The impact of shipping delays on chemical industries

The two most irritating words to hear these days must be ‘supply chain’. It seems to be the cause of all life’s problems. Not enough toilet paper? Supply chain. Grocery store running low on your favourite ice cream? Supply chain. Prices going through the roof for things that used to have a stable price? You got it – the broken supply chain is to blame.

This is also true for the chemical industry around the world, which relies heavily on chemical inputs that have to travel on trucks, ships and trains to get to their final destination. Molecules that start in China or India may have a destination in Puerto Rico, Switzerland or Ireland before meeting a patient or another end user.

Having worked in this industry for over a decade, the current crisis in logistics feels even more difficult than the peak of the pandemic in early 2020, where the main difficulty seemed to be navigating the difficulties of social distancing and the challenges of remote working at a chemical plant. Back then the purchase orders from customers would come, the bill of materials would get made, the raw materials would be ordered, and they would show up. The truck driver might have to take a temperature check before entering the facility and everyone had to wear masks in the office, but that was it. Shortages were generally due to unusually high demand – if you were a new user of isopropyl alcohol, you were going to have to wait in line after the hospitals and hand sanitiser manufacturers got their supplies.