Hurricane Harvey Causes Supply Chain Scramble
Supply chain has been scrambling to reroute after Hurricane Harvey devastated south Texas.
Because supply chain across the country is so interconnected, one link in the chain being down can have a ripple effect. Major seaports in Houston and Corpus Christi have had closures and trucking routes needed to be rerouted to work around the ports and avoid the worst of the storm damage. Houston is a key consolidation point for imports of large products made in Mexico, and stores throughout the West bring in foreign-made goods via the city’s port.
Flooding damages warehouse and docking space and while the waters are still high, it prevents companies from going in and starting clean up.
Relief heading into the city also uses up trafficking space that would normally be used for outbound or cross-through shipping. Additionally, many companies are donating logistics resources to help with aid, which is absolutely a positive thing, but as resources are shifted elsewhere, it will put strain elsewhere in supply chain.
You can read more at https://www.wsj.com/articles/freight-companies-scramble-to-reroute-goods-in-wake-of-harvey-1503943228.
