— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on August 20, 2021, Friday.
We have already talked numerous times about the shortage of many specific raw materials, such as semiconductor chips, construction materials, cardboard boxes, foams, etc. And Now, the shortage of these raw materials is adversely impacting some manufacturing powerhouses around the world. According to a survey released by the DIHK on Thursday, 83% of the respondents said they've been facing rising prices of raw materials and intermediate goods in addition to transportation congestion. The impact on the industrials and retail sectors is particularly severe. Rising demand and limited production capacity together contribute to the problem, which is further exacerbated by transportation and logistics restrictions.
43% of the survey's respondents said their sales are dropping because their orders couldn't be fulfilled. A quarter had to scale back or even stop production.
To respond to the challenge, nearly 70% of the affected companies said they would pass on the cost increases to consumers, which, as a result, will push final prices higher. To make matters worse, only one-fifth of the companies expect the situation to improve before the end of the year, and 53% believed that the shortage of raw materials would extend into 2022.
In the United States, many retailers have already advised consumers to prepare for the holiday shopping season in advance.
Some retail giants, including the toymaker Hasbro, have warned that discounts for Black Friday will be much smaller this year, and consumers should expect a longer delivery time.
Jay Foreman
Basic Fun! CEO
"There are not enough containers, there's not enough ship, there are not enough trucks, there's not enough warehousing, to hold everything that everybody wants to buy. "
Anne Harper
OMG Accessories Founder & CEO
"Typically, when we bring in products from overseas, it takes roughly about 30 days to get to our warehouse in California. Right now with all the delays that we're experiencing, we're seeing anywhere from six to eight plus weeks delay."
In Japan, industrial output has been fluctuating since the start of the year as Japan experiences repeated resurgence of the virus and the global supply chain bottleneck persists. On Thursday, Japan's biggest automaker Toyota announced a 40% global production cut due to chip shortages and the pandemic. Now, with infections surging in many countries and several major ports closed down, risks in global supply chains will stay here for a while.