The coronavirus outbreak is having a serious ripple effect throughout global supply chains. Factories have shut down, product flow in many cases has come to a halt, and consumer purchases of all but the most essential items are plummeting.
On-time deliveries, cost management and meeting customer expectations are just a few concerns that prevent small businesses from expanding to the Canadian market.
A shipping container shortage that’s left everything from Thai curry to Canadian peas idling in ports may be about to get a whole lot worse as China steps up its precautions on incoming vessels.
While the global economy is reeling from the spreading coronavirus, seaports — which handle a hefty 90% of all world shipping — are a bellwether for trade.
Challenge: Slow-moving products were delaying order fulfillment and clogging existing automation systems for a large pharmaceutical distributor. Totes filled with outgoing products were backing up on conveyors — creating a bottleneck, diminishing throughput and ultimately underutilizing other automation systems down the line.
A surge in volume is straining the resources of global customs agencies. Here's how the international trade community is responding, and how shippers may be impacted.