American and European officials are trying to reach agreement on the outlines of a limited trade deal that could help resolve a major rift over America’s new climate legislation.
Tag Archives: supply chain
Biden Administration Plans Crackdown on Migrant Child Labor
The announcement came days after a Times investigation showed children were working in dangerous jobs throughout the United States.
A War With China Would Reach Deep Into American Society
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan may include a multipronged war strategy that causes havoc in American society.
How One Ukrainian Company Survived, and Thrived, Through a Year of War
For Kormotech and its 1,300 employees, Russia’s invasion disrupted everything. After nimble decision-making and good fortune, sales are up, providing Ukraine with much-needed tax revenue.
Why ‘Made in China’ Is Becoming ‘Made in Mexico’
Some Chinese companies manufacturing goods for the U.S. are shifting production closer to their biggest market.
Inflation Cooled Just Slightly, With Worrying Details
Consumer Price Index inflation has been slowing compared with a year ago, but the monthly figure picked back up in January.
Electric Vehicles Could Match Gasoline Cars on Price This Year
Competition, government incentives and falling raw material prices are making battery-powered cars more affordable sooner than expected.
War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Democrats Are Radicals
Who’s obsessed with culture wars? Not the Dems.
Why Chinese Companies Are Investing Billions in Mexico
Alarmed by shipping chaos and geopolitical fractures, exporters from China are setting up factories in Mexico to preserve their sales to the United States.
Apple Revenue and Profit Down as iPhone Sales Slow
The iPhone maker said sales of its flagship product were down 8 percent as it dealt with a factory shutdown and worries about rising inflation.
Russia Sidesteps Western Punishments, With Help From Friends
A surge in trade by Russia’s neighbors and allies hints at one reason its economy remains so resilient after sweeping sanctions.
Tesla’s Profit Jumped 12% in Fourth Quarter
The electric car company is facing intensifying competition, supply chain disruptions and concerns about the behavior of Elon Musk.
New Orleans Port Expansion Shows Optimism on Future of Global Trade
The city that was once the world’s gateway to America is betting it can win in a new and different era of global integration.
World Economic Forum in Davos Confronts a New Order
The Covid-19 pandemic, invasion of Ukraine, trend toward autocracy and economic inequalities challenge the World Economic Forum’s relevance.
Korean Solar Company Plans to Build $2.5 Billion Plant in Georgia
Hanwha Qcells expects to make solar panels and their components in the United States to take advantage of President Biden’s climate policies.
How a Texas Border City Is Shaping the Future of Global Trade
Laredo, across from Mexico on the Rio Grande, is primed to become one of the world’s most important land ports as American companies reduce their reliance on factories in Asia.
Auto Sales Likely Fell in 2022 Because of Supply Chain Chaos
Automakers have been hampered by the supply of semiconductors and higher interest rates.
Russia’s War on Ukraine Worsens Global Starvation
Moscow blocks most shipments from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest wheat producers, and its attacks on the country’s energy grid also disrupt the flow of food.
‘OK, Mexico, Save Me’: After China, This Is Where Globalization May Lead
As American companies seek to limit their exposure to the pitfalls of making goods in China, some are moving production to Mexico.
Electric Cars Are Taking Off, but When Will Battery Recycling Follow?
Many companies and investors are eager to recycle batteries but it could take a decade or more before enough used lithium-ion batteries become available.
Raspberry Pi 5 not arriving in 2023 as company hopes for a “recovery year”
Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton said in a recent interview that next year is a time for Raspberry Pi, and the whole industry, to recover from the supply chain problems of the past two years. (credit: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
Few who have tried to buy a Raspberry Pi in the last year may be shocked, but Raspberry Pi’s CEO has an update on the next Raspberry Pi model: it’s not arriving next year.
In an interview with ExplainingComputers, Eben Upton reviews the supply pressures that have impacted the single-board computers’ availability. Eighteen months into “restrained availability” of the device, Upton says the company is positioned to set aside hundreds of thousands of units for retail customers. He notes that the companies primarily taking up the existing supply of Pi units are not gigantic companies but “mom-and-pop operations” that have based their hardware products on the Pi platform and buy a few hundred Pis for their needs.
“We don’t want people to get on a waiting list,” Upton tells ExplainingComputuers. “We want people to wake up in the morning, want a Raspberry Pi, then get one at 9 am the next morning.”
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Automotive chip shortages to continue throughout 2023, industry says
Enlarge / Some analysts have estimated that the chip shortage has caused new car prices to rise by 16 percent in two years. (credit: golibtolibov/getty images)
We can expect continued disruption to the global semiconductor industry and, therefore, continued supply chain shortages in the automotive industry throughout 2023, according to a new report in the Financial Times. The head of Onsemi, Hassane El-Khoury, told the paper that “there’s nothing you can do now to change 2023,” and that “we will be adding capacity every quarter, every month in 2023 to meet our customer demand.”
The problem began during the pandemic and its associated shutdowns around the world. These caused automakers to temporarily idle plants due to public health concerns, leading some to cancel just-in-time orders for silicon chips. But as vaccines became available and production restarted, the silicon fabs that would have made chips for automakers had already switched that production capacity to other customers like IoT device makers.
Chip plants are running flat-out to meet demand but have warned that the problem is not going to be solved quickly.
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The U.S. Needs to Change the Way It Does Business With China
It’s time to adopt an explicit policy of strategic decoupling of our economy from theirs.
Inflation Forecasts Were Wrong Last Year. Should We Believe Them Now?
