Beset by continued sluggish demand, a growing mountain of debt and a radically changing marketplace, listed companies in the global container shipping industry as a whole face a greater risk of financial distress, including possible bankruptcy, than at any time since 2010, and that risk has grown in each of those past three years. That's according to a new study from AlixPartners, the global business-advisory firm.
While most executives recognize the importance of supply chain sustainability, cost is still a major factor and trumps environmental impact as a driver of behavior, according to a survey of 150 C-level and senior leaders at U.S. and European companies, according to AlixPartners, a global business-advisory firm. However, those that can implement cost-effective sustainability strategies and effectively market them to customers will have a competitive advantage.
Following a boom in commercial aircraft orders in 2011, a year which saw the successful launch of the Airbus A320 NEO and the Boeing 737 MAX, the aerospace industry is now faced with having to deliver a huge backlog. According to a study of the aerospace and defense industry released by global business advisory firm AlixPartners, the industry must increase production rates by 45 percent in volume by 2015 if it is to meet demand, representing the industry's biggest challenge in the coming years.
The confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences has the potential to create a long-term disruption across the food-industry value chain that transforms where and how consumers shop for groceries as well as what products they choose.
