David Marks

The fragility of the modern global supply chain began to reveal itself in 2018 once a trade war with China—the United States’ largest trading partner—began to heat up. Back-and-forth retaliatory tariffs over the next two years revealed how dependent the U.S. was on Chinese imports, ranging from raw materials like steel to more complex technologies, such as microchips. On the heels of that trade war came the pandemic, which made accessing overseas trading partners not just expensive—but often impossible. Now in its third year, COVID-19 ... Read More

Reshoring had an uptick in 2018-19 but then went negative again in 2020-21, according to Kearney’s Reshoring Index. Reshoring is a complex and expensive proposition, and it has been difficult for reshoring proponents to maintain consistent progress in their efforts to bring manufacturing assets back to American shores. However, we must also consider that we’re well into our third year of pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. The latest predictions say the supply chain will remain volatile through 2023—or longer. Will 2022 Be Reshoring’s Year? Improving the ... Read More

The ongoing boom in eCommerce has driven a shortage of industrial real estate, exacerbated an existing driver shortage, and placed additional strain on major U.S. ports. Unfortunately, record sales volumes and tight transportation capacity have resulted in most major parcel carriers raising rates by 5.9% in 2022. Additionally, peak season surcharges have become the norm for parcel carriers, further driving up shipping costs during high crucial sales periods. As parcel shipping rates continue to rise, eCommerce businesses must find ways to mitigate the impact on ... Read More