The impact of meeting environmental goals is hitting the industries hard, putting governments in the uncomfortable position of having to balance sustainability with looming power shortages and rocketing energy prices.
LOGISTICS
Ocean rates leveled off (but are still at record highs) during the past week to both the U.S. and Europe, allegedly due to factory slowdowns in China on the back of energy shortages.
- Analysts are skeptical that this isn’t simply a dip and that rates could start to rise again.
The ongoing lockdown in Vietnam is currently delaying goods by an average of 25 days from the nation’s ports.
Strong import demand, plus an earlier 2022 Chinese New Year, could keep ocean rates high from China to North Europe at least through December.
Rail volumes rose 47% on the China-Russia-Europe routes in the first nine months of 2021, driven by global shipping delays that boosted the appeal of rail routes across Russia.
The cost of shipping goods in containers by rail between Asia and Europe is now 3.5 times less than by ocean, per Russian Railways.
PODCAST
How Successful Startups Growth Hack Their Business
In this episode of A Seat at The Table, MarTec expert Dan McGaw talks about:
- Why ‘traction’ can be more important initially than sales or profits.
- The critical, but often overlooked, role that corporate culture plays in building a successful business.
- Why data is important – but so is human instinct – in making the right decisions.
- What the ideal MarTech stack looks like today.
SUSTAINABILITY
The European Commission has adopted the new EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) for the period 2024-2034 that ties in meeting climate change and environmental protection standards as part of its criteria for GSP status.
MATERIALS
Power shortages in China have reduced factory output of both chemicals and fibers driving up prices.
Wool prices are up 17.5% since January, but have retreated from the peak seen during June and July.
Crude oil prices retreated this week as the Chinese government announced that it would intervene on coal prices.
YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THESE ARTICLES
- Now Who’s The Boss?
- Function + Creativity is Driving Activewear
- Could Things Get More Chaotic? Companies Think They Can
- Why Brand Partnerships are Becoming an Essential Retail Strategy
- How Sustainability Has Made Supply Chains More Resilient
- 5 Potentially Long Term Supply Chain Glitches
- Why Retail Needs a Entertainment First Strategy
- 5 Trends that China’s GenZ Consumers Favor
- “Business is Back” said Mills at Spinexpo
- Prints that are Sophisticated – and Sustainable
- Why China’s Mall’s Could be the Next Hot Properties
- The Tremendous Value of High Value Brands
- A Sustainable Supplier Specialized in Small, Customized
