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60 minutes report on bogged down supply chain

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Posted by Euclid on Monday, November 15, 2021 9:05 AM
I am tired of hearing about the multi-faceted cause of the supply chain failure.  What is the solution?  Is this a fake crisis?  Is it being used to deflect the blame for causing inflation?  Is inflation actually a good thing because it proves how successful our roaring economy is? 
 
All of the hype I am hearing about grocery store shortages and price increases fails to be borne out in the grocery stores I shop at.  Are the constant news videos showing empty shelves really just showing empty shelves that are part of a remodeling shift of inventory locations?  Or maybe a store going out of business after the inventory has been removed? 
 
Is it just a fake crisis just to show the consumers that they should not consume so much because it deprives the rest of the world?  Fact check:  Is the number of container ships waiting outside LA Port getting larger day by day, or getting smaller?  What is the number today?
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Posted by Euclid on Monday, November 15, 2021 9:03 AM

Convicted One

 

 
Euclid
And consumers are not going to sit there like dummies and take it.  It will be much easier to move production to the U.S. than to pay the rising cost of the failing supply chain.  

 

It's kinda interesting to contemplate which alternative will result in the higher final cost?  Goods manufactured in America made by geedy American workers, or imports manufactured cheaply but imported by geedy marketeers?  Wink

 

Well, one point is that the U.S. product marketing has been shown by the Chinese import experience that U.S. consumers want quality only if it comes at the lowest price. Prior to that, U.S. marketers thought they were competing with each other on the basis of quality alone.  Now they have learned that quality is not the #1 priority, and they will show China how quickly the U.S. manufactureers can become the lowest quality producer.  

Then when you add the savings of eliminating the supply chain costs, the U.S. will have an advantage over Chinese manufactuers.  

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Posted by Convicted One on Monday, November 15, 2021 8:53 AM

Euclid
And consumers are not going to sit there like dummies and take it.  It will be much easier to move production to the U.S. than to pay the rising cost of the failing supply chain.  

It's kinda interesting to contemplate which alternative will result in the higher final cost?  Goods manufactured in America made by geedy American workers, or imports manufactured cheaply but imported by geedy marketeers?  Wink

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Posted by rixflix on Monday, November 15, 2021 8:53 AM

I wonder about what's going on at the cross-dock facilities where 40' container loads are put into 53' trailers and boxes. Seems like that would have been a choke point just waiting for the current crisis. I can imagine chaotic scenes there.

Rick   

rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.

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Posted by charlie hebdo on Monday, November 15, 2021 8:50 AM

Murphy Siding

 

 
Euclid
People have been sheltering at home for survival.  They only go to stores for essentials.  They buy everything possible on line.  This is a sudden and radical change.  The change has overwhelmed the supply chain with a demand spike.  It cannot cope with the spike and cannot be made capable of coping without a massive rebuild that could take years. 
 
The demand spike and supply chain failure is growing worse.  Being that it can’t be fixed, it will collapse.  Nobody is going to pay the cost that it is adding to product delivery.  The supply chain is a component of Chinese product manufacturing, sales, and marketing to the U.S.  They will lose that component as the supply chain collapses.  We will suffer a shortage of merchandise, but China will suffer a severe economic setback due to loss of product sales. 
 
It would have been wise to have built extra capacity into the supply chain to handle possible surges.  But we instead focused on just in time philosophy which implies do only what it needed at the moment.
 

 

 

Are you writing a doomsday science fiction novel? I feel like I've already reviewed a couple chapters.

 

 

Reality: October sales and industrial production in China both increased.

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Posted by Euclid on Monday, November 15, 2021 8:47 AM

Convicted One

I'm sorry Murph, I realize that as a middleman you find comfort in thinking that you have consumers square in your sights, and they have no alternatives than to absorb the price increases passed along to them, but I just can't embrace that thinking.

I see  willingness to find acceptable substitutes, to make do with available resources, and  to reuse and recycle what retains sufficient value to not be discarded ..as the necessary kryptonite  required to derail snowballing inflationary ambitions.   So, I believe those who are willing and able to furnish locally sourced alternatives are entitled to whatever gains they might secure.

It's a "build a better moustrap"  opportunity, IMO

 

Absolutely they will look for cheaper alternatives.  The easiest way to fix the failing supply chain is to ditch it and find a way of production that does not require such an unwieldly supply chain.  

The failing supply chain is raising costs.  And consumers are not going to sit there like dummies and take it.  It will be much easier to move production to the U.S. than to pay the rising cost of the failing supply chain.  

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Posted by Convicted One on Monday, November 15, 2021 8:21 AM

Murphy Siding
In a similar vein, we had a manufacturer confidently tell us that they because of their foresight and planning, they weren’t having any supply issues with the natural resources required to make their product. No kidding. The product is cement siding. It’s basically made out of dirt. No caffeine- never had it, never will!

 

I'm sorry Murph, I realize that as a middleman you find comfort in thinking that you have consumers square in your sights, and they have no alternatives than to absorb the price increases passed along to them, but I just can't embrace that thinking.

I see  willingness to find acceptable substitutes, to make do with available resources, and  to reuse and recycle what retains sufficient value to not be discarded ..as the necessary kryptonite  required to derail snowballing inflationary ambitions.   So, I believe those who are willing and able to furnish locally sourced alternatives are entitled to whatever gains they might secure.

