How does COVID-19 (coronavirus) affect the FIBC industry?
If you are reading this article and have not disconnected from the outside world in the past year of 2020, then I don't need to tell you that the new coronavirus (COVID-19) has completely disrupted the world. In the past year, global markets, supply chains, manufacturers and financial markets have all fallen into a turtle-like crawl, and shocks have been felt across the globe – the FIBC bulk container bags industry is no exception.
The impact of COVID-19 on bulk bag or big bagd purchases
As mentioned earlier, the vast majority of bulk jumbo bags come from Chinese manufacturers. They are then shipped to US distributors for sale and distribution throughout the continental United States. Under normal circumstances, this system enables American companies to obtain a stable supply of jumbo bags at a very competitive price. However, this also means that the supply of FIBC bags in the United States is heavily dependent on the global supply chain, and is therefore more susceptible to these supply chain disruptions.
Usually, the lead time for distributor orders (for example, customized FIBC) is 60-90 days. That is, the time it takes from placing an order with an overseas manufacturer to actually receiving the product in the United States. However, due to the massive shutdowns caused by the coronavirus in overseas manufacturing plants (especially in India), we have found that the lead time has increased significantly. Maintaining good relationships between your distributors and overseas partners is more important than ever in order to accurately predict any potential delays in product delivery.
Initial impact on the industry
As we have seen in India recently, the blockade of foreign manufacturers has led to longer lead times for bulk bag purchases. So far, this is only a short-term impact. The long-term impact may be the potential for rising luggage prices as demand continues to increase or remain the same, and US supplies continue to shrink. At the time of writing, we have not seen a significant price increase, but it may be later, so please prepare as much as possible.
