Not so good for European manufacturers Ian. Most of the components for manufacturing, such as motors, fasteners etc. probably come via the same route. It may well screw up vaccine manufacture as well.
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Yes, but some parts will already be in the queued ships, and replacements have to be manufactured, checked, and shipped. In addition, though critical parts, essential items, and lighter non-essentials can be moved that way, heavy bulk items such as fine chemicals cannot all be airfreighted. It shows very clearly the fragility of a global supply chain. Perhaps now the canal may be upgraded to be fit for modern requirements?Comment
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Thee Suez Canal was closed from 1967 to 1975 - It caused the vast increase in oil tanker size, as previously they had been limited by the canal. ( I went through the canal for the first time in August 1975, a month or so after it reopened ). With the advent of containers & the large ships carrying them, the Suez Canal was widened & deepened to accommodate them, but the 1869 canal is hugely expensive to modernise, and you can't do the work, and keep the income flow..................
DaveComment
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True, and shortages will only be short term while supply lines are rerouted, but for things like Pharma manufacture the companies cannot simply change to an alternative supplier. There are regulatory requirements around supply chain definition that would incur potential revalidation and regulatory submission work. Cost is less important here, but it could certainly cause a delay in manufacture and supply while these things are sorted out.
Upgrading the existing canal is probably a non starter. After all, making it bigger and deeper will probably just allow the ships to grow to fit It
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Hasn't it been upgraded quite recently? From Wikipedia: "In August 2014, the Egyptian government launched construction to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass for 35 km (22 mi) to speed up the canal's transit-time. The expansion intended to nearly double the capacity of the Suez Canal, from 49 to 97 ships per day.[9] At a cost of 59.4 billion Egyptian pounds (US$9bn), this project was funded with interest-bearing investment certificates issued exclusively to Egyptian entities and individuals. The "New Suez Canal", as the expansion was dubbed, was opened in a ceremony on 6 August 2015. "
I can't see them doing that again in a hurry.
PeteComment
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Looks like they have a solution....
(With thanks to Pete Low, whose FB timeline I nicked the image from)Comment
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If my Geography serves me right I don't think the Pyramids in Giza are nowhere near the Suez but closer to the Nile.:smiling: But a nice image for a joke.
Cheers,
RichardComment
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SO lee i gather you liked the Fruehauf trailers ? well in my opinion i think we built them to good so we did ourselves out of our jobs as they were lasting to long but it was nice to take pride in my work welding an on some they had to pass an xray test to check for any cold welds an to think well good job done
chrisComment
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Fruehauf in my book is one of the Best trailers made I would hook on to a beat up raged out Fruehauf Piggyback trailer and it still pulled like I was Bobtailing and still would track good. The 40’ container chassis’s pulled the same. Here’s a pic of my old Cabover I owned back in 1995 I think the chassis was FruehaufComment
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Well I see the ship has been moved to the side of the canal.
PeteComment
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Is that an old "Cornbinder" Lee? Looks in great shape all gussied up. My uncle Ken worked as a tech in an International dealership for many years.Comment
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The Ever Given has been removed! I imagine the canal will have to be checked & dredged to clear up that area, but it will be open soon - there now being 370 ships waiting to transit ( and counting ). The Ever Given will have to be thoroughly checked for damage - in drydock, I guess, to see if all that grounding, pushing & pulling has distorted anything!
Now, of course comes the question of Whose Fault? - which will answer who picks up the tab?
DaveComment
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