most of the change was surprisingly small It’s striking how little change there was in world trade patterns in 2020 . . . “Getting in direct contact with these companies is a first step that we want to make in the future.” “We have to make sure that wafer and semiconductor manufacturers know our needs,” the company says. It now says it is considering dealing directly with chip suppliers, rather than through parts makers such as Continental and Bosch. Volkswagen, the world’s second-largest carmaker by volume and the parent company of Scania, said in December that semiconductor bottlenecks would cut production by 100,000 vehicles in the first quarter of the year at its sites in Europe, North America and China. As manufacturers and suppliers addressed Covid-19, car factories closed, shipping slowed and costs climbed, piling pressure on global supply chains. However, the pandemic has exposed flaws in this particular pursuit of efficiency. Just-in-time models can also cut costs by removing the need for storage space and eliminating waste from the supply chain, while avoiding the accumulation of unsold finished products. “It would be a romantic dream to think we would be able to get all the competencies and capabilities we need into European or Swedish soil,” Williamsson argues. The Swedish truckmaker now has production facilities across Europe and in South America, India and China. “We need to co-operate with the very best suppliers that are available and unfortunately they are located all over the planet,” says Anders Williamsson, head of purchasing at Scania. In theory, this approach cuts large inventory levels by moving components just before they are needed - sometimes from the other side of the world. But despite the impact on European groups including Volkswagen and Daimler, many producers are reluctant to overhaul their “just-in-time” supply chains. Covid-19’s disruption to semiconductor supplies has been the latest in a line of setbacks for carmakers, following higher tariffs from the US-China trade war and pasts shortages after the Japanese earthquake in 2011.
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