COVID-19 is about to put the global trading system through its most dramatic stress-test since World War II, with supply lines for essential food and medical goods entering a critical phase as the pandemic peaks in the U.S. and Europe.
It's About 500 miles from New York City to Toronto, but it can take as long as two weeks to complete deliveries. In fact, for many U.S. businesses, deliveries to and across Canada take significantly longer than those in the states.
At a time when the coronavirus outbreak is disrupting global supply lines, a maker of toys that’s committed to manufacturing in the U.S. finds itself with an advantage over those that rely on production in China.
Companies from New Balance and L.L. Bean in New England to Gap in California are contributing to an ever-widening emergency initiative, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for 80 years.
Carmakers might seem unlikely candidates to build ventilators for coronavirus victims. But in fact they may be quite well-suited to churn out the highly intricate medical devices that are in critically short supply.
As the coronavirus pandemic begins to strain the U.S. medical supply chain, California startup Zipline is looking into ways to deploy sooner and at wider scale.
