Although there are signs around the world that some bottlenecks in the supply chain are easing up, economists pointed out that the resurgence of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) – especially in highly vaccinated countries – could lead to more lockdowns and disrupt the global system once again.
In the manufacturing hub of Zhejiang, a province in eastern China and home to the world's largest cargo port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, tens of thousands of people were placed under repressive quarantine measures.
This has led to labor shortages and a drop in productivity levels at the port. Economic analysts at consulting agency Capital Economics warned that what's happening at Ningbo-Zhoushan could disrupt other parts of the supply chain. (Related: Companies believe supply chain issues, labor shortages are main causes of inflation crisis.)
"China will not tolerate or allow any opportunity for this [virus] to spread," said Sultan bin Sulayem, chairman and CEO of multinational logistics company DP World. "So, if they have an infection, they close the port – and that reflects in the supply chain."
Bin Sulayem noted that these situations made him believe that the congestion in the supply chains will not ease for another two years.
"Delays today are not just the problem of what is not delivered, the problem is also the other products that can't be delivered. They are in a queue now," he said.
DP World's home market of Dubai has been severely affected by the supply chain crisis. Specifically, the port has been experiencing a shortage of empty containers, as cargo companies prefer to load up on goods in busier markets, such as in the extremely congested west coast ports of the United States.
The lack of empty containers has led to a significant delay in exports. "The difference is what in the past could be ordered in three weeks now takes six weeks," said Bin Sulayem.
Voters disapprove of Bidens' handling of the supply chain crisis
The supply chain crisis continues to have catastrophic effects on the American economy, as well as the approval ratings of President Joe Biden's administration.
According to polling data released by the Trafalgar Group, a majority of Americans are unhappy with how Biden and his administration have been handling the supply chain crisis.
The poll focused on how Americans perceived Biden's Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. It was conducted between Dec. 4 to 7 and involved more than 1,000 likely voters for the 2022 midterm election.
According to the survey, 55.5 percent of those surveyed believe Buttigieg "is doing a poor job of handling the supply chain crisis." The remaining 44.5 percent believe he is either doing a fair job, a good job or an excellent job handling the catastrophe.
"Given that Secretary Buttigieg was very, very quietly on leave as this global crisis was brewing, we're impressed that his numbers aren't even worse," said Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action, which co-conducted the poll with the Trafalgar Group. "We believe this is due to the fact that many Americans aren't even aware that he is supposed to be doing something about the supply chain."
Another survey, conducted jointly by The Economist and YouGov between Dec. 12 to 14, gauged Biden's approval ratings among Americans under the age of 30. It surveyed 1,500 Americans and has a margin of error of three percentage points.
The survey found that just 27 percent of people in this age group either strongly or somewhat support Biden and believe he is doing a good job as president. Fifty percent of Americans in the same category are either strongly or somewhat opposed to Biden's performance. In a similar poll conducted back in January, support for Biden among Americans under 30 was at 77 percent.
The president did not fare any better among all other age groups. His approval rating for any of the age groups never reached 50 percent.
Among young voters of color, support for Biden is also slipping, with less than half of Hispanic respondents saying they approve of Biden's performance. Around six in 10 Black respondents said the same.
Unless Biden and his administration figure out a way to uplift the American economy and deal with the repercussions of the global supply chain crisis, the number of Americans who support him is only going to plummet even further.
Listen to this episode of the "Health Ranger Report," a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how supply chain failures and shortages are going to get even worse in 2022.
This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.
Learn more about how Biden is failing to deal with the supply chain crisis at MarketCrash.news.
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