Supply Chain Scanner - Week of July 8, 2024
Emily Atkins introduces her new weekly blog at CITT
It’s the second week of July 2024 as I write this. A quick scan of the headlines mentions a vote by Canadian rail workers to strike, resolution of possible labour action at the Port of Vancouver, a contract deal between CBSA and its union, rising congestion at Asian ports and resulting container prices hikes, Amazon expanding its airfreight capacity, cuts to supply chain investments in the face of high interest rates and new EU tariffs on Chinese made vehicles. That’s a lot of potentially important news, and it’s all happening now.
Were you up on all those stories? If you said “yes”, congratulations, and do you ever sleep? And no fair if you said yes because you are on holiday and peeking at your feeds.
My point is that you are busy people with operational responsibilities that can supersede your ability to digest the news. And that’s where I come in. I’m delighted to reveal that I’ve teamed up with CITT to blog here every week to help you keep up with topics that might affect how you do your job.
As some of you know, I recently left Inside Logistics magazine after a 22-year run as editor. A few weeks ago, in my final editorial from the magazine, I noted that one of the reasons for such a long and wonderful run is the constantly captivating nature of supply chain operations.
Supply chain has always been fascinating, at least to a small group of us. But now we are experiencing heightened interest and a growing, wider understanding of its importance. We can thank the Covid-19 pandemic for some of its new prominence, and we can also credit you, practitioners and professionals in the field who strive to ensure everything is running smoothly. The public relies on your expertise to keep the economy moving – on time, cost-effectively and with a minimum of disruption.
It’s with your objectives in mind – an efficiently running supply chain – that I plan to craft this blog. I will be here talking about whatever is happening around the globe and its potential implications for your operation.
The headlines at the start of this blog with are a sample of the kind of topic I may tackle, and there will be more. Watch for discussions about sustainability and climate change, labour market trends, trade, major disruptions – whether natural, climate-related or geopolitical, cost concerns, technological innovation, digitization, visibility and more.
If there’s a topic you’d like me to explore, or want to touch base about something keeping you up at night, please drop me a line and I’d love to chat. You are my extra ears in the world of operations, and I rely on your feedback to keep hitting the subjects that interest you and affect your world.
It’s going to be a treat to share my observations about all things logistics and supply chain with CITT members and readers of this blog. I truly enjoy communicating this way, and hope to help you to stay informed so that you can do your job to the best of your ability. Please keep in touch!
Join the conversation on Canada’s Logistics Community forum!
Emily Atkins
President
Emily Atkins Group
Emily Atkins is president of Emily Atkins Group and was editor of Inside Logistics from 2022 to 2024. She has lived and worked around the world as a journalist and writer for hire, with experience in several sectors besides supply chain, including automotive, insurance and waste management. Based in Southern Ontario, when she’s not researching or writing a story she can be found on her bike, in a kayak, singing in the band or at the wheel of her race car. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyatkinsgroup/