How omicron may affect China's ports, a key to the global supply chain

Dec 2, 2021
China's no-tolerance COVID-19 protocols may keep the variant at bay but may slow down shipping again.
If the omicron variant were to cause port shutdowns, they would likely coincide with Lunar New Year closures. Above, workers at a container port in Wuhan, China.
Getty Images

Why everything is “out of stock” right now

Oct 11, 2021
Four charts and a new series to help you understand ongoing product shortages.
Patrick Baranic, general manager of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, discusses the delays at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with “Marketplace’s” Kai Ryssdal.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Supply chain, shipping and pricing woes: “This is how we learn to sail”

Sep 22, 2021
Personal care products company Bite faced a lot of obstacles to launch its aluminum-packaged deodorant during the holiday shipping season.
Lindsay McCormick, the founder and CEO of Bite, a personal care products company, said she’s learned to “expect the unexpected” when launching a new product.
Courtesy Bite

From semiconductors to containers, “every day, it’s a different problem” on the supply chain

Jun 2, 2021
A conversation with the CEO of an importer caught in the crosshairs of global business disruption.
A cargo ship is loaded at a Chinese port. India Hynes, CEO of Vinotemp, said getting product onto vessels in China is among the biggest problems facing her company.
STR/AFP via Getty Images

Ford is latest automaker to cut production due to microchip shortage

Jan 11, 2021
When the pandemic first hit last spring, auto plants shut down and carmakers curbed semiconductor orders.
The Ford factory in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2017. The plant recently had to shut down due to a shortage of semiconductors.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Bike shortage is a tale of changed lives and disrupted supply chains

Aug 20, 2020
Lockdowns put the brakes on production in Asia while boosting demand for use in exercise and commuting.
A person walks with a bike in New York City. The coronavirus pandemic battered bicycle manufacturing but boosted demand.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

As clothing sales drop, zipper and button makers struggle

Aug 12, 2020
The pandemic has downstream effects all throughout the supply chain.
Employees at a textile and weaver factory in Eloyes, France, in June. The clothing industry has a global supply chain for fabrics, buttons and zippers.
Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How much money are supply chain disruptions costing companies?

Cyberattacks, trade disputes, the coronavirus, natural disasters — it is exceedingly difficult to manage a complex web of business relationships
To make supply chains more resilient, companies can digitize them, hold more inventory and simplify product designs, says Susan Lund of McKinsey. Pictured: Items being transferred at an automated logistics center in Shandong in China's eastern Qingdao province.
STR/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese factories are returning, but global supply chain remains uncertain

Apr 28, 2020
Cranking up the global manufacturing machine is not just about China.
Workers in face masks at a car seat factory in Shanghai.
Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

COVID-19 stirs questions about medical supply chains

Mar 26, 2020
Dependence on global supply chains can be useful in a crisis only if countries don't set up export barriers like some are now with medical supplies.
A doctor wearing personal protective gear checks a ventilator on March 16.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images