RED SEA ATTACKS DRIVE TRANSPORTATION COSTS TO 15-MONTH HIGH AND SAFETY STOCKPILING INCREASES SLIGHTLY, BUT NO SIGNS OF PANIC SO FAR

GEP GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY INDEX - Seite 2

JANUARY 2024 KEY FINDINGS

• DEMAND: Purchases of raw materials, commodities and components remained subdued, although the decline eased to its weakest since last April, hinting at improving demand.
  
  
• INVENTORIES: Reports of safety stockpiling due to supply or price concerns ticked up to a seven-month high in January as disruption through the Suez Canal led some companies to build up inventory buffers.
  
  
• MATERIAL SHORTAGES: Global supply conditions remain healthy — reports of item shortages remain among the lowest seen in four years.
  
  
• LABOR SHORTAGES: Labor availability remains unproblematic for global suppliers, with reports of backlogs rising due to a lack of staff holding close to historically typical levels.
  
  
• TRANSPORTATION: Global transportation costs rose to a 15-month high in January, signalling some contagion from the disruption to shipping through the Suez Canal.

REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY

• NORTH AMERICA: Index rose to -0.33, from -0.39, indicating the 10th consecutive month of underutilized supplier capacity.
  
  
• EUROPE: Index rose to -0.63, from -0.92, the lowest level of excess vendor capacity in five months.
  
  
• U.K.: Index rose to -0.62, from -1.05, showing spare capacity at U.K. suppliers almost halving, which is a positive sign after 19 consecutive months of subdued input demand.
  
  
• ASIA: Index rose to 0.14, from -0.42, indicating the strongest pressure on the region's supply chains in almost a year amid improving demand in key exporting nations.

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Note: Full historical data dating back to January 2005 is available for subscription. Please contact [e-mail].

The next release of the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index will be 8 a.m. ET, March 13, 2024.

About the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index

The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index is produced by S&P Global and GEP. It is derived from S&P Global's PMI surveys, sent to companies in over 40 countries, totaling around 27,000 companies. The headline figure is a weighted sum of six sub-indices derived from PMI data, PMI Comments Trackers and PMI Commodity Price & Supply Indicators compiled by S&P Global.