From Claire Jones at FT Alphaville, February 5:
Expect to see more inflation in producer prices in the months ahead.
We’d like to draw your attention to two articles that have recently graced FT.com. Here’s the first, from the FT’s German industry correspondent Joe Miller, which appeared online earlier today:
German carmakers are considering building up semiconductor stockpiles to prevent a repeat of the crippling chip shortages that brought assembly lines to a standstill and stalled the production of hundreds of thousands of vehicles worldwide.
The move could prompt an overhaul of the industry’s finely tuned “just-in-time” supply chain, which has been used for decades and relies on daily deliveries to preserve cash. The system also allows for last-minute bidding wars between parts makers.The second, from Patrick McGee in San Francisco, published yesterday:...
....MUCH MORE
Here's another one: The year-over-year price of oil is either higher than 12 months ago (WTI) or flat (Brent) meaning commerce, industry and agriculture have lost one of the major benefits of the panic, cheaper energy costs. Although not as large an input as it had been in decades past, the March and especially April comparisons of the cost to move pretty much everything from last-mile Amazon Prime to tractors in the field are going to be higher than it was with WTI at $20 and Brent at $30.