It's a "build a better moustrap"  opportunity, IMO

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Posted by rdamon on Monday, November 15, 2021 7:48 AM

Weekend trip to the grocery store met with full shelves, except for Gatoraide which had an excuse note from PepsiCo about limited supply.   Only thing that really changed was the price tags.

 

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, November 15, 2021 7:46 AM

MidlandMike
One of the points I got from the piece was that the different segments of the chain were somewhat in their own silos, and blaming each other for the problems.  I also noted the Chicago toy seller that said his container was buried under a pile of others for 45 days before they could get to it, but he was still charged storage by the railroad.

Which makes me wonder - did the Customer fail to have a drayman available when the railroad offered the container for delivery?

Of course my experience is before PSR, with that being said, in my experience charges don't begin to accrew until a shipment has been offered to the customer and for whatever the reason, the customer was not able to take physical possession of the shipment.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Monday, November 15, 2021 7:36 AM

Convicted One

Saw a great commercial on TV  pertaining to this situation. Started off asking the viewer if they were waiting to get their holiday gifts. Then went on to boast about how their product was 100% sourced in the USA.

I was impressed with the way the entrepreneurial spirit seized the moment and  capitalized on their advantage.  That's the way it's supposed  to work isn't it? Someone sees the problem and offers a point specific solution.....

 

In a similar vein, we had a manufacturer confidently tell us that they because of their foresight and planning, they weren’t having any supply issues with the natural resources required to make their product. No kidding. The product is cement siding. It’s basically made out of dirt. No caffeine- never had it, never will!

 
In a similar vein, we had a manufacturer confidently tell us that because of their foresight and planning, they weren’t having any supply issues with the natural resources required to make their product. No kidding. The product is cement siding. It’s basically made out of dirt. No caffeine- never had it, never will! Clown

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Monday, November 15, 2021 7:31 AM

Euclid
People have been sheltering at home for survival.  They only go to stores for essentials.  They buy everything possible on line.  This is a sudden and radical change.  The change has overwhelmed the supply chain with a demand spike.  It cannot cope with the spike and cannot be made capable of coping without a massive rebuild that could take years. 
 
The demand spike and supply chain failure is growing worse.  Being that it can’t be fixed, it will collapse.  Nobody is going to pay the cost that it is adding to product delivery.  The supply chain is a component of Chinese product manufacturing, sales, and marketing to the U.S.  They will lose that component as the supply chain collapses.  We will suffer a shortage of merchandise, but China will suffer a severe economic setback due to loss of product sales. 
 
It would have been wise to have built extra capacity into the supply chain to handle possible surges.  But we instead focused on just in time philosophy which implies do only what it needed at the moment.
 

Are you writing a doomsday science fiction novel? I feel like I've already reviewed a couple chapters.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Backshop on Monday, November 15, 2021 7:21 AM

Chicken Little, anybody?

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Posted by Euclid on Monday, November 15, 2021 7:03 AM
People have been sheltering at home for survival.  They only go to stores for essentials.  They buy everything possible on line.  This is a sudden and radical change.  The change has overwhelmed the supply chain with a demand spike.  It cannot cope with the spike and cannot be made capable of coping without a massive rebuild that could take years. 
 
The demand spike and supply chain failure is growing worse.  Being that it can’t be fixed, it will collapse.  Nobody is going to pay the cost that it is adding to product delivery.  The supply chain is a component of Chinese product manufacturing, sales, and marketing to the U.S.  They will lose that component as the supply chain collapses.  We will suffer a shortage of merchandise, but China will suffer a severe economic setback due to loss of product sales. 
 
It would have been wise to have built extra capacity into the supply chain to handle possible surges.  But we instead focused on just in time philosophy which implies do only what it needed at the moment.
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Posted by Convicted One on Monday, November 15, 2021 12:19 AM

Saw a great commercial on TV  pertaining to this situation. Started off asking the viewer if they were waiting to get their holiday gifts. Then went on to boast about how their product was 100% sourced in the USA.

I was impressed with the way the entrepreneurial spirit seized the moment and  capitalized on their advantage.  That's the way it's supposed  to work isn't it? Someone sees the problem and offers a point specific solution.....

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Posted by MidlandMike on Sunday, November 14, 2021 9:46 PM

One of the points I got from the piece was that the different segments of the chain were somewhat in their own silos, and blaming each other for the problems.  I also noted the Chicago toy seller that said his container was buried under a pile of others for 45 days before they could get to it, but he was still charged storage by the railroad.

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Posted by BaltACD on Sunday, November 14, 2021 8:21 PM

Watched - valid points from every side.  Of course, the ocean carriers didn't present their viewpoint with their own shill.

This is congestion on a classic scale - if and when more 'capacity' is constructed and/or hires by all the players and placed in service, there will then be a paucity of traffic for the newly constructed capacity to handle.

The one salient point brought out - Port Terminals are controlled and financed by local governmental authorities - authorities that have continued to be stingy with cash for upgrades necessary to get the terminals to state of the art.  

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Posted by CMStPnP on Sunday, November 14, 2021 7:13 PM

Gramp
Did anyone else watch this? If you did, please comment with your opinion. 

I believe it is recorded on ROKU via NETFLIX and/or YouTube TV if you missed it.

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60 minutes report on bogged down supply chain
Posted by Gramp on Sunday, November 14, 2021 6:58 PM

Did anyone else watch this?
If you did, please comment with your opinion. 

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