ReleaseWire Connect

Pressures have been constant on the construction sector in the past year, not just in terms of demand for housing, but in dealing with the cracks in the infrastructure and supply chains that normally provide support. It's now emerging that shortages of key materials are making it difficult for the organizations that are not able to procure them and effectively bringing some parts of the construction sector to a grinding halt. In particular, shortages of steel and PVC pipes are causing serious stalling in many areas of construction. In addition, the cost of many basic materials such as adhesives, drywall and electrical equipment has risen and many deliveries have been delayed. Over the past year lumber was one of the few materials to remain in plentiful supply and to see a drop in cost. However, even that hasn't lasted, as since mid-August lumber futures have risen by nearly 40%. There are clearly challenges ahead - but the right team can make all the difference.

In a post-COVID world, challenges exist for all employers. In the manufacturing sector, retention is a key goal for many businesses that have experienced a loss over workforce over the past year or so. Turnover is currently 15% higher than in the years before the virus first hit and this could mean that, by 2028, 2.4 million jobs will be unfulfilled.

The trucking industry is facing some serious challenges today and this has recently been thrown under the spotlight as it was revealed that the for-hire trucking industry lost 1,600 jobs in September. However, despite the fact that this seems like bad news the Labor Department revealed that a much bigger drop was in fact expected and these figures are not the worst projected.

Manufacturing careers across the world have been impacted by the events of COVID-19 - and that isn't likely to change any time soon. As economies look to find ways to move forward through the conditions that the pandemic has created, providing evidence of vaccination is going to be a crucial part of keeping industry ticking over. One of the most recent big names to push this to the top of the agenda is Ford Motor Company, which has now asked its union and salaried employees to submit their vaccination status. This is so that the carmaker can comply with the mandatory testing or vaccination plans that have been announced by President Joe Biden. A Ford spokesperson said that the request would also give the company more information about how vaccinated its workforce is, which will make it easier to put measures in place to provide for the safety of Ford staff.

One of the most problematic shortages to hit supply chains in the wake of the pandemic has been that affecting semiconductors. These electronics supply chain problems have affected not only the automotive industry but IT and enterprise too. While the early stages of the pandemic saw a shortage of kit such as laptops as a result of these early problems, the situation has not eased but instead has become a very persistent problem that many IT leaders are now struggling to deal with.

Supply chain issues just seem to keep coming for US businesses today. Those that are related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been much publicized but they are not the only challenges that many currently face. In addition, the outages that resulted from Hurricane Ida are causing a whole, fresh set of problems with many American companies stating that this could soon cause problems when it comes to sales.

Planning for the supply needs of the future is something that has been at the top of the agenda recently, especially after the disruption that has been wrought by the global pandemic. Gartner recently contributed to the conversation around this by saying that the time has come for companies to rethink both strategy and the way that networks are designed.

Truck parking is one of those small details that can have a big impact on those who work in the logistics sector. An amendment to the $3.5 trillion federal spending bill would have allocated $1 billion over the next five years to truck parking projects. However, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee recently voted the amendment down, leaving truck parking unexpanded for the foreseeable future. A lack of safe truck parking has been highlighted as one of the top concerns for those working in this part of the logistics industry.

Climate change is likely to be the biggest issue that the world faces over the next decade and this has been putting increasing pressure on embedding sustainability into procurement processes and external partnerships. This goes much further than just purchasing low carbon products and requires a much more invested commitment from organizations than we have seen in the past.

It may only be the end of summer but we have started to see retail CEOs and brands telling consumers that the best time to start shopping for the Holidays this year is now. This advice is being driven by the fact that there have been so many problems with supply chains in recent months.