Taking the temperature of the supply chain

With the second half of 2024 well underway, it seems like now is as good of a time as ever to look at the state of the supply chain.

To be clear, there are many ways to look at where things stand, whether it be in the form of key trends, economic indicators, rates and capacity across different modes, and how the supply chain is being perceived.

That last grouping has been top of mind lately, simply because of everything the supply chain has gone through going back to the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Those events are still somewhat being felt in different ways today, to an extent, but albeit with not nearly as much uncertainty and confusion.

That is where perception, or, rather supply chain perception, comes into play. Why? Well, for one thing, in early 2020—and for quite a while after—it seemed like the supply chain could not catch a break whenever it was mentioned. Given the myriad challenges the pandemic presented, the profile of the supply chain ostensibly blew up in short order—and not in the most favorable ways.

Now, with the pandemic largely in the rearview mirror, there is a sense of supply chain normalization. That was made clear in some data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, which was equal parts interesting and informative.

The firm explained that: “U.S. firms have become the most positive about their supply chains in at least 10 years, with 63.6% of U.S.-headquartered firms discussing the topic positively, thanks to lower inventory, cost-cutting, and normalized supplier delivery times. Corporate leaders have never been so positive about the impact of supply chain activities on profitability and cash flow.”

For the full story, read: Looking at supply chain perceptions and realities

SC
MR