It’s no secret that bottlenecks and post-pandemic spikes in demand are converging to strain fragile supply chains. There are plenty of news stories describing the issues facing some of the largest ports in the world and what companies are doing to overcome them.

Unfortunately, the cable and connector industry is no stranger to the effects of the disruptions. Electronics manufacturers and other industrial companies rely on cables and connectors for various products, but how can they maintain production efficiency if the supply chain is proving inefficient and unstable?

As a result of the pandemic, consumers were spending extended periods of time inside their homes, driving demand for consumer electronics like gaming consoles, smart TVs, tablets and more. Evidence shows the sector could not meet this demand. In 2020, the electronic products industry entered a slump, with the market contracting at 3 percent compared with the previous year, according to Statista.

While the sector is on track to recover, its supply chains are still lagging. Major factories and ports across the world must suspend manufacturing and shut down periodically due to upticks in Covid-19 cases. In just a few days, these temporary suspensions have dramatic effects on production.

Some members of cable and connector supply chains were caught off-guard by the supply chain issues. Others took proactive steps and anticipated future challenges by purchasing larger amounts of raw materials to keep production consistent. However, this approach contrasts the increasingly popular “just-in-time, build-to-order” pipeline model many companies focused on in the last couple of decades.

Many manufacturers were also forced to make digital transformations, adopting new and emerging technologies to improve processes. For example, the Industrial Internet of Things and artificial intelligence significantly improve supply chain visibility, reduce errors and facilitate data processing. But these technological investments only go so far and cannot act as a one-size-fits-all solution for supply chain disruptions. Take a deeper look at five of the challenges cable and connector supply chains are facing right now.

Major players in the cable and connector space would agree finding skilled workers in this job market is highly challenging. According to the latest data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are 10 million job openings and 6 million unemployed workers in the U.S.

If every unemployed person filled a job, the remaining 4 million jobs would go unfilled. Companies working internationally might face a lack of workers in other countries as the global economy becomes increasingly connected. Labor shortages could cost Germany 86 billion euros annually.

Certain regions of the world are already experiencing the harmful effects of climate change. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and intense, causing more damage to communities and exacerbating current supply chain issues.

Consider Category 4 Hurricane Ian that made landfall in Southwest Florida in September 2022. The area is still recovering from the devastation, including local telecommunications companies such as Comcast. According to Comcast Florida’s website, some of the recovery and restoration efforts completed thus far include:

It’s a massive undertaking for these workers to get the network infrastructure back up and running. Some companies may have to prioritize supporting these communities before tending to their other customers. Additionally, blocked roads and a lack of power completely stall the delivery and production of materials. Continued harsh weather conditions disrupt the supply chain by making factories have to shut down and making transportation longer than expected or impossible.

As mentioned above, raw materials are in short supply. While many industries are grappling with low stores of necessary parts and materials, the success of many markets is heavily dependent upon the cable and connector industry’s products. In other words, many other sectors will be unable to meet increased demand without cables and connectors.

There are many types of cables and connectors with various use cases and applications. Certain types are best suited for specific applications — for example, custom-made control cables are best for any product with tension loads.

However, it could be challenging for a company to get its hands on these custom-made cables due to an inefficient supply chain.One solution would be to make sure any cables currently in use are coated to protect cable assemblies from corrosion. Maintaining the ones in use willand ordering replacements before they wear out will prevent downtime if there are production delays.

Nearly every product on the market is packed in a shipping container for transport. Although shipping containers are simple, they’re a hot commodity right now.

The containers keep the supply chain moving, but only if they’re unloaded and loaded efficiently. Unfortunately, significant ports are overwhelmed with containers and do not have the worker power to load and unload.

Shipping containers are left in places they shouldn’t be and in some instances, cargo ships are running so behind schedule that they cannot wait for new containers to be loaded onboard. Loading could take days or even weeks. As a result, ships choose to leave an onslaught of empty containers at congested ports, rendering them useless.

No country was immune to the effects of the global pandemic, meaning the U.S. is not the only region dealing with economic and supply chain issues. On top of that, the impact of the war in Ukraine is worsening the stability of the global supply chain.

Russia’s penetration into the semiconductor market will undoubtedly impact the cable and connector industry. The war will have far-reaching implications for any industry relying on cables and connectors, as well as others that depend on international vendors.

This is not an exhaustive list — plenty of other challenges are impacting cable and connector supply chains. However, these five challenges could continue into 2023 and beyond.

Supply chain issues tend to stabilize after significant world events, but the disruptions do make it challenging for companies in all sectors to operate effectively. Cable and connector companies are well-aware of the supply chain disruptions impacting their operations. They must keep other members of their supply chain informed, adopt new technologies and form new mitigation strategies to overcome these ongoing challenges.

Emily Newton is a technical writer and the Editor-in-Chief of Revolutionized. She enjoys researching and writing about how technology is changing the industrial sector.

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