YDS 2021 in Review

However, the loosening of COVID-19
restrictions worldwide in 2021 has not
facilitated the recovery of global supply
chains many predicted. The global
vaccine rollout, combined with
increased consumer spending, has
caught producers by surprise, leading
to significant shortages as they struggle
to source enough materials to cope
with exponentially increasing demand.
As 2021 comes to a close, the world’s
reliance on supply chains stretching
from one corner of the globe to the
other has never been greater.
Nevertheless as the divisive COP26
climate summit showed, the world is
more fractured than ever on the need
to reduce the environmental impact of
production and trade, while the
wealthiest corporations have
maintained their position as key
stakeholders in the world’s economic
recovery from the pandemic.
“Now more than any other
period in history, when one
cog in the engine of global
industry fails, all elements of
global trade are directly
affected.”
As such, it is more important than ever
that policymakers do not lose sight of
the need to foster sustainable and
equitable growth in their efforts to
galvanise a stuttering global economy in
the aftermath of COVID-19.
G L O B A L S U P P L Y
C H A I N S : I N C R E A S I N G
R E A C H , D E C R E A S I N G
R E S I L I E N C E
The clogging of one of the world’s most
significant trade arteries in March 2021
was merely the tip of an ever-growing
iceberg casting an ominous shadow
over global trade. Global supply chains
have been severely affected by
shortages of labour and congestion at
transit checkpoints since early 2020, as
COVID-19 restrictions saw governments
reduce the movement of people and
goods. In Australia, backlogs of parcels
driven by increased online shopping
led Australia Post to temporarily
suspend deliveries in Melbourne. In the
United States, increased consumer
spending has seen consumption grow
exponentially, resulting in overloaded
transport networks, a shortage of truck
drivers, and major delays at many US
ports.
Usually, increasing demand for goods
causes a rise in global trade which
leads to higher shipping rates until the
trade bubble eventually bursts.
However, the pandemic disrupted this
cycle; while the global exodus from the
workplace and into the home office
saw billions of people increase their
spending to facilitate working from
home, government restrictions severely
decreased trade levels, ensuring that
“the pipeline of international commerce
has never been so clogged.”
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