Massive fire engulfs Walmart distribution center near Indianapolis

Yesterday it was a giant fire in the largest warehouse for the largest grocery store chain in Taiwan. The spontaneous combustion of our food supply / supply chain continues at breakneck speed.

CBS 4 in Indianapolis reported the smoke was so thick it was being picked up on weather radar.

There was no word on if there were any injuries or what may have caused the fire to start at the facility located at 9590 Allpoints Parkway.

See the #Fire hashtag ! #SupplyChain

https://www.whio.com/news/local/massive-fire-engulfs-walmart-distribution-center-near-indianapolis/7XIQLI6TIREHVMDNIUV46GAXNU/

UK: Brit shoppers 'face fruit, veg and cheese shortages' after P&O ferry cancellations

Brits could face shortages in supermarkets with vegetables, fruit, cheese and wine among products not arriving after P&O suddenly cancelled services. After the firm axed 800 of its staff fresh fears have emerged that thousands of sheep may also have to be slaughtered.

Edward Adamson, a sheep farmer from County Antrim in Northern Ireland, said he may have to kill some sheep if the ferry crisis continues.

"There is no route to the UK mainland for us otherwise. We produce more animals than we need you see and we can't just keep them," he said, reported The Sun.

#WarOnMeat #WarOnFarms #SupplyChain #UK

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brit-shoppers-face-fruit-veg-26506021

National Weather Service will be launching fewer balloons — resulting in a reduction in fidelity of weather forecasts — due to supply chain issues and helium/hydrogen availability.

#SupplyChain

Farmers are not able to get the inputs they need to plant the crops they’d intended.

Up from 52% in February, now 87% retails reporting #SupplyChain issues that will impact food production.

Farmers intend to plant 4% fewer acres in 2022, largely due to fertilizer prices, according to USDA’s Prospective Plantings report.

source: https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/planting/are-there-enough-chemicals-and-fertilizer-plant-years-crop-inside-look-whats

Walgreens starts RATIONING baby formula as supply chain crunch hits new parents: 29% of the top-selling formulas are out of stock at stores across the US

IAF: been hearing reports of this, now confirmed:

The second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS said Friday that amid the supply-chain crunch, it is limiting customers to three infant and toddler formula product purchases at a time, at its 9,021 US locations. 

#SupplyChain

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10701087/Walgreens-starts-RATIONING-baby-formula-supply-chain-crunch-hits-new-parents.html

Wow: Shanghai’s backlog of ships is quite literally off the chart, even compared to the disturbances last year.

US and global supply chains are about to go from “severely strained” to “completely broken.”

Need it? Buy it now. And buckle up…

#SupplyChain #china

Just a bit of marine traffic backed up there in Shanghai — get ready for massive supply shock (see previous post)

#SupplyChain #china

Food producers, up the supply chain, are unable to get ingredients, and forced to change formulations (recipes) frequently:

IAF: Yes, yes, I know only sheeple eat processed foods — but it is insightful to see how these large commpanies are scrabling to manage perception and keep consumers asleep:
___

Cheerios, Betty Crocker, and Pillsbury's Parent Company Is Changing Its Ingredients

Materials including starch, packaging, fats, and oils were the most challenging for General Mills to find, affecting the multinational brand's pizza, hot snacks, cereal, and refrigerated baked goods. Part of the issue is a global supply shortage resulting from the war in Ukraine, which has put additional strain on oils and starch. Those two ingredients are usually made of wheat—which is heavily exported by Russia and Ukraine. Both countries are halting sending resources out right now.

#SupplyChain #FoodShortages

https://www.eatthis.com/news-general-mills-is-changing-its-ingredients/

EVACUATE THE GRAIN:

Nearly 25 million tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine, says UN food agency

Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukraine and unable to leave the country due to infrastructure challenges and blocked Black Sea ports including Mariupol, a U.N. food agency official said on Friday.

“It’s an almost grotesque situation we see at the moment in Ukraine with nearly 25 mln tonnes of grain that could be exported but that cannot leave the country simply because of lack of infrastructure, the blockade of the ports,” Josef Schmidhuber, FAO Deputy Director, Markets and Trade Division told a Geneva press briefing via Zoom.

Schmidhuber said the full silos could result in storage shortages during the next harvest in July and August.

Head of the WTO announced, “It would really help the world if we could evacuate this grain (from Ukraine),” — Earlier this week, the head of the World Trade Organization told Reuters she was “seriously worried” about spiraling food prices and seeking solutions alongside other partners.

#SupplyChain #shipping #wheat #ukraine

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-un-grains/nearly-25-million-tonnes-of-grain-stuck-in-ukraine-says-un-food-agency-idUSKCN2MS0PX

South Africa: ports unable to export food:

The Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) recently said that South Africa’s agricultural sector is being hit by bottlenecks at South African ports, adding that there is a struggle to get table grapes out into international markets within 21 days – currently it takes 50 days.

