Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press
Costs began to soar as demand for shipping services surged. Voltera then started having difficulty acquiring certain parts after its plastic manufacturer was contracted by the U.S. government for COVID materials. On top of that, a shortage of semiconductors materialized.“It was like popping holes in a boat,” recalled Shawn Baron, Voltera’s operations manager.
Baron said Voltera’s sales took a 20 per cent hit compared to 2019 and though his company absorbed that blow, he believes others will be dealing with COVID-19 ripple effects for a long time. He’s seen shipping costs triple and quadruple, has heard of containers surging from $2,000 to $15,000 each and said insurance is on the rise too.
Sera4 uses ports in South Africa often, but found during and after the Suez blockage others started diverting their shipments there too.“Those ports got clogged and the knock on effect was really, really difficult,” Coode said.Even those who stuck with or switched to air freight were not unscathed. Supply chain problems are common and the product of years of strict and long production networks spread out over vast distances, said Dan Breznitz.The University of Toronto professor and Munk chair of innovation studies said companies would benefit from shorter and more regional networks, but business leaders seldom pursue them because of prices, competition and comfort.