Research Guides: Supply Chain Resources: Covid-19

The Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal This link opens in a new window
Sign up for free access provided by the Business Library using your GGU email.

Car Companies Buckle Up for Extended Chip Shortage

The global chip shortage has slammed the auto sector this year, cutting factory output by several million vehicles and erasing billions in revenue for car companies.

Next year is expected to be nearly as challenging, industry analysts say.

Auto executives for months have expressed optimism that the problem would begin to ease by year’s end. Now, there is an emerging view that the chip shortage has morphed from a short-term crisis into a structural upheaval for the automotive supply chain that could take years to fully overcome.

Further disrupting chip supplies to auto makers are fresh bottlenecks in how semiconductors are tested and packaged in Asia. Meanwhile, semiconductor manufacturers are gradually phasing out the low-tech, low-margin chips that are prevalent in new vehicles, raising concerns about the availability of those chips further out.

Quoted from:
Colias, M. (2021, September 30). Car companies buckle up for extended chip shortage. The Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/car-companies-buckle-up-for-extended-chip-shortage-11633005657?st=d4ryq7d6nujbfwy&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Builders Hunt for Alternatives to Materials in Short Supply

Shortages of key construction materials are forcing some builders and contractors to turn to substitutes and hunt for alternative suppliers as they rush to meet high demand for new housing.

Construction companies are looking for replacements and new sources for everything from wood paneling to ceiling joists to pipes, saying that potentially higher costs and added complications to design and construction can be preferable to putting a project on hold for months while waiting for planned supplies.

Supply shortages stem from a series of supply-chain disruptions hitting industries around the world this year, from port congestion in Asia and the U.S. to labor shortages at factories. Heavy storms in Texas and Louisiana have also slowed production of some building materials, while semiconductor shortfalls have made appliances harder to secure.

Quoted from:
O'Neal, L. (2021, October 6). Builders hunt for alternatives to materials in short supply. The Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/builders-hunt-for-alternatives-to-materials-in-short-supply-11633512601?st=vd9fywjrgjkx3mt&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

CQ Researcher

Food Security - CQ Researcher
But, as COVID-19 has demonstrated, the global food supply chain is vulnerable to disruption. Sidhartha Bhandari, director of food and agribusiness at Publicis Sapient, a digital consulting company in Massachusetts, wrote: “Our global food supply chain design is predicated on the assumption that commodities can flow freely globally. This allows products to be sourced, produced and distributed at low cost anywhere in the world.” But situations such as the pandemic, he continued, highlight “the vulnerability in this model and the need for redesigning the food supply chain.”
The Pandemic Economy - CQ Researcher
The COVID-19 pandemic that began in China late last year triggered the most severe global economic collapse since the Great Depression of the 1930s. By spring, half the world's population was forced to stay home to halt the spread of the disease, causing widespread business closures and millions of lost jobs. Governments pumped trillions of dollars into economic stimulus packages, and companies began to revamp their global supply chains, especially for critical medical supplies that had been almost exclusively manufactured in China. As employees who still had jobs switched to telework, many companies began to rethink their need for office space. When the lockdowns began to ease in late May, economic indicators started to show positive news. But that began to change as the virus erupted across the U.S. Sun Belt and the developing world in June and July. Economists said the pandemic's negative economic impact likely would be felt for years, as health officials warned about a second, more powerful wave of infections in the fall while the world awaits an effective vaccine.

Videos

IBISWorld

Transportation and Warehousing in the US
Sign in using SSO (myGGU) credentials.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Impact Update
IBISWorld's analysts constantly monitor the industry impacts of current events in real-time – here is an update of how this industry is likely to be impacted as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic:

· Revenue for the Transportation and Warehousing sector has been adjusted to reflect a decline in 2020, due to reduced demand for sector services as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. For more detail, refer to the Current Performance chapter.

· Passenger transportation, such as cruise ship operators and airlines, encountered drastic revenue and profit declines in 2020. For more detail, refer to the Products and Services chapter.

· Numerous major companies in the sector encountered sharp revenue and profit declines in 2020. For more detail, refer to the Major Companies chapter.

Note: The content in this report is currently being updated to reflect the trends outlined above.