February 2022 - This month, supply chain issues persist but with a more catastrophic concern on the horizon - the latter part of this month marks the intense escalation of the Russian/Ukrainian conflict; with Russia invading the former USSR state on the 24th of February. This elicited a global response, with sanctions from the United States, Russia, Japan, and Singapore - just to name a few. This war could lead to the Russian and Ukrainian economies to struggle, and well as rising oil and natural gas costs globally.
In global freight and fulfilment news, Air Asia seeks to include more cargo in its Asian pacific flight routes, Amazon is looking to improve its freight forwarding operations, experts are predicting high shipping costs to remain in place until 2022; and shipping companies made $150 billion last year, and the CEO of CMA CGM group has announced they will no longer be transporting plastic waste. Additionally, warehouse space has been in high demand the past few months - with Warburg Pincus has been purchasing a wide portfolio of warehouses globally and the largest ever warehouse deal has been completed for £233 million. Amazon is being blamed for some of this high warehouse costs because they hold such a significant amount of space.
In manufacturing and sourcing news - the Canadian truckers protest has wreaked havoc on American and Canadian automobile manufacturing industry, with steel, oil and electronic components being stuck at the border. Furthermore, there have been immense developments for electric vehicles battery sourcing as cost for their materials soar; with rare forms of sulfur discovered to increase capacity of batteries and recycled lithium-ion batteries out-perform newly developed ones.
In technological news, China, and the U.S have been named at the forefront of digitalization globally, AI training facilities being launched in Singaporean schools, and AI is being integrated in covid treatment facilities in Singapore. In sales news, Walmart and Home Depot are thriving in sales, while Kellogg’s and Kraft fall short. Additionally, Virgin Galactic has reopened sales of its 90-minute intergalactic joyride at $450,000.
In company and country specific news - Honda is maximising its output despite supply chain challenges, Google is restricting apps from Android devices that track users, Starbucks and Amazon are hiking up its prices, and DHL is expanding its cold storage capabilities for pharmaceuticals. Shell is also offering sustainable aviation fuel at Singapore Changi airport and there has been a subtle shift in China’s covid-zero policy.
Finally, regarding covid issues this month - many countries are easing their restrictive measures - with China approving a Pfizer pill, a sign the nation may be moving away from its covid-zero policy. However, inflation is a concern with all the supply chain constraints and now the confounding factor of war in Ukraine - will only make matters worse.
