These small businesses still feel supply chain pressures, even if data says they're easing

Jul 19, 2022
Shipping costs, wait times and sourcing materials are still a big problem for business owners in South Carolina and Calif.
Some businesses have had to adjust shipping strategies — like opting to ship by rail — to circumvent delays at ports.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Manufacturing employment returns to pre-pandemic level

Jul 8, 2022
Demand for manufactured goods has grown during the pandemic, but new orders have been falling in recent months.
A worker assembles the interior of a safe. Many small business are looking to boost revenues in anticipation of a potential recession.
George Frey/Getty Images

Walmart to charge transportation fees to some suppliers

Jul 6, 2022
The retailer says it's part of an effort to keep prices low for customers. That can be hard to do in the long term.
The fees Walmart charges will eventually be passed on to consumers.
George Frey/Getty Images

When you need 70,000 pounds of paper a month and the supply chain is in chaos

Jun 15, 2022
Claudia Smukler of Mother Jones explains the unique obstacles to producing a print magazine in this economy.
Magazines require a high grade of coated paper, one that ink will lay well on.
Bennett Purser/Marketplace

Thanks, supply chain. Now there's a tampon shortage.

Jun 14, 2022
Supplies of cotton and rayon have been stymied by the issues that have inundated the chain for a while.
Getty Images

Port congestion is easing. But supply chain congestion isn't going away soon.

Jun 10, 2022
China’s COVID-19 lockdowns, which shut down much of the country’s manufacturing and exports, are partly to blame.
President Joe Biden addressed was at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday. Though the port is clearing, the bottlenecks may not be over yet.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The chaotic story of inventory in today's economy

Jun 8, 2022
Wholesale inventories were up in April. But now, some stores have too much inventory while others struggle to get the inventory they need.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Need a CT scan? You may have to wait weeks, thanks to lockdowns in China and dye shortages

May 31, 2022
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, a critical Shanghai plant that produces the dye has been operating at reduced capacity for weeks.
Hospitals low on contrast dye are doing some CT scans without it or are booking patients weeks or months in advance. 
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

For this toy store, summer is here, and so are inventory woes

May 30, 2022
Business is up at a North Carolina shop, but managing inventory and costs are headaches.
A shelf of outdoor toys at Ali Cat. "We had a great Easter," said owner Irene Kesselman. "And now we are starting to sell some of our pool toys and outdoor toys."
Ariel Jackson

Why “big boats” might be partially responsible for inflation

May 24, 2022
Supply chain journalist Rachel Premack says megaships deserve some of the blame for shipping logjams and increased costs.
“I hate big boats, and so should you,” wrote FreightWaves editorial director Rachel Premack. The Ever Given container ship, above, sails along Egypt's Suez Canal.
Mahmoud Khaled/AFP via Getty Images