China

Coronavirus: Supply-Chain Disruption Looks Like Natural Disasters

Tesla and Sony’s Problems Show Shanghai’s Big Restart is Faltering

May 12, 2022

The official line coming out of Covid-hit Shanghai is that business is returning to usual despite the ongoing lockdown, yet hundreds of manufacturers in the city aren’t operating at anywhere near to full capacity, if they’re up and running again at all.

Shanghai Supply Chain Crisis Makes a Case for AI

May 12, 2022

Vasudevan Sundarababu, SCB Contributor

The closure of supply chain operations in China is yet another blow to an already fragile global supply chain. More will follow.

Fate of U.S. Chipmaking Looks More Like Fantasy

May 11, 2022

Helen Atkinson, Senior Editor

A talent shortage and other factors make reshoring of American chip manufacturing unlikely, at best.

More Than Half U.S. Firms in China See Lockdowns Hitting Revenue

May 10, 2022

Bloomberg

China’s stringent Covid Zero strategy has damaged foreign businesses’ confidence, with U.S. firms in the country slashing investments and lowering revenue projections as lockdowns hit operations and supply chains.

Can the World Feed Itself? Historic Fertilizer Crunch Threatens Food Security

May 5, 2022

Bloomberg

For the first time ever, farmers the world over — all at the same time — are testing the limits of how little chemical fertilizer they can apply without devastating their yields come harvest time. Early predictions are bleak.

U.S. Takes First Step Towards Four-Year China Tariffs Review

May 4, 2022

Bloomberg

The Biden administration is taking the first step toward a review of tariffs on more than $300 billion in Chinese imports that’s required to keep them from starting to automatically expire in July.

An American Toymaker Doubles Down on Sourcing in China During the Pandemic

May 2, 2022

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

A least one U.S. consumer-products manufacturer has no intention of giving up on China anytime soon.

Supply Chains Flare Up Again, Endangering Global Recovery

May 2, 2022

Bloomberg

Global supply chains are knotting up from China to Denmark, sparking re-examinations of things as macro as globalization itself and micro as trucking efficiency around American ports.

Global Supply Chain Crisis Flares Up Where It All Began

April 26, 2022

Bloomberg

China’s stringent rules to curb COVID-19 are about to unleash another wave of summer chaos on supply chains between Asia, the U.S. and Europe.

Elon Musk’s Shanghai Outlook Belies Supply Chain Snarls

April 21, 2022

Bloomberg

Elon Musk says Tesla’s Shanghai factory is “back with a vengeance” after a three-week Covid-induced shutdown. But his bullishness belies concern the plant has only enough components to last about a week even at reduced capacity — highlighting the challenges snarled supply chains pose to manufacturers.

China

The latest supply chain news, analysis, trends and best practices for companies operating in China. Learn how businesses are optimizing supply chain and logistics performance across China’s 22 provinces, five autonomous regions and four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing) - addressing a range of challenges such as rising labor costs, poor infrastructure, complex customs and trade laws, unstable political climates and government controlled exchange rates.