QAD Precision News Round-Up: 26 February 2021

In the QAD Precision News Round-Up: 26 February 2021, President Biden orders review of critical supply chains; Germany reports strong Q4 — as does Macy’s; Brexit delays worsen in the UK — and the EU wants to reset relations; plus cold chain distribution and more.

Global Trade

PRESIDENT BIDEN TO ORDER REVIEW OF CRITICAL SUPPLY CHAINS

US President Joe Biden is set to order a review of critical supply chains. Mr Biden wishes to reduce US dependence on China and other rivals. The executive order will require federal agencies to conduct 100-day reviews of supply chains for critical items. These include rare earth minerals, electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. 

In addition, the President’s executive order will call for separate one-year reviews for six sectors — biological preparedness; defence; energy and food production; IT; public health; and transportation. For more details on this news item, please see The Irish Times.  

STRONG EXPORTS AND CONSTRUCTION BOOST GERMAN ECONOMY IN Q4

In the final quarter of 2020, the German economy grew by a better than expected 0.3 percent. This result was due to strong exports and construction activity, according to the Federal Statistics Office. Furthermore, the office revised its 2020 full-year GDP figure upward to a fall of 4.9 percent — slightly lower than the 5 percent initially stated. 

Last year, the German economy contracted by 5.3 percent. This was a much smaller contraction than many other European countries. In 2020, there was an overall state budget deficit of €139.6 billion or 4.2 percent of gross domestic product, the office said. This marked the first deficit since 2011. For more information, please see RTE.  

BREXIT TRADE DELAYS WORSEN AT UK BORDER

According to a recent survey of UK supply chain managers, delays importing and exporting goods to and from the EU have worsened since January. A survey of 350 supply chain managers found that two out of three had faced delays of two to three days importing goods into the UK. In January, however, only 38 percent reported delays in a similar survey. A third reported that delays were “significantly longer” than in January. Furthermore, 28 percent said “slightly longer” and 15 percent said delays were of a similar length to January. Only 18 percent of those surveyed by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) reported no delays or fewer delays. For more details, please see The Guardian.  

RESET OF EU-UK RELATIONS CONTEMPLATED BY EU

Reports this week claim that senior EU figures are considering a major change in relations with the UK. This reset would coincide with the formal ratification of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) at the end of April. This would involve both the UK and EU working towards a number of solutions on problems stemming from the Northern Ireland Protocol. 

In addition, this would also seek to address other areas of tension including the status of the EU's delegation to the UK. According to senior figures, this could be the start of a more harmonious relationship. For more details, please see RTE.  

Retail 

MACY'S HOLIDAY SALES BEAT ESTIMATES

On Tuesday, Macy’s reported its first quarterly profit in a year. The retailer has concentrated its efforts on reducing inventory as well as its dependence on low pricing. 

In Q4, sales declined to $6.78 billion from $8.34 billion the previous year. However, this was better than the $6.5 billion forecasted by analysts. Macy’s same-store sales declined 17.1 percent compared to the previous year despite double-digit online growth. This was better than the drop of 21.3 percent forecast by analysts. Furthermore, e-commerce sales grew by 21 percent in the period. Macy stated that digital sales accounted for 44 percent of net sales. For more details, please see CNBC.

Carriers 

DHL & VOLVO PARTNER TO TRIAL HEAVY DUTY ELECTRIC TRUCKS

DHL Freight and Volvo Trucks have joined forces to accelerate the adoption of zero emissions heavy duty trucks in Europe. Electric trucks are currently in use for shorter distances. This partnership will pilot the use of zero emissions trucks for longer, regional transportation.

A pilot scheme, kicking off in March, will use a fully electric Volvo FH truck, which will operate between two DHL Freight logistics terminals in Sweden, a distance of approximately 150 km one way. The trial will allow Volvo and DHL to gain insights into how electric trucks will perform in daily road freight operations, including load weight and access to charging points. For more information, please see Post & Parcel.  

QAD Precision News 

VACCINES, COLD CHAIN AND LIFE SCIENCES SHIPPING

The world received some very good news last week when it was announced that the BioNTech/Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine can now be stored at -15 degrees to -25 degrees for up to two weeks. This is normal medical freezer temperatures. Previously, the manufacturers had stated that the vaccine was to be stored at ultra-low temperatures of around -70 degrees.

As a result, more medical settings will be able to store and distribute the vaccine. This should assist to speed up the vaccine rollout.

A number of other coronavirus vaccines are also sensitive to temperature. For example, if the Moderna vaccine is stored at -20 degrees it will remain viable for up to six months. However, the vaccine can be stored at between 2 to 8 degrees for 30 days, and at room temperature for 12 hours. 

The global distribution of the various different Covid-19 vaccines is a logistics operation like no other. However, many pharmaceutical manufacturers contend with complex life sciences logistics. In this QAD Precision Report we examine the challenges of shipping products that are sensitive to time and temperature. To read this week’s report, please click here. 

[LIVE WEBINAR] OH NO YOU DIDN’T! THE DANGERS OF IGNORING RESTRICTED PARTY SCREENING 

On Thursday 25 March 2021 at 3pm GMT /10am EST, QAD Precision is hosting a 30-minute webinar on the importance of restricted party screening. To register for the webinar, please click here.