“Perishable cargo like fruit is only covered by specific extensions to cover delay and this is provided by a limited number of insurers. The number of insurers who offered the extended cover are now declining this cover due to the increased delays in worldwide shipping from 2020 that is ongoing. The infrastructure troubles we are having, as well as the result of the KZN floods, is likely to add further delays, which may result in insurers no longer offering delay cover at all.”

#SupplyChain

https://cover.co.za/shipping-industry-disruption-trends-and-the-impact-on-insurance/

More on #SupplyChain so broken that nations can't export their wheat — here Australia (see above, South Africa, also):

Australia's record wheat harvest is no fix for the global food crisis
Logistical challenges hold back exports as concerns grow over next year's crop

Clogged ports and soaring fertilizer costs are impeding Australia's bid to boost exports of its bumper wheat harvest, worsening a global food crisis

#Australia #wheat

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/Commodities/Australia-s-record-wheat-harvest-is-no-fix-for-the-global-food-crisis

US Foods union relations are souring, and they "put the foodservice giant on notice that work stoppages are imminent." This means that unresolved work contract negotiations between the labor union and the foodservice distributor could result in a strike that may disrupt the flow of food products to tens of thousands of restaurants. 

#SupplyChain

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/not-afraid-strike-teamsters-warn-us-foods-east-coast-walkout-could-impact-restaurants

Trucker Strike In South Korea Sparks Economic Turmoil, Risks Global Spillover

The epicenter of the next global supply chain snarl could be in South Korea as a nationwide trucker strike broadens and is hindering domestic economic activity, which may spill over to the rest of the world.

Bloomberg reports that the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union entered its seventh day of strikes on Monday, causing $1.6 billion in disruptions for auto, petrochemical, steel, and other top industries.

#SupplyChain #Shipping #SouthKorea

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-13/top-steelmaker-in-south-korea-halts-production-on-trucker-strike

Rail delays / problems are mounting (even though the strike was delayed) — it is a problem for this grain to not be moving. Contributing to animal feed shortages and the degradation of the entire food supply chain:
__
Rail service delays in the past three months climbed a staggering 231% compared to a year ago, according to a new American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) analysis.
There were 204,000 unfilled grain car orders in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 62,000 last year, AFBF economist Daniel Munch said.

“Conditions have not im­proved for shippers since our first quarter analysis,” said Munch, noting that the number of unfilled orders climbed 49% since the first...

#SupplyChain #USA

https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/Article/Rail-delays-continue-becoming-lengthier

It seems perfectly normal to me that FedEx ground, UPS, and railroad workers are all striking at the same time.

Absolutely nothing to see here.

#us #SupplyChain

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/us-railroads-enact-contingency-plans-preparing-labor-strike-union-talks-fail

https://www.truckinginfo.com/10180376/fedex-ground-contractor-dispute-what-now

https://scnow.com/news/national/one-of-the-biggest-strikes-in-us-history-is-brewing-at-ups-heres-what-it/article_4172e21b-8274-51ef-a0c3-79bceafa6c4b.html

Unbelievable - Terrible timing to not be able to export grains/oilseeds:

U.S. barge backlog swells on parched Mississippi River

Commercial barge traffic on southern stretches of the Mississippi River was at a standstill on Tuesday as low water levels halted shipments of grain, fertilizer and other commodities on the critical waterway, shipping sources said.

The supply chain snarl comes just as harvesting of corn and soybeans, the largest U.S. cash crops, is ramping up and as tight global supplies and strong demand for food and fuel have sent inflation soaring.

Around 100 tow boats hauling some 1,600 barges were lined up for miles waiting to pass through one trouble spot near Lake Providence, Louisiana, that has been largely closed since late last week, shipping sources said.

At least two other sections of the lower Mississippi have also been closed at times, disrupting the flow of grain to U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country, they said.

Shippers have been loading less cargo per barge so vessels sit higher on the water, and towing companies have reduced the number of barges per tow by nearly 40% as the low water conditions narrowed the navigable channel.

#us #water #SupplyChain

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-barge-backlog-swells-parched-mississippi-river-2022-10-04/

Massive piles of beans as barge traffic shutdown, cant move harvest:

“Some warm and wet weather down south and I see very bad things happening." 

Sad to see the USA cant even move the food harvested…

#usa #SupplyChain

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/massive-bean-piles-spotted-and-down-mississippi-river-barges-cant-meet-harvest-demand

Threat of a nationwide strike by U.S. freight railroad workers still looms...

2 unions have rejected a proposed deal with railroads, while 6 have approved it.

Others are still deciding, with votes of the 2 largest rail workers’ unions coming mid-November.

#usa #SupplyChain