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Supply chain

Economic Pulse

Materials and labor shortages continue to complicate construction industry

by David Brancaccio and Rose Conlon
Apr 26, 2022
Oregon-based journeyman and business owner Maurice Rahming said he's contending with long wait times for steel and electrical equipment.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Remember the trade war with China? U.S. businesses are still feeling it.

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Apr 19, 2022
Kevin Feig's Florida auto parts company is paying the U.S. government up to $600,000 a month in import duties.
"You have to deal with what you're given. And right now, we've accepted the fact that the tariffs aren't going away," says Kevin Feig, president of Foreign Parts Distributors in Miami. Above, a worker assembles car door unit in Chicago.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
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More supply chain woes likely when China eases its COVID lockdowns

by Justin Ho
Apr 18, 2022
Goods sitting idle in warehouses or containers will head to the U.S., though many companies have adapted to shortages.
China's most recent lockdowns have reduced shipments and eased the stress on tight supply chains, but sooner or later, high volumes of goods will flow again.
Dale De La Rey/AFP via Getty Images
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China's zero-COVID restrictions put pressure on businesses

by Jennifer Pak
Apr 15, 2022
China’s first-quarter economic data is not likely to be rosy, given the fallout of the Ukraine war and the current COVID surge.
The Yangshan Port near Shanghai. Even goods and cargo are tested for COVID-19 under China's aggressive anti-contagion policy.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
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There's more free capacity on trucks. That means supply chains may be loosening.

by Justin Ho
Apr 15, 2022
Fewer goods coming from China during its lockdown and more trucking companies have helped.
China's recent lockdowns of ports and manufacturing hubs have slowed imports to the U.S., giving the supply chain a chance to catch up.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Businesses seek different ways to avoid inventory shortages and supply chain problems

by Justin Ho
Apr 14, 2022
Some businesses are switching products, while others try to build up and promote products that are available.
Fearing empty shelves, some retailers are stocking up what they can when they can.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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The customs business has become all about handling the unexpected

by Sean McHenry
Apr 13, 2022
"Everything is just a constant pivot," says Gretchen Blough, a customs broker in Erie, Pennsylvania.
"There hasn't been a lot of warning to some of the issues that have happened, and we've just had to make do," Gretchen Blough says of the customs business.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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From chocolate to real estate, small businesses are trying to create inflation game plans

by Sean McHenry
Apr 12, 2022
Raise prices? Order more inventory, or less? Business owners describe how they're dealing with dramatic changes in market conditions.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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For small businesses, optimism about the future continues to wane

by Justin Ho
Apr 12, 2022
Small business owners are to grappling with staffing shortages, supply chain issues and higher costs.
"We’re as concerned now as we were a year ago of our ability to survive this," said one small business owner.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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How "detention" is punishing truck drivers and supply chains

by Matt Levin
Apr 4, 2022
The key to unfurling domestic supply chains may not be more truck drivers on the road, but getting them in and out of warehouses faster.
Addressing trucker wait times at warehouses and ports could alleviate some supply chain kinks and improve driver satisfaction. Above, trucks lined up at the Port of Los Angeles in November 2021.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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