Economists misjudged how much staying power inflation would have. Next year could be better — but there’s ample room for humility.
Raspberry Pi inventory improving, could reach pre-pandemic levels in 2023
Enlarge / Raspberry Pi 4 boards could be freely ready to purchase again, without the snipe hunt experience, in Q3 2023. (credit: ReadyPlayerEmma / Wikimedia (cc-by-sa-2.0)))
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There hasn’t been much good news involving Raspberry Pis lately, at least for those looking to buy. But the single-board system maker says to take heart. Individual units are heading out now, and more are coming soon.
In a “Supply chain update” blog post (“It’s good news!”), CEO Eben Upton wrote that Raspberry Pi has “set aside a little over a hundred thousand units, split across Zero W, 3A+, and the 2GB and 4GB variants of Raspberry Pi 4, for single-unit sales.” During the pandemic-spurred component shortage, most of the Pis produced every month were going to businesses, leaving those in need of one or two for a project refreshing rpilocator and cursing their timing. Zeros will start showing up first, then 3A+, then different models of 4.
Upton acknowledged this reality (and even linked the locator) and asked that people buy only from approved resellers and consider the Pico and Pico W lines for projects that might fit, as those lines remain strong. As of this morning, a few 3A+ and CM4 models showed an optimistic green on the rpilocator spreadsheet.
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Three Signals We’ve Entered a New Economic Era
The economist Mohamed El-Erian on how the global economy is changing and what policymakers should do about it.
Global Car Supply Chains Entangled With Abuses in Xinjiang, Report Says
A new report on the auto industry cites extensive links to Xinjiang, where the U.S. government now presumes goods are made with forced labor.
If There Is a ‘Male Malaise’ With Work, Could One Answer Be at Sea?
As concerns about labor force participation among American men mount, maritime transportation firms are desperate for new mariners.
A Strike, Averted
Congress stepped in to prevent supply chain havoc, but rail workers’ biggest grievance remains unaddressed.
Where Cowboys Fly and Cattle Set Sail: An Epic Food Journey
Exporting live cattle from northern Australia to Indonesia has created a unique culture, both a throwback and a modern marvel of globalization.
Congress Looks to Intervene in Rail Dispute as Strike Deadline Looms
After urging from President Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would consider an agreement that could avert a shutdown of the nation’s freight trains.
Chinese Unrest Over Lockdowns Upends Global Economic Outlook
Growing protests in the world’s biggest manufacturing nation add a new element of uncertainty atop the Ukraine war, an energy crisis and inflation.
Cardboard Has Taken Over Our Lives. Where Does It Come From?
A journey to the corrugated core of the 21st-century economy.
Billions of Dollars at Stake in a Puzzling Holiday Shopping Season
It promises to be unpredictable, with retailers and consumers still figuring out how much will be spent and on what kinds of goods.
Thanksgiving and Inflation: The Cost of the Holiday This Year
Holiday costs from groceries to travel are up, and consumers have been willing to pay them.
Engineers From Taiwan Bolstered China’s Chip Industry. Now They’re Leaving.
The lure of money and new opportunities enticed talent to work in China’s semiconductor plants. The looming Cold War in tech changed the calculus.
What One Importer’s Legal Fight Says About the Power of Cargo Giants
The Biden administration has vowed to crack down on abuses by ocean carriers. But cases at the Federal Maritime Commission reveal the challenges of the campaign.
How China Lost America
Four trends have led to the end of the steady integration of the Chinese economy with the West.
‘Fast Furniture’: An Easy Antidote to Tired Design, but Will It Last?
The mass-produced furniture that sold furiously during the pandemic could soon be clogging landfills.
Did Germany Learn From Its Russia Trouble? The Test May Come in China.
On the eve of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s first trip to Beijing, concerns are growing that economic dependence on China is leaving his country vulnerable — again.
‘No Jobs Available’: The Feast or Famine Careers of America’s Port Drivers.
Consumer demand has cooled, leaving fewer containers to pick up on the West Coast. For Marshawn Jackson, a truck driver paid by the delivery, that means a hard scrabble to make ends meet.
For Rail Workers, Anger Persists Over Sick Leave
A tentative new contract brokered by the White House offered employees one day off, leaving some dissatisfied and raising the risk of another impasse.
Apple Earnings: iPhone Powers Growth, but Signs Point to a Slowdown
Consumers showed enthusiasm for the latest version of the phone, but the company said sales in the current quarter are not as strong.
Small Businesses Build Their Own Supply Chains
They’re shifting to domestic sourcing and production, like some big manufacturers, but with at least one advantage the giants don’t have.
Mismanagement and ‘Monster Trains’ Have Wrecked American Rail
Decades of cost-cutting takes a toll.
A U.S. ‘Ships Act’ Would Break China’s Control of the Seas
China’s shipping dominance could bring the U.S. to its knees in a conflict.
Factory Jobs Are Booming Like It’s the 1970s
U.S. manufacturing is experiencing a rebound, with companies adding workers amid high consumer demand for products.
Central Banks Accept Pain Now, Fearing Worse Later
Federal Reserve officials and their counterparts around the world are trying to defeat inflation by rapidly raising interest rates. They know it will come at a cost.
How the Car Market Is Shedding Light on a Key Inflation Question
How easily companies give up swollen profits could determine how easily the Federal Reserve can cool inflation. Dealerships offer clues.
In South Korea, President Yoon Treads Fine Line Between U.S. and China
Yoon Suk-yeol has aligned his country more closely with the United States, but there are limits to how far he can go without angering China or provoking North Korea.