Inside Out | Post-pandemic global supply chain turmoil might still ruin Christmas
- North American rail and port woes are adding to a long list of challenges facing global shippers, while China is developing new trade routes
It seems not a week goes by without fresh reminders that the global supply chains underpinning international trade remain in turmoil, riven by an angst that has persisted since Covid-19.
Its smooth operation is critical to food trade and to delivery of commodities such as fertiliser, timber, iron ore, cement, coal and potash. The Financial Times, with only a hint of breathlessness, warned: “Strikes threaten ‘earthquake’ in US supply chain before Christmas season”.
The disruption compounds supply chain challenges worldwide that have, since Covid-19, dramatically raised freight rates, forced changes in supply routes, and provided fuel to protectionist forces that are calling for “onshoring”, “near-shoring” and other “de-risking” measures.
There is still hope for Canada’s rail network. The government intervened last Thursday, ordering the unionists and Canada’s two main rail companies into arbitration. But the union has responded by calling for a 72-hour strike from Monday.
Even if Canada’s dispute is settled, International Longshoremen’s Association members’ strikes might shut down 36 US east and Gulf coast ports in October.
