Supply Chain Research

Sogefi S.p.A., a manufacturer of auto parts, provides an example of how congestion and freight rates affect businesses down the supply chain. Panjiva data associated with the firm shows a large increase in U.S. seaborne imports, which rose by 157.1% year over year in Q1’21, and 140.0% in April. The company has nonetheless faced challenges in securing parts, with a logistics manager at the firm’s U.S. plant stating “no issue is ever solved these days, just manage. It’s an exercise in how flexible you can be in an inflexible world.” That flexibility includes rerouting supply chain flows. ...