NEAR SHORING ON THE RISE – ManufacturERS Shift PRODUCTION Closer to the U.S.

Manufacturing is moving to Mexico at a more rapid rate than anticipated. That’s according to a survey conducted by Capterra, a software consultancy. The report “From Nearshoring to Cooperative Procurement—Here are 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Small Business Supply Chains,” used this methodology:

We surveyed* 300 supply chain professionals at small to midsize businesses (with 1,000 or fewer employees and an annual revenue of $500 million or less) to learn about the challenges and solutions for navigating the changing industry.

The survey results reveal that 88% of respondents plan to move at least some manufacturing closer to the U.S. Companies concerned about trade disruptions due to fractures in relationships between China and the U.S. want their production closer to home.
From a toy industry perspective, that 88% figure looks pretty high. People I speak with have no imminent plans to move. It’s something to watch.

OCEAN FREIGHT RATES ARE HEADED LOWER – ITS PAYBACK TIME FOR SHIPPERS

“What we should also not forget is that there’s not just a rational side but more of an emotional side. There is clearly a sentiment of payback on the side of a lot of the shippers out there, looking at what they went through in the last two years.”

Container trade’s next turn: Price wars, cheap contracts, new ships, Greg miller, freightwaves

The above quote is from a Freightwaves article by Greg Miller entitled, “Container trade’s next turn: Price wars, cheap contracts, new ships.” What goes around actually does come around. As we predicted two years ago, an over-supply of containers and container ships would ultimately send ocean freight prices back down to pre-Covid levels and lower.

That oversupply is compounded by a sharp drop in Chinese exports due to fat inventor inventories in the U.S.

Retail Bankruptcies Start to Pile Up

Party City, Tuesday Morning, and Pet Partners have filed for bankruptcy, while Bed Bath & Beyond, Rite-Aid, and Joann Fabrics are candidates to do the same. These retailers have struggled for years, but current conditions are pushing them over or to the edge.