Brandon
-21° C, transparent
Author: Chelsea Kemp Local Journalism Initiative Published: Saturday, November 20, 2021, 3:00 AM CST
Local businesses are already scrambling to adapt to the current supply chain dilemma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are now worried about the potential impact of record rainfall and flooding in British Columbia-highways have been closed and railroads to Canada's largest port have been cut off- There will be here at home.
Chelsea Camp/Brandon Suns
On Friday, Bernie Whetter, owner of Green Spot, took a photo with the Christmas tree.
Local businesses are already scrambling to adapt to the current supply chain dilemma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are now worried about the potential impact of record rainfall and flooding in British Columbia-highways have been closed and railroads to Canada's largest port have been cut off- There will be here at home.
Barry Cooper, chairman of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, said that the biggest problem posed by floods and the ongoing struggle with the global health crisis is how these factors affect the timing and distribution of supplies across the country. He added that it is difficult to assess what the long-term impact will be and how long the impact will last. It may take two weeks to six months for recovery to begin.
"This is a disaster for the people of British Columbia, and a devastation for us," Cooper said. "Please put it in perspective that this is a problem for us, but it is definitely a disaster for them. I think we must be aware of this and our hearts are with those people and what they are fighting against."
The global supply chain issues felt during COVID-19 will only be exacerbated by flooding in British Columbia, which effectively turned the Port of Vancouver into an island separate from the rest of the country.
The Canadian News Agency reported that after a state of emergency was declared due to extensive flooding in the southern region, some highways in British Columbia are slowly resuming limited access rights. In addition to necessary travel and commercial vehicles, the province may order a ban on traffic.
From Saturday to Monday, after record rainfall in southern British Columbia, every major route between the Lower Mainland and the interior was interrupted by erosion, flooding or landslides.
The road to repair the debris falling from above may be relatively simple, while in other places, it may be necessary to build temporary bridges and detours after the main work is completed. Areas with flooded roads and rising groundwater levels may be the most complex, and with the advent of cold weather, construction will only become more difficult.
The impact of these closures can already be seen in Brandon.
"All you have to do is drive through a car [sale] lot, count the vehicles and count the empty parking spaces. You will find that most of the vehicles sold now have been sold before they reach the lot. They are buying...invisible, "Cooper said. "In many things, the backlog between manufacturing and shipping is a huge challenge."
The supply chain has been disrupted during the pandemic, and even shipping products in containers can be a problem. Due to high cost and transportation requirements, the price of goods transported by enterprises has increased by 10 times.
Cooper said that one of the biggest challenges facing companies, especially those smaller local companies, is how to pass these costs on to consumers.
"They can't continue to eat them," Cooper said.
Companies are faced with the terrible problem of shipping unpredictability, because even now, it is difficult to guess what will happen to BC’s roads and railway lines affected by natural disasters.
In March 2020, there was no toilet paper and disinfectant on Wal-Mart’s shelves.
Whenever product circulation is resumed, it will have a long-term impact on the national supply chain, and Brandon will feel the demand squeeze caused by these unprecedented disasters.
"We have seen some supply chain issues...now it does revolve around fresh food," Cooper said.
Consumers will first feel the impact of the grocery store supply chain failure-anything outside of California, including berries and leafy greens, will be replanted around British Columbia, which may lead to higher transportation costs across the province and higher prices.
Most of these products will experience short-term interruptions, but because companies are already facing serious supply problems, the significant impact on a global scale will increase. A large backlog of ships berthed at the Port of Vancouver and there have been delays.
"They have already had trouble unloading the cargo in time, and now they can't get the trucks in and out there. The port has basically stopped," Cooper said. "We have seen the challenge of unloading in all major ports (not just Vancouver)-COVID has stopped everything, and [now] we understand that restarting is harder than stopping.
Cooper said: "Until we understand how these roads and railways will reopen, it is difficult to know how much impact this will have."
Cooper said that companies know that once COVID-19 strikes, they will face supply chain challenges, which will soon become a problem in March 2020.
In the process of safeguarding agricultural products, the first signs of weakness in the supply chain began to appear-producers were buying goods out of fear that distributors might be closed due to the pandemic.
In March 2020, consumers found no toilet paper, tissues, cleaning supplies, etc. on the shelves when they went to the grocery store. They were aware of these problems.
Supply problems have only been magnified in the past 20 months, especially in disasters like British Columbia, and will continue for the foreseeable future.
"Each wave contains more challenges," Cooper said. "I think we are all getting better at learning how to control it."
Cooper mentioned that product shortages will become an increasingly familiar experience.
The term "retaliatory expenditure" is used to describe when people have a little extra cash compared to other years (such as 2020), and this Christmas may increase the demand for products.
Cooper urges people to start shopping early during the holiday season and is open to the idea of choosing different gifts based on availability.
Chelsea Camp/Brandon Suns
Active Muffler and Auto Repair owner Dan Saunders posed for photos in his store on Friday.
"There are fewer varieties to choose from. There are fewer options this year, and that's it," Cooper said. "Local businesses are doing their best to buy products to enter their stores and provide quality services to the people they are there. I ask people to treat them well and understand that some of them are beyond [their] control."
According to Canadian media reports, Dennis Darby, president of the Canadian manufacturer, stated that the cost of a container has risen from less than US$2,000 in 2019 to approximately US$10,000 in November 2021.
The Bank of Canada warned that the problem may worsen by the end of the calendar year before it improves in 2022 and will help push high inflation even higher.
Darby said another obstacle is finding enough workers, such as truck drivers, to deliver goods across the country.
The latest employment data from Statistics Canada pointed out that the manufacturing sector in September was still 0.8% below the pre-pandemic employment level, while the transportation and storage industry was still 2.5% below the record level in February 2020.
