FINANCIAL CRISIS: 8.28.21 - The Shortages Are Going To Get Worse Later This Year

The Shortages Are Going To Get Worse Later This Year As Global Supply Chains Increasingly Falter- by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-shortages-are-going-to-get-worse-later-this-year-as-global-supply-chains-increasingly-falter/ Have you noticed that it is a lot harder to get certain things these days? Just recently, someone in my local area was surprised when her appointment to get the windshieldon her vehicle fixed was canceled because it wasn’t possible to get a replacement windshield. This was a windshield for a very common vehicle, and normally that wouldn’t be a problem at all. But these are not normal times. Thanks to several factors that Iwill detail in this article, global supply chains are now under more strain than we have ever seen in the post-World War II era, and unfortunately it appears that things are going to get even worse as we approach the holiday season. I know that most of you probably don’t want to hear that the shortages that we are experiencing now are going to get worse. So you may be tempted to stop reading this article now because you don’t want to see the bad news. But it is imperative that you understand what is ahead, and so I urge you to keep reading. Let’s take this one step at a time. Right now, local news outlets all over the country are doing stories about the shortages in their local areas. Here is one example… Have you recently gone to the grocery store and found some of the shelves empty? If so, you aren’t alone. Many people can’t find some of their favorite and essential items since the pandemic started. As that article points out, the stores are trying to order the products that they need. They just can’t get them. This is happening all across the United States, and as a result the inventory to sales ratio for U.S. retailers has been pushed to the lowest level on record… In April, May, and June, the inventory-sales ratio of around 1.08 – or about 33 days’ supply – was at the lowest point in the data going back to 1992. In the years beforethe pandemic, the overall ratio was around 1.5, providing 45 days of supply. So why is this happening? Well, the truth is that there are several contributing factors, and one of them is fear of COVID. When a single worker recently tested positive for COVID, China shut down one of the busiest port terminals in the entire world “indefinitely”… One of the world’s busiest ports partially closed this week after an employee tested positive for Covid-19. The closure raises fears of new disruptions to world trade thatcould slow the global economy’s recovery. Meishan, a key terminal at China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan port, closed indefinitely Wednesday after a 34-year old worker tested positive for Covid-19. A member of the board ofthe Ningbo Port Group Company—which operates the port—also resigned Wednesday, citing personal reasons, reported China’s Securities Daily. This wouldn’t be such a problem if we had not become so dependent on goods from China. Other nations are severely overreacting to outbreaks of COVID as well, and this is making it harder and harder to move goods around the world on an efficient basis. Another major factor that we are dealing with is a historic global shipping container shortage. The demand for shipping containers greatly exceeds the supply, and this has pushed global shipping container rates to levels we have never seen before. And once shipping containers are delivered to U.S. ports, there isn’t enough port workers to unload them all. It can now literally take months for products that are made in China to get to the U.S. retailers that originally ordered them. Of course if those products contain computer chips, they may never arrive at all. The global shortage of computer chips is deeply affecting thousands of other industries. For instance, it is being estimated that the global auto industry will produce 7.1million fewer vehicles this year because of the chip shortage… VW’s main plant in Wolfsburg is only going to be running on its early shift after summer break due to the lack of supply, Bloomberg reported this morning. Its plant in Wolfsburg is the “world’s biggest car plant” and employs about 60,000 people. Audi is also pausing production temporarily, extending its summer break by oneweek, the report notes. Global shortages of semiconductors could wind up cutting worldwide production of autos this year by about 7.1 million vehicles, Bloomberg predicted this morning. Now we are moving into the holiday season, and many in the retail industry are anticipating a complete and utter disaster… Reuters surveyed nearly a dozen suppliers and retailers of everything from toys to computer equipment in the United States and Europe. All expect weeks-long delays in holidayinventory due to shipping bottlenecks, including a global container shortage and the recent COVID-related closure of the southern Chinese port of Yantian, which serves manufacturers near Shenzhen. One executive that was interviewed by Reuters said that we are heading for “a major, major mess”… “It’s going to be a major, major mess,” said Isaac Larian, chief executive of Los Angeles-based MGA Entertainment Inc, which sells LOL Surprise, Bratz, Little Tikes andother toy brands to Amazon, Walmart and Target. And another executive openly admitted that it is “too late” to save Christmas… “It’s too late for Christmas,” said Thompson, founder of Washington-based Plugable Technologies. This is what the immediate future of the U.S. economy looks like even if nothing else goes wrong. So what is going to happen if another major crisis suddenly erupts in the middle of all this? As inventories get tighter and tighter, prices are rising to compensate. One area that I am particularly interested in is the price of food. According to the FAO, the globalprice of food is 31 percent higher than it was a year ago… Whether at supermarkets, corner stores, or open-air markets, prices for food have been surging in much of the world, forcing families to make tough decisions about theirdiets. Meat is often the first to go, ceding space to less expensive proteins such as dairy, eggs, or beans. In some households, a glass of milk has become a luxury reserved only for children; fresh fruit, once deemed a necessity, is now a treat. Food prices in July were up 31% from the same month last year, according to an index compiled by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Have global paychecks risen 31 percent over the past year to keep up? No way. As a result, many are having a much harder time buying the food that they need and more people are going hungry. Needless to say, this is setting the stage for the sortof global crisis that I have been warning about. There was so much optimism during the first half of 2021, but now everyone is starting to realize which way all the needles are pointing. Very choppy seas are ahead, and those at the helm do not seem to know what they are doing. ----------------------------------- The