Workers who keep global supply chains moving warn of 'system collapse'

you wanted a world run by the hysterics of Branch Covidians on Twitter and you got it

The whole shift in manufacturing has seen a shift from holding supplies to in-flight just in time managment. Which for tiing up capital can prove advantages. Though you are more exposed to any up's and downs in that supply chain or price volitility.

However as things have general run fine, those fears and worry's soon diminished and more and more shifted from warehousing supplies to using suppliers and logistics chains as there warehouse.

Then that whole just in time mentality shifted to workers, so you have tempory/contract staff you can pull in when needed and drop when you don't, zero hour contracts and more money saved on the accountants sheets who did well selling of the old warehouse space to some house building company and made a nice balance sheet that year and far bonus.

This all goes fine until you get a hickup and the whole covid19 set a lot of dominios falling and not only highlighted how the supply chain works, but also opened up a few more cracks.

Which has been educational for some consumers who have for years and years enjoyed cheaper prices - all paid for by this accounting, logistics and off-shoring cheap labour etc.

How will it play out, well it will see price rises, often more than needed by some companies capitalising upon the opportunity, others being unable to rise prices as much and having to burden that extra cost. Some will have supply contracts that are tighter than others for supply and prices with penalty clauses, others not so. But that all boils down to insurance companies and reinsurance having a very interesting time ahead as the whole ripple effect plays out.

Will the system collapse - nope. It will adapt, over compensate and then as the fear and risk seem so far away, slip back into the same cost shaving until the next impacting disaster.

One thing though that will and does seem to be a changing is more divergence in production and with that, supplies. Which will only make the supply chain more robust overall. But then it will take a few years for things to settle and then be more years for all the knock on effect ripples to settle as well - be those government tax bills to pay for bailout or insurance/reinsurance companies and banks seeing the ripple impact play out in debts and claims.

As always we live in interesting times, just gets hard to stay interested sometimes when the news is so depressing in spin-tangent fear and doom.

Though one good thing has changed this past year - people have finally started to appreciate the little people who do all those jobs many take for granted. How long that appreciation will last is perhaps and will it be reflected in how much such people are paid for what they do is an aspect we can only hope changes. But sadly the whole working conditions of some supply chains at the production level has been an issue for a while, only now do we see that highlighted more from a consumer appreciation and understanding. After all in a crisis a bin collection person is more useful than another coffee shop (Though I'm sure some may have valid reasons to disagree)

Look at the UK - not enough truck drivers to transport fuel.

Last year it was a media hyped run upon toilet rolls. People panic and react accordingly and do wonder how much of this was created by the media.

However if in the next year or so I read about a house burning down that was filled with toilet rolls and jerry cans - I don't think I will be the slightest bit supprised. As always - I hope I'm wrong as that's how we learn the best.