The long-standing
effects of the pandemic can be felt in everyday life
The supply chain crisis overshadows his first year in
office. The upswing's message of success wore off quickly: Since the summer,
Biden's popularity ratings have fallen from just under 53 to 45 percent. There
are many reasons for this, from the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal to the
spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. But the long-term effects of
the pandemic have a concrete impact on the everyday lives of millions of
Americans: in the form of long delivery times, inflation and empty shelves.
Biden is in a dilemma. Because he can only partially
counteract this with his own initiatives. After all, the supply chain crisis is
a global phenomenon.
• A blessing becomes a curse : The White House admitted this
week that the $ 1.9 trillion Covid emergency aid, including cashier's checks,
was not only helpful. It was, among other things, this mega-stimulus that
pepped up the US economy at record speed. But the supply, throttled worldwide
by the delta and production stops, cannot keep up with the demand of US
consumers. American consumers want to buy, buy, buy: exercise bikes, laptops,
toys, garden furniture. The White House diagnosed an "enormous demand for
goods of all kinds" and imports rose by 18 percent. But bottlenecks have
long ceased to be a temporary phenomenon, but rather a permanent condition, as
the example of the chip crisis shows. Only this week reported the financial
data service Bloomberg, Apple will have to cut its production targets for the
new iPhone 13.
• Logistics is a disaster : the fruits of economic recovery
collide with the reality of infrastructure. Companies struggle with long
waiting times and skyrocketing prices. According to stock exchange broadcaster
CNBC, a container trip from China to California costs $ 20,000. A year ago it
was $ 3,000. As a first emergency measure, Biden has now made sure that the
port of Los Angeles goes into round-the-clock operation. Together with Long
Beach, the port handles 40 percent of all container imports from the USA. At
the same time, the largest freight forwarders Walmart and Fedex signed upand
UPS to work around the clock. However, one main problem is likely to be slow to
resolve: there are not enough staff for ports, train stations or warehouses.
The labor shortage is making itself felt in the truck industry. Tens of
thousands of drivers are missing.
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