World Shortages
Last week the British Plastics Federation confirmed they are continuing to receive intelligence from member businesses about the severe shortages of plastics raw materials in the industry right now.
The shortages are on a scale not seen for some time. This is affecting polymer prices, with recent, sharp month-on-month increases to unprecedented levels. For say, during the first week of March 2021, the price of HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) skyrocketed by £162/tonne with key market indexes running at circa. £1,450/tonne this week, over £400/tonne higher than this time last year.
As I’ve previously stated these shortages are being seen around the world, with force majeures of major producers in Western and Southern Europe as well as severe winter storms forcing plants to close in Texas and Louisana. This coupled with the extraordinary sights or dozens of container ships sitting waiting for weeks to be unloaded in key USA ports, means there is also a shortage in shipping containers and shipping options or lack of – resulting in yet again even more price rises.
UK Needs Manufacturing Bounce Back
In the UK, our biggest concern is how we manage when lockdown ends. The Government and businesses alike are hoping and quite frankly we are all needing a big bounce-back following the negative impacts of the pandemic. However, will these shortages impede us and hold the industry back? Today’s stark reality suggests it is more than reasonable to assume so!
It seems to me that over the years we have significantly reduced if not completely closed down industries relating to the production of raw materials and large-scale manufacturing. As these next few weeks present us with further supply chain challenges it then makes me wonder, how can these sectors be redeveloped to avoid being held to ransom on supply and prices by other suppliers in other countries?
Do we need entrepreneurs to go ‘back to basics’ with opportunities in manufacturing rather than always focusing on tech and online businesses? What do you think?
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