid a similar traffic jam like the one that put the ports in the national spotlight in the fall and more than doubling the time it takes to reach Southern California.

And although the stacks of containers with imported goods have been shrinking at the ports, the even larger stacks of empty containers that need to be sent back haven't budged much. The unyielding pile-up of more than 100,000 empty containers at the ports in turn creates a headache for truckers who need to offload their empty container before they can pick up a loaded one at the terminals.

"it's a very complex ballet that requires a careful choreography," said Matt Schrap, chief executive officer of the Harbor Trucking Association. "If I can't free up my chassis, I can't pull an import off the terminal."
caltrek's comment: Mainstream media (excluding Courthouse News) has done a terrible job of covering this and the broader issue of inflation. The government spending bills are pointed to as the cause of inflation, but supply chain disruptions are probably the bigger cause of the latest problems causing inflation. As the above article makes clear, the recent infrastructure bill will actually do much to address the root problem. However, the issue of deficiencies in infrastructure are traceable back to well before Biden became president. Those problems cannot be corrected instantaneously. So, Biden takes the blame for a problem which he is directly addressing. All sorts of potential for false consciousness here.
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caltrek
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Guacamole’s Days Are Numbered at Eateries with Avocados Scarce
by Leslie Patton and Allison Nicole Smith
February 17, 2022

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ado-crunch

Introduction:
(Bloomberg) Avocados will soon run out at smaller restaurants that don’t have the buying power of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

For example, Salsarita’s Mexican-themed restaurants won’t be able to make any more guacamole in about a week — 10 days maybe if they can stretch it. The 75-unit chain isn’t optimistic about getting any more avocado supplies for awhile amid a suspension on imports from Mexico, which accounts for 80% of U.S. supply. So the inventory is what it is, according to Chief Executive Officer Phil Friedman.

“We’ll use what we have. I’m not going to look for any type of alternative, we’re just going to announce to our customers that guacamole is not available until further notice,” he said in an interview.

The avocado crunch is just the latest disruption in the food supply chain, which has been roiled by the pandemic with labor shortfalls, and shipping and logistics headaches. It’s part of what’s behind the fastest pace of inflation for consumers in four decades.

Small restaurants are bearing the brunt of the supply chain turmoil. Businesses like Salsarita’s can’t negotiate large-order discounts, and don’t always have the cash reserves to pay premiums when competition for a product heats up. Costs are “horrendous,” Friedman said, noting that in addition to avocados, cups are hard to get currently.
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Yuli Ban
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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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