Parts Shortages Caused Product Backlogs
This article addresses how supply chain disruptions are affecting downstream manufacturing:
“Shortages of mechanical parts, commodity materials and electronic components containing semiconductor chips have been disrupting manufacturing across multiple industries for months.
“Companies determined to keep factories open are trying to work around shortages by producing what they can, at the same time rising customer demand has cleaned out store shelves, dealer showrooms and distribution centers. As a result, manufacturers are amassing big inventories of unsold or incomplete products such as truck wheels and farm tractors. Companies that are used to filling orders quickly now have bulging backlogs of orders.”
If they stop manufacturing goods, they have no hope of ever catching back up, so many companies are letting partially manufactured equipment pile up in the hopes of adding chips and other missing parts when they are finally available.
The World Is Still Short of Everything. Get Used to It
That’s the original headline of this article, and it says it all. The supply chain is getting worse, and consumers should expect disruptions, shortages, outages and rising prices for the foreseeable future.
“Delays, product shortages and rising costs continue to bedevil businesses large and small. And consumers are confronted with an experience once rare in modern times: no stock available, and no idea when it will come in.”
A Record 44 Container Ships Waiting to be Unloaded
The normal number of ships waiting off the coast of California waiting to get a berth and be unloaded is between zero and one, according to this article. The backlog of 44 ships should give you an idea of how screwed up the supply chain is. Normal transit times from China to Chicago have jumped from 35 days to 73 due to port congestion, lack of manpower and a limited number of trains and truck drivers.
