Tag Archives: supply chain crisis

Another Casualty Of The Supply Chain Crisis

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On Monday, BizPacReview posted an article detailing an ongoing problem with the supply chain crisis and automobile manufacturing.

The article reports:

As congressional leaders refuse to get out of the way and allow the free market to sort out the supply chain issues, instead quibbling over legislative responses that will most benefit them, American consumers are faced with ongoing degradation of the quality and quantity of available goods that may put lives in jeopardy.

Though many industries have bounced back since the COVID pandemic response rocked global supply chains, the semiconductor chip shortage has gone unresolved leaving auto manufacturers scrambling for solutions to maintain vehicle production. Where at first, amenities like heated seats and touchscreen displays couldn’t make the cut, Fox Business reported that some car companies have resorted to the removal of optional safety features like blind spot monitoring systems, semi-automated driver aids, and proximity alerts sensors.

“Automakers are in a tight spot when the materials aren’t available for some of the safety technology,” Jessica Cicchino, Insurance Institute of Highway Safety vice president of research, told the outlet. “It really shifts the burden on the consumers who are already having a hard time shopping for a car.”

The article notes that many of the current safety features in cars that save lives are having to be eliminated. Heated seats may be considered a luxury, but some of the proximity alerts sensors save lives.

The article also notes the insider trading aspect of this crisis:

However, lawmakers’ latest move to address the shortage through the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, looked more to be a blatant display of insider trading than an aim to solve the problem. As previously reported, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband Paul Pelosi had purchased 20,000 shares of Nvidia, a leading manufacturer of semiconductors, ahead of a vote on the bill that would see the largest portion of a $52 billion handout handed over to the company.

What an amazing coincidence.

Finding Answers On The State Level Because The Federal Government Has Failed

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NewsMax reported on Monday that a group of fifteen Republican governors are taking measures to ease the supply chain crisis.

The article reports:

Fifteen governors from across the nation, including Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, and North Dakota, among others, said in a letter Monday that they are taking measures to ease the current supply chain crisis, and are calling on President Joe Biden to ease federal regulations to get inventory moving more swiftly.

“As we approach the holiday season, our states are committed to ensuring the free and fast flow of commerce. Americans enjoy a high quality of life, and as government officials, our job is to not only maintain the standard of living for our citizens but to improve it,” Monday’s letter said. “Getting goods to market is a fundamental baseline of our open economy, and under the Biden Administration, the American supply chain is in crisis.”

Called “Operation Open Roads,” the initiative by the governors seeks to make the transportation of goods easier by using their authority to modify weight, size, or load restrictions to allow the cargo to move “more efficiently,” allow truck drivers to spend more hours on the road, giving them more flexibility in delivering loads, and adjusting commercial license barriers to put more drivers on the road, according to the plan.

The article concludes:

They are also calling on Biden to ease “outdated” federal regulations, such as lowering the age requirement for a commercial driver’s license from 21 to 18 “so that well-trained, working adults can work across state borders.”

The group is also asking Biden to suspend the vaccine mandate for private companies with more than 100 employees in the trucking and transportation industries to not “further exacerbate” the driver shortage by adding a barrier to employment.

Missouri’s Republican Gov. Mike Parson, a signatory to the letter, said Monday that the federal government needs to either “get on board” with the initiative, or get “out of the way.”

“Missourians, like many Americans, are deeply concerned about their rising grocery and energy bills, increasing delays for goods and services, and soaring inflation threatening their paychecks,” Parson said in a statement. “The Biden Administration’s continued attempts to tax, spend, and regulate its way out of this crisis have failed. We are committed to doing what we can at the state level to fix this crisis and to get us back on track, but we need the federal government to get on board or get out of the way.”

According to the letter, the United States saw a 638% increase in shipping disruptions during the first half of 2021 for essential products like semiconductor chips, plastics, and cardboard.

Shipping delays from Asian countries rose from 14 hours to 13 days in September, causing stores to receive only 40% of their orders, compared to 90% before the COVID-19 pandemic, the letter said.

Thank goodness for governors who are willing to look for solutions to problems the federal government has failed to solve.