With disruption in the global shipping sector showing few signs of abating in the fourth quarter of this year, North American automotive supply chain firms have been forced to prove their ingenuity in recent months to ensure a steady and timely supply of parts and materials.

While some of these issues stem from the first wave of Covid lockdowns last year, the situation now has become many times more complex for North American supply chain planners. What is more, as the new Omicron variant threatens to derail nascent recovery, firms see little respite from the long delays and sharply escalating costs.

For the majority of firms in the sector, supply chain delays that were initially viewed as temporary hiccups have now morphed into a prolonged crisis as global trade dynamics have been upended. The strength and speed of rebound in US demand for Chinese cargoes from the second half of 2020 onwards created unprecedented pressure on ports in both North America and Asia, and that is still driving long tailbacks.