2021–2022 global supply chain crisis

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File:Global Container Freight Index.webp
Global Container Freight Index
July 2019 - December 2021

In 2021, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chains and shipments slowed, causing worldwide shortages and affecting consumer patterns. Causes of the economic slowdown include workers becoming sick with COVID-19 as well as mandates and restrictions affecting the availability of staff. In cargo shipping goods remain at port - again due to staffing shortages. The related global chip shortage has continued to affect the supply chain crisis specifically as it relates to the automobile and electronics sector. During the Christmas and holiday season of 2021, an increased amount of economic spending in North America combined with spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 further exacerbated the already backed up supply.

Causes

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic initially slowed the global supply chain as manufacturers suspended work until safety precautions were enacted. Despite rosy forecasts from businesses for the next year, global trade continued at a reduced capacity and did not fully recover. New challenges in 2021, including the Delta variant and reduced access to the COVID-19 vaccine in developing countries, further exacerbated the recovery of global production even as wealthier, vaccinated economies, such as that of the United States and Europe, resumed their patterns of consumption.[1]

Vietnam, for example, is a major provider of American apparel. The country worked through the pandemic in 2020, with a strict lockdown procedure, but outbreaks in 2021 forced many manufacturers to close, especially as workers remained largely unvaccinated. To sustain production in 2021, the Vietnamese government required workers in higher-risk regions to live at their workplace.[1]:{{{3}}}

Shipping

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Further information: United States container ports § Global supply chain disruption

By mid-2021, major American ports became inundated with historic amounts of inbound cargo. Terminal staff lacked the bandwidth to process the cargo, leading to extended wait times. Container ships began to stall outside ports for days or weeks. This surge spread inland as rail and trucking services struggled under the increased load alongside a labor shortage. The United States trucking industry was already short on drivers before the pandemic, with high turnover and subpar compensation. Though enough shipping containers exist to handle global needs, given the amount held in transit or misplaced in wrong parts of the supply chain, containers entered short supply. Additionally, half of the sailor population comes from developing, under-vaccinated countries.[1]:{{{3}}}

Effects

Large American retailers chartered container ships in early preparation for the holiday season.[1]:{{{3}}} Container shipping companies were encouraged to develop and innovate technology-driven processes in shipping to achieve external influence free shipping.[2]

On October 17, 2021, United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg predicted that the crisis would "certainly" extend into 2022.[3] In November, the Chinese Minister of Commerce advised citizens to stock food supplies for the winter.[4][5]

According to a November 2021 report from Adobe Digital Insights, online shoppers were met with more than 2 billion out-of-stock messages in October 2021, which was double the rate reported in October 2020. In the United States the list of products that are in short supply included electronics, jewelry, clothing, pet supplies and home and garden items.[6]

Perspective

In December 2021 CEOs of major automotive manufacturers and electronics makers expected the shortage of semiconductor chips to continue through the first half of 2022. Sales in India fell approximately 20 percent in 2021 due to the shortage of chips and the amount of light vehicles lost to shortages was half a million vehicles.[7] As of February 2022, it was unlikely for 2022, perhaps for years.[8]

See also

References

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Further reading

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