Latest UKUPC Market Insight Document available

 
 
The lastest iteration of the UKUPC Market Insight Document is now available. We hope this summary document will make it easier to circulate key high-level information to those in your organisation who have an interest.
The documents detail supply chain issues arising from mainly the pandemic and the situation in Ukraine/Russia as well as any mitigating actions we are aware of. This of course is ever changing at the moment.

A few headlines of interest that may hit across a number of categories include:

  • UK inflation rises to 10.1%, a new 40 year high, impacting on fuel and consumer food prices.
  • Continued tension between China and Taiwan mean that procurement professionals need to review and consider any international impacts, particularly on the global semi-conductor industry and reliance on chips, as this region controls 63% of the global market.
  • Recent port strikes at Felixstowe ( which deals with 48% of the UK’s container cargo ) led to an 82% jump on port wait times. Export shipment waiting times averaged 9.4 days, up from 5.2 days when the strike began. A second strike is being planned as the 7% pay offer was not agreed.
  • Drought conditions across Europe have hit shipping traffic particularly on the Rhine, a vital part of the supply chain across Germany and the Netherlands. This is a key shipping route for Europe and is expected to disrupt supply chains, as the river becomes too shallow for many ships carrying commodities and fuels to pass. This will impact on demands for ore, coal , car parts, grain, and chemicals – shortages on some aspects will of course impact on manufacturing across Europe.
  • Due to the worsening drought in China, many of the rivers are running very low on water. The largest freshwater lake in China is now reduced to trickles of water. According to reports, factories in China's southwest, around the Yangzte river basin have been forced to shut down. Automotive factories including Toyota, computer manufacturers such as Foxconn and CATL, manufacturer of lithium batteries have all ceased production. China is reliant on hydroelectricity, so the situation is expected to worsen the energy crisis.

As always, we hope this information is useful. Your feedback is important to ensure we continue to develop these documents and make them more helpful with each edition.

Please contact Helen Dodd-Williams, Joint Contracting Group Lead, if you wish to be sent the UKUPC Market Insight Documents.