Bernie Whetter, owner of Green Spot Home and Garden Inc., said solving supply chain problems has been difficult.
He is grateful because this store has 2020 Christmas inventory, because some items are considered non-essential in the province and cannot be obtained by the public during the strict lockdown. These projects help reduce the impact of supply chain delays.
Products for 2020 have been withdrawn from inventory, and new products ordered from overseas and shipped from Europe and Asia are slowly arriving.
However, Whitter said that Vancouver's backlog of shipments will affect the store.
The problem of these goods waiting to be shipped to the mainland has become more complicated due to the shortage of drivers, the shortage of warehouse space and the inability of ships to unload the cargo.
"It's hard to get a container all year," he said.
Transportation prices amplify this cost austerity. Usually, the cost of a 40-foot container shipped from Europe or Asia is about US$6,000, but due to shortages, the price has risen to between US$18,000 and US$24,000 per container.
He added that a cargo ship carrying Christmas lights that caught fire in Vancouver last October also had an impact on Green Spot.
He said that because the floods hit British Columbia, Vancouver had nothing to leave, so even if freight companies were able to ship products to the mainland, they would have nowhere to go until the roads and railroads were reopened.
Many local businesses are still recovering from the sanitation order that prevented the sale of non-essential goods from November 2020 to January 2021.
"It stopped completely before they found a way," Whitt said. "They think that by next week, they may be able to route through Highway 3."
He added that shipping items through the United States is also a possibility, but this will increase the time it takes for items to reach Green Point.
He expects that there will be a delay of about two weeks before finding a new route, but this will still increase the time because the detour will not be as fast as the Trans-Canada Highway.
These delays will affect the Christmas greens, wreaths and Grinch trees provided by the store, as well as some holiday decorations. He said that everything is now safely stored in British Columbia and will eventually reach the store.
"It's just chaos-it's really devastating," Whitt said. "No one of us can do anything. I know they are doing their best to make it work. There are millions of dollars tied to this."
Suppliers have absorbed these costs, but due to strong demand and insufficient supply, consumers will soon face rising retail prices.
He added that customers already understand supply chain issues to a large extent because it is a situation beyond anyone's control.
Real Christmas trees will be sold at Green Spot, as they come from Eastern Canada, and poinsettias grown in Manitoba are also in stock. He warned that the supply of Christmas trees has been reduced by about 40%.
"[At Green Dot]'s rush came earlier and heavier, but this is certainly not something we can't handle right now," Whitt said. "With our new facility, we are very excited about Christmas. We are ready."
Brian Johnson, general manager of Extreme Electronics, said in an email that supply chain issues have always been a challenge for the store.
From November 2020 to January 2021, the store was forced to close due to COVID-19 public health measures, and this adversity was magnified. The closure caused them to miss Black Friday and Boxing Day sales, which is a critical period for revenue generation.
"Some of the products we ordered a year and a half ago have not arrived yet. We are buying as much inventory as possible from wherever possible or available, but in many cases, even now, customers are told not to expect January To receive it," Johnson said.
The prices of some products in the store have risen, and he expects that rising costs will become a reality for local businesses and consumers.
Johnson said: "To be honest, I am hopeful and optimistic that we will be able to do this on Black Friday and December, Boxing Day and... by next year." "We have some great customers, they Very understanding, and will spare no effort to shop locally and support the community. To them, I want to thank all local businesses."
Since the impact of COVID-19 first spread globally in mid-2020, Dan Saunders of Active Muffler and Auto Repair has been feeling the pressure of supply chain shortages.
Saunders said that trying to obtain repair inventory has been a turbulent time, because providing customers with quick and easy repairs can now take months, depending on the availability of parts.
"We really can’t always book [cars] because I don’t always know if the parts are available. If we do book but the parts are not available, then we’ll get stuck because the vehicle is on the crane and torn ."
He added that Active Muffler is doing its best to keep customers on the road, because many families have also felt the strong economic stimulus from COVID-19 and there is only one car left.
Talking to customers has become a daily task, and they explain that it will take weeks or months to get the parts needed for repairs. These may be disturbing, but the collapse of the supply chain is beyond the control of local business owners.
He said this situation would make small business owners feel powerless.
For his company, his workload almost tripled during the pandemic.
Sanders said: "The stock [has] been unbelievably depleted, and the situation will only get worse." "If you wave your magic wand today and everything is fine, then our industry is now back to its original state, even if As of December 1st, everything is back to normal, and it is easy for us to take a year to get back to the original state."
The auto industry parts usually come from the East, but the vehicles shipped to the dealership come from the West.
Active Muffler is largely unaffected by British Columbia's supply, but his customers will feel a tight supply chain.
"He can't buy his car, and I can't guarantee its safety; it snowballs. In small communities like ours, we rely on all small businesses," Sanders said. "Now, this is a battle."
Sanders said that supply chain issues affect every aspect of the automotive industry because every part of production is currently suspended or delayed.
This is on top of the product in the shipping container waiting to be sent.
These challenges of ensuring inventory have in turn pushed up consumer prices. Sanders estimates that, personally, the cost of fixed parts has increased by about 20%.
He hopes to establish some stability in the future, because so far there has not been, or even considered issues like BC
"This is not a good time to do a small business," Sanders said. "This is a nightmare."
As we pass through an unprecedented period, our reporters are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to ensure your safety and knowledge.
Now, we need your support more than ever.
Starting at $12.42 per month, you can access your Brandon Sun online and have full access to all content displayed on our website.
Or call (204) 727-0527 directly to contact the circulation.
Your commitment helps ensure that we provide the most important news for your community!