Shortages Are Global, And We Are Being Warned That They Will Intensify- by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-shortages-are-global-and-we-are-being-warned-that-they-will-intensify/ The global economy was supposed to be getting back to �normal� by now, but instead more problems are erupting with each passing day. As I write this article, supply chainsall over the planet are in a state of chaos. The worldwide computer chip shortage is making things very difficult for thousands upon thousands of manufacturers, the process of moving products across our oceans has become insanely expensive and is often plaguedby horrendous delays, and a lack of truck drivers is causing enormous headaches when it comes to transporting goods to retailers and consumers in a timely manner. We have never seen anything like this before, and at this point even CNN is admitting that �thedisruption to global supply chains is getting worse�� The vast network of ports, container vessels and trucking companies that moves goods around the world is badly tangled, and the cost of shipping is skyrocketing. That�stroubling news for retailers and holiday shoppers. More than 18 months into the pandemic, the disruption to global supply chains is getting worse, spurring shortages of consumer products and making it more expensive forcompanies to ship goods where they�re needed. Earlier this year, some of the economic optimists were projecting that we would experience a tremendous �economic boom� during the second half of 2021. But now we are facing empty shelves, shortages and major headaches in the months ahead. One shipping executive that was interviewed by CNN says that things won�t get any better until �the first quarter of 2022 at the earliest�� Shipping companies expect the global crunch to continue. That�s massively increasing the cost of moving cargo and could add to the upward pressure on consumer prices. �We currently expect the market situation only to ease in the first quarter of 2022 at the earliest,� Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said in a recent statement. Here in the U.S., quite a few experts are now making very bleak predictions about the upcoming holiday season. But we are definitely not alone. Over in the UK, it is being reported that the �worst supply-chain crisis since the 1970s� could potentially �ruin Christmas�. One of the big problems that the British are facing is an unprecedented shortage of truck drivers and warehouse workers. Business leaders are begging for more EU workersto be allowed into the country, because they believe that will help to alleviate the crisis. Empty shelves and shortages are now a daily reality in the UK, and some large fast food chains are now being forced to completely drop certain items from their menus� Gaps on supermarket shelves have been spotted across the country due to a combination of factors, including lorry driver shortages and Covid. Supplier issues have also led to shortages at fast food chains like McDonald�s, Nandos and KFC, with some items missing from menus and branches closed. Greggs is the latest to say that it�s short on food faves and Costa Coffee has reduced its menu due to the supply chain chaos. Could you imagine going into a McDonald�s and not being able to order a milkshake? Sadly, that has now become a reality at every single location in the United Kingdom� McDonald�s says it has pulled milkshakes from the menu in all 1,250 of its British restaurants because of supply problems stemming from a shortage of truck drivers. The fast-food chain says it is also experiencing shortages of bottled drinks. Here in the United States, we are dealing with similar issues. At this point, it is being reported that finding new truck drivers to hire in this country is �next to impossible�� Finding truck drivers is �next to impossible,� he said, while freight costs are rising daily. The company�s orders are arriving late and consequently facing delays in beingsent to customers. On the outbound side, on-time deliveries are still above 50% but have fallen from the usual rate of more than 90%. �We all thought it would be over by now. It�s just one thing after another,� he said. �This is going to be the norm for a while.� For decades, we have been taking our truck drivers for granted. We pay them poorly, we treat them like dirt, and we make them work ridiculously long hours. But without truck drivers, our country simply cannot function. These days, most young people don�t want jobs that require a lot of hard, physical work and that don�t pay very well. Instead, they would rather make money producing TikTok videos or becoming Instagram influencers. Traditionally, truck drivers have been strong, physical men with traditional values. Of course our society likes to demonize such individuals these days, but maybe thiscrisis will get everyone to understand that we actually need them. Even if we had enough truck drivers, we would still be facing a wide range of shortages because of the global shortage of computer chips� A global shortage of computer chips is causing major headaches for American manufacturers. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the disruption of supply chains and manufacturing the world over. Manufacturers of computer chips in Asia have been especially hard hit.And that means companies that make products that rely on such chips are feeling the pinch. As I have warned previously, the computer chip shortage is causing massive headaches for thousands of other industries. We should have never become so dependent on chip production from Asia, and now we are paying a great price. Yesterday, I discussed the fact that Kamala Harris is warning parents to buy their Christmas presents now because of the severe shortages that are looming on the horizon. On Fox News, contributor Leo Terrell said that this �sounds like a very dangerous warning sign�� Fox News contributor Leo Terrell expressed concern on �Fox & Friends� Tuesday that Democrats are aiming to shut down the U.S. economy again after Vice President Kamala Harrisadvised shoppers to consider buying Christmas presents now due to global supply chain issues. LEO TERRELL: That scares me because that sounds like shutdown, that sounds like we�re going to expect that the economy is going to basically be locked down again. And that�sfrightening. Again, the Democrats have used the pandemic to control Americans. And basically that sounds like a very dangerous warning sign. Yes, I would definitely categorize her statement as a �warning sign�. This is not going to be a �normal� holiday season. And 2022 will definitely not be �normal� either. We have moved into crazy times, and they are only going to get crazier. A lot of people didn�t want to listen to warnings from people like me at first, but now seeing empty shelves and shortages is starting to wake some of them up. Our economic infrastructure is being shaken, and many are starting to realize that the �invincible� U.S. economy is not actually so invincible after all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM