Sorry, but your login has failed. Please recheck your login information and resubmit. If your subscription has expired, renew here.
January-February 2024
Back in 2019, we seemed on a consistent path to the future. Then COVID-19 arrived on the global scene, and all predictions went out the window. As 2024 begins, everyone wants to know what the year will look like. I predict continued interest in circular supply chains, cybersecurity, visibility, and digital supply chains, to name a few. But I am not alone. So, I’d like to share five things that I am particularly interested in this year. Browse this issue archive.Need Help? Contact customer service 847-559-7581 More options
This is my annual update on oil that began with my first Insights column: “Is your supply chain addicted to oil?” (Jan./Feb. 2007). Since, I’ve focused on the price of oil because freight costs are a sizable (and controllable) portion of supply chain costs. Also, because it appeared that oil prices would rise over time, it was obvious that supply chains would have to be more energy-efficient and much less dependent on oil. Initially, the tagline was “supply chains needed to slow down” because highly responsive chains were energy inefficient. Furthermore, once there were climate concerns, oil got a “dirty name”—as a polluting CO2 fuel—that became another important reason to squeeze oil out of supply chains.
As the title of this column suggests, things appear to be the same for a while in the turbulent oil/energy markets. The titles of my last four updates that follow tell most of the story of the recent past.
- “Oil Update: Fracking challenged with cheaper oil” (2020).
- “Oil Update: Still need fracking?” (2021).
- “Oil update: Where’s the global energy plan?” (2022).
- “Oil update: We need security plans from policymakers” (2023).
Over the past several decades, shale fracking in the United States played a major role in moving the oil markets away from the too-often political whims of OPEC and other major oil-exporting countries. Fracking, for a while, became a stabilizing factor in moving the market closer to a free market based largely on supply versus demand principles. While pricing did not grow as fast as expected, it was more volatile and reactionary to major economic crashes, wars, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These events caused either demand or supply to significantly change, and with that, oil pricing as well.
Relative to climate change initiatives, my understanding, until recently, was there was a tacit agreement that there was a global strategy to move away from fossil fuels, by first using natural gas as a bridge fuel to replace almost all coal, and then oil use. Eventually replacing natural gas with renewables and other non-polluting energy sources.
This complete article is available to subscribers only.
Log in now for full access or start your PLUS+ subscription for instant access.
SC
MR
Sorry, but your login has failed. Please recheck your login information and resubmit. If your subscription has expired, renew here.
January-February 2024
Back in 2019, we seemed on a consistent path to the future. Then COVID-19 arrived on the global scene, and all predictions went out the window. As 2024 begins, everyone wants to know what the year will look like. I… Browse this issue archive. Access your online digital edition. Download a PDF file of the January-February 2024 issue.This is my annual update on oil that began with my first Insights column: “Is your supply chain addicted to oil?” (Jan./Feb. 2007). Since, I’ve focused on the price of oil because freight costs are a sizable (and controllable) portion of supply chain costs. Also, because it appeared that oil prices would rise over time, it was obvious that supply chains would have to be more energy-efficient and much less dependent on oil. Initially, the tagline was “supply chains needed to slow down” because highly responsive chains were energy inefficient. Furthermore, once there were climate concerns, oil got a “dirty name”—as a polluting CO2 fuel—that became another important reason to squeeze oil out of supply chains.
As the title of this column suggests, things appear to be the same for a while in the turbulent oil/energy markets. The titles of my last four updates that follow tell most of the story of the recent past.
- “Oil Update: Fracking challenged with cheaper oil” (2020).
- “Oil Update: Still need fracking?” (2021).
- “Oil update: Where’s the global energy plan?” (2022).
- “Oil update: We need security plans from policymakers” (2023).
Over the past several decades, shale fracking in the United States played a major role in moving the oil markets away from the too-often political whims of OPEC and other major oil-exporting countries. Fracking, for a while, became a stabilizing factor in moving the market closer to a free market based largely on supply versus demand principles. While pricing did not grow as fast as expected, it was more volatile and reactionary to major economic crashes, wars, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These events caused either demand or supply to significantly change, and with that, oil pricing as well.
Relative to climate change initiatives, my understanding, until recently, was there was a tacit agreement that there was a global strategy to move away from fossil fuels, by first using natural gas as a bridge fuel to replace almost all coal, and then oil use. Eventually replacing natural gas with renewables and other non-polluting energy sources.
SUBSCRIBERS: Click here to download PDF of the full article.
SC
MR
Latest Supply Chain News
- Open eBL: Transforming the electronic bill of lading with open-source innovation and industry collaboration
- GenAI’s role in advancing supply chain planning
- August retail sales are up, notes Commerce and NRF
- Will the new president of Mexico help or hinder manufacturing?
- A scheduled workforce is a stable workforce
- More News
Latest Podcast
Explore
Procurement & Sourcing News
- Open eBL: Transforming the electronic bill of lading with open-source innovation and industry collaboration
- GenAI’s role in advancing supply chain planning
- Will the new president of Mexico help or hinder manufacturing?
- 2024 Robotics Application Conference announces session, speaker lineup
- Best practices—and solutions—to manage supply chain risks
- Embracing process mining as part of your digital transformation
- More Procurement & Sourcing