A dismal start to 2021 leaves supply chains in chaos

A port in Los Angeles is three weeks behind and there’s a traffic jam of ships. So, containers don’t get off the ships. That means an automaker doesn’t get its parts for an SUV and then, an autoworker is laid off in the Midwest.

That is why they call it a chain.

Like a pretty line of dominoes, the global supply chain worldwide is resilient, but also is exposed to danger from weather, accidents, and miscellaneous oddities.

This global supply chain has taken some hits since the beginning of 2021.

In February, freezing weather in Texas disrupted plastic production, so there was a shortage of materials for things like smartphones.

March was especially ugly as a chip factory in Japan was damaged by fire and car production stalled in Asia.

Meanwhile, at the end of March, one of the world’s busiest shipping arteries shut down as MV Ever Given was hit by a sudden wind blast in the Suez Canal. The 1300-foot container vessel was blown sideways to completely block the canal. In just three days, about 240 ships were stalled at the canal entrance, awaiting some solution.

One possibility was rerouting ships around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, adding an estimated 3,800 miles and 12 days to the route. Meanwhile, along the coast of East Africa, pirates gathered with an eye toward targeting more ships traveling the coast, threatening further turmoil.

Oil prices jumped 3 percent in one day, but it wasn’t just oil at issue. According to the Wall Street Journal, the delivery of key materials worldwide was disrupted. Supply chains were already clogged on the U.S. west coast, where ports were jammed with traffic, delaying the flow of inventory for about a month. The ports on the West Coast handle more than a third of U.S. container imports.
This year, businesses struggled to restock following the coronavirus shutdowns, causing a shipping traffic jam.