Supply Chain Research

Supply Chain Edge: Smoothed chains, popped stocks

March 24, 2023

Our second-quarter 2023 outlook report finds that 2023 is proving to be a year of normalization for supply chains, but we are not quite there yet and significant corporate strategy (inventory and reshoring) and government policy uncertainties will take at least the rest of the year to play out... Read more →

Supply Chain Edge: Furniture flattened, apparel folded

March 17, 2023

Supply chain activity and retail sales data indicate that the furniture and apparel sectors are in a state of decline, dragging total US seaborne imports down 20% year over year in February. Evidence from memory-chip makers indicates that the tech sector is still in a downturn, although a head... Read more →

Supply Chain Edge: Yeezy deflates kicks

March 10, 2023

Adidas has a pressing need to reduce its inventories after a failed collaboration with Kanye West. US imports linked to the firm surged in 2022 and are now reversing. The firm’s supplies have shifted toward Indonesia, yielding lower costs and price inflation. Trends in sports equipment supply ... Read more →

Supply Chain Edge: Vietnamese sneakers slip

February 24, 2023

Key findings this week: Layoffs at a major footwear supplier in Vietnam raise questions about the state of supply chains in the apparel industry — a downturn has already begun. The Home Depot’s cautious outlook is borne out by rapidly softening trade flows in hand and power tools. Europe’s ene... Read more →

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Supply Chain Edge: Fording the EV gap

February 20, 2023

Key findings this week: Ford’s electric vehicle supply chain is expanding rapidly but faces operational and sourcing challenges. The consumer goods industry, particularly the toys industry, has an inventory problem and trade activity has fallen as a result. Foxconn is the latest electronics fi... Read more →

Russian invasion of Ukraine adds additional strain to stretched supply chains

March 1, 2022

The Russian offensive in Ukraine is likely to result in much human tragedy. The fallout from the conflict is also expected to spread into global supply chains and impact economies in Eastern Europe and beyond. The first-order effects may come from the mounting economic sanctions imposed by the... Read more →

Shimano could face higher costs if US-EU steel rhetoric plays out

December 7, 2021

The US and EU have criticized environmentally unfriendly steel exports from China in follows to the Section 232 deal last month. This could be both an initiative to extend the EU’s carbon border policies to the U.S. as well as a way to pressure China as the Phase 1 agreement from the U.S. – Ch... Read more →

Special Report: Thyssenkrupp, Voestalpine set to gain from sweeping US-EU steel and aluminum deal

November 2, 2021

The U.S. and the EU have announced an agreement to partially lift the Section 232 “national security” tariffs on steel and aluminum. The breakthrough came right at the deadline set by the EU, thus preventing an increase in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods that was set to go into effect in Dec... Read more →

Mahle, Valeo may see additional costs from aluminium foil ruling

October 26, 2021

The U.S. International Trade Commission recently ruled that imports of aluminum foil from Armenia, Brazil, Oman, Russia and Turkey “materially” injure U.S. industry. The injury is caused by sales at less than fair value, also known as dumping, as determined by a prior decision by the Departmen... Read more →

U.S. Steel looks to capitalize on record-high prices

September 28, 2021

U.S. Steel has announced plans for a new, 3 million ton capacity plant starting next year, counting on high steel prices to continue. CEO David Burritt said in an interview that “We have the winds at our backs. Steel prices seem to be sustainable.” Data on steel prices show that the average pr... Read more →

Supply Chain Research

Showing research about Materials - Metals/Mining