LOGISTICALLY SPEAKING
2021, 6 months of constant changes for a sector that generally is not static and that changes can be a familiar dish.
The pandemic came to modify what we knew as usual, that if there were any changes in itineraries, costs and routes it was normal but it would not be the usual.
In this first half of the year we discovered that we are more accustomed to logistical changes due to the latest events that we are suffering day by day.
The pandemic since March 2020, has marked a complex path that has forced the actors to be more agile and think outside the box, however, despite having efficient mechanisms and innovative responses to the various logistics scenarios, situations occurred that destabilized the 2021 action plans for economic recovery and compliance of the supply chain.
The Suez Canal event marked a new milestone in the logistics plans that were already being presented and executed during this administration. It added an additional spice to the already complex scenario.
The strict disinfection and quarantine measures since May 21 have led to congestion of ships waiting to dock at one of the busiest container ports in China, the Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) in Shenzhen, which is one of the most important ports in Southern China and which in turn serves one-fourth of U.S. trade, so ... the chaos is significant.
But unfortunately not everything stays there, we have the nearby ports starting to increase their container movements in order to dispatch the goods that the factories need to ship and that in turn the customers at destination need to receive because most of them are shipments that are already paid in advance with a promise of delivery in estimated times, but not after months of having been purchased.
More blockades in Guangdong, China as the delta variant of COVID-19 spreads means that many factories cannot ship their goods because carriers cannot enter the cities to load containers. The industry's production will again suffer as they have stringent biosecurity procedures in place to prevent the spread of the new variant.
The logistical chaos now moves beyond the ports or shipping lines. Now we are talking about industrial cities that may have to be kept under strict quarantine.
Nevertheless, within the chaos there is always hope, or at least that's how I like to think of it.
For Latin America and Panama it is a great opportunity to turn to neighboring countries in the region to make local purchases, with the necessary proximity to have your merchandise in time and at reasonable costs.
Panama, which has the Colon Free Zone and is supplied by China, should see the opportunity to keep the region with various products within reach of customers in good light.
Logistics companies must reinvent themselves to properly advise the customer, it is not the same to have a freight per container of 2,000 dollars to 12,000 dollars and not have the ability to advise the customer to better make their investments.
By habits and customs we have operated buying in the Asian market and we have stopped seeing other industrial markets as a possibility, today the situation pushes us to return to operate outside that box of beliefs.
The potential of Latin American industries must start to show their added value, their production level and the quality of their products.
Identify key points for the distribution of their products being these points logistic hubs as key points for the Nearshoring that returns TIME as the greatest asset for the economy.
Logistics will continue to change and our habits will also change as consumers, adapting to new scenarios has been a norm in recent times and will continue to be in the long term.