Supply Chain Research

Supply Chain Edge: Three speed semiconductors, auto tariffs bite, hurricane hazards hit

July 12, 2024

– The semiconductor sector is seeing varied recovery rates, with AI applications and Nvidia driving growth, but supply chain challenges persist with sector revenue growth expected to fall to 24% in Q1 2024 from 44% in the same period the prior year. Consumer devices have mixed prospects, with ... Read more →

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Supply Chain Edge: Mobile smartphone manufacturers

March 6, 2023

A new crop of smartphones at the latest Mobile World Congress (MWC) aims to arrest a downturn in global demand. We dive into reshoring as a way to cut costs and look at the rise of India as a production and export center. Retailers are starting to cut excess inventories built up as a result of... Read more →

Brexit Watch: Showdown with EU set as U.K. asks for Northern Ireland customs relaxation

July 22, 2021

The U.K. government has proposed a series of measures to reform the Northern Ireland Protocol. The Protocol defines customs operations and is key to ensuring continued compliance with the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement by ensuring no physical barriers between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The... Read more →

Brexit Watch: Sainsbury’s, Tesco may switch food supplies if customs aren’t reformed

July 19, 2021

The CEOs of major U.K. retailers, including J Sainsbury and Tesco, have warned that uncertainty over the future of customs for shipping food into Northern Ireland “could force many retailers to move supply chains from GB to the EU”. The U.K. government will shortly be making a proposal to adap... Read more →

Q3’21 Outlook: The fallout from pandemic planning and trade policy rivalry

July 6, 2021

The impact of international trade policy on global supply chains in the second half of 2021 will depend on the implementation of vaccine provision regulations and the resolution, or otherwise, of long-standing trade rivalries. Global trade is recovering rapidly with growth in exports from 27 c... Read more →

Going fishing for deals – July 2021 supply chain calendar

June 30, 2021

The coming month will provide little respite from trade policy events and operational challenges for supply chains. A WTO ministerial meeting from July 15 is unlikely to make progress on reforming the global trade dispute framework while a fisheries agreement may be a test case as to whether t... Read more →

EU shrugs off Brexit drag to deliver faster export growth than U.S., U.K.

June 16, 2021

Exports from the EU to the rest of the world increased by 53.4% year over year and by 4.8% compared to 2019 in April. That shrugged off the impact of stricter trading rules with the U.K. that resulted in a 5.2% dip in EU exports to the U.K. in April 2021 versus April 2019. In dollar terms EU e... Read more →

Brexit Watch: Sausage wars come at the wrong time for trade activity, U.S. relations

June 14, 2021

Relations between the EU and U.K. have worsened in the wake of the G7 Summit meetings. Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened “to invoke Article 16” to suspend the Northern Ireland protocol covering trade with Ireland and the EU more broadly in a disagreement over processed meat shipping stan... Read more →

Brexit baggage continues to weigh on U.K. trade activity

May 18, 2021

U.K. trade and customs policies remain in flux. The government plans to tighten import regulations to levels commensurate with the EU-U.K. Trade & Cooperation Agreement from October onwards. Yet, it is also reportedly reconsidering current trade arrangements for Northern Ireland and may implem... Read more →

EU Parliament approves U.K. trade deal, but Brexit uncertainties remain

April 28, 2021

The European Parliament has ratified the EU-U.K. Trade & Cooperation Agreement, avoiding a costly collapse of current trading relations from April 30. The Parliament has nonetheless warned the U.K. to “fully implement the terms of the agreements which it has signed” with respect in particular ... Read more →

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