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Remember the trade war with China? U.S. businesses are still feeling it.

Apr 19, 2022
Kevin Feig's Florida auto parts company is paying the U.S. government up to $600,000 a month in import duties.
"You have to deal with what you're given. And right now, we've accepted the fact that the tariffs aren't going away," says Kevin Feig, president of Foreign Parts Distributors in Miami. Above, a worker assembles car door unit in Chicago.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

More supply chain woes likely when China eases its COVID lockdowns

Apr 18, 2022
Goods sitting idle in warehouses or containers will head to the U.S., though many companies have adapted to shortages.
China's most recent lockdowns have reduced shipments and eased the stress on tight supply chains, but sooner or later, high volumes of goods will flow again.
Dale De La Rey/AFP via Getty Images

China's zero-COVID restrictions put pressure on businesses

Apr 15, 2022
China’s first-quarter economic data is not likely to be rosy, given the fallout of the Ukraine war and the current COVID surge.
The Yangshan Port near Shanghai. Even goods and cargo are tested for COVID-19 under China's aggressive anti-contagion policy.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

There's more free capacity on trucks. That means supply chains may be loosening.

Apr 15, 2022
Fewer goods coming from China during its lockdown and more trucking companies have helped.
China's recent lockdowns of ports and manufacturing hubs have slowed imports to the U.S., giving the supply chain a chance to catch up.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Businesses seek different ways to avoid inventory shortages and supply chain problems

Apr 14, 2022
Some businesses are switching products, while others try to build up and promote products that are available.
Fearing empty shelves, some retailers are stocking up what they can when they can.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The customs business has become all about handling the unexpected

Apr 13, 2022
"Everything is just a constant pivot," says Gretchen Blough, a customs broker in Erie, Pennsylvania.
"There hasn't been a lot of warning to some of the issues that have happened, and we've just had to make do," Gretchen Blough says of the customs business.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

From chocolate to real estate, small businesses are trying to create inflation game plans

Apr 12, 2022
Raise prices? Order more inventory, or less? Business owners describe how they're dealing with dramatic changes in market conditions.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

For small businesses, optimism about the future continues to wane

Apr 12, 2022
Small business owners are to grappling with staffing shortages, supply chain issues and higher costs.
"We’re as concerned now as we were a year ago of our ability to survive this," said one small business owner.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

How "detention" is punishing truck drivers and supply chains

Apr 4, 2022
The key to unfurling domestic supply chains may not be more truck drivers on the road, but getting them in and out of warehouses faster.
Addressing trucker wait times at warehouses and ports could alleviate some supply chain kinks and improve driver satisfaction. Above, trucks lined up at the Port of Los Angeles in November 2021.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

2.6 million cars cut from global production forecast this year

Mar 17, 2022
The war in Ukraine is already slowing production in ways automakers — and consumers — will feel in 2022 and beyond.
With multiple disruptions to the supply chain, the auto industry is set to take a production hit.
Jade Gao/ Getty Images