The big takeaway: While softening demand might reduce the urgency retailers and others feel to upgrade their supply chain capabilities at this present moment, extreme weather caused by climate change is creating yet another supply chain crisis that will be even more difficult to navigate around.
- Low water levels on the Mississippi River have created a logjam of over 100 vessels, imperiling grain and soybean shipments to the rest of the world.
- It could take up to eight weeks to fully repair the damage Hurricane Ian inflicted on logistics networks in the Southeast, per FourKites.
Without the infrastructure in place to identify vulnerabilities and maneuver around them, retailers and manufacturers will be trapped in an ongoing cycle of delays and out-of-stock issues that will severely hurt their standing with customers and hamper their ability to compete.
This article originally appeared in Insider Intelligence’s Retail & Ecommerce Briefing—a daily recap of top stories reshaping the retail industry. Subscribe to have more hard-hitting takeaways delivered to your inbox daily.
