California’s governor has issued an executive order to address the shortage of truck drivers and container storage to try to move critical cargo out of the state’s ports and alleviate congestion. The order directs agencies to find state, federal and private land for short-term container storage while identifying freight routes for trucks so officials can temporarily exempt weight limits on the road. It also addresses educational programs and training for port workers and others in the supply chain. Supply chain backups and shortages are causing all kinds of consumer woes, including low or missing stock. Out-of-stock items jumped 172% in August compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

Hi all, James Frith here again this week. I want to look at how Canada is re-positioning itself to take advantage of the growing electric vehicle supply chain, after years of overlooking the battery industry.

Despite having all of the critical ingredients for lithium-ion batteries — nickel, cobalt, lithium, graphite — Canada doesn’t have any EV cell or component manufacturing; and it has only about 10% of the battery demand of the U.S. Combined with a lack of government support for the battery supply chain, it had seemed that Canada was destined to lose the value-add of its raw materials as they are exported to countries that had invested in battery production.

We’ve seen this type of relationship in the battery supply chain before, in particular between Australia and China. In 2020, Australia accounted for almost 50% of global lithium production, but the majority of this material was exported to China for refining. China accounts for 75% of battery materials refining capacity today, but sources almost all of its raw materials (nickel, cobalt, lithium, graphite, manganese) from overseas.

Australia is beginning to claim some of the value in its own raw materials. In August this year, Chinese lithium miner Tianqi, produced the first batch of lithium hydroxide from its new Kwinana refinery in Western Australia. At the beginning of this month, Australian mining behemoth BHP commissioned its Nickel West plant in Western Australia which will produce nickel sulfate, a key battery raw material…read more.

Robots are not taking to B.C. construction sites to build the next generation of homes. At least not yet.

But if one hears from a friend that robotic arms played a big part in the building of their humble abode, it may be closer to fact than fiction in the coming years.

“There’s just really no innovation in the construction sector for the better part of 75 years,” says Oliver Lang, founder and CEO of Vancouver-based Intelligent City Inc.

While advances in telecom have seen communications do away with rotary phones in favour of smartphones, no such analogue exists in the construction industry over that same period. In the meantime, climate change, housing affordability and housing supply have been heightening British Columbians’ anxiety levels.

“We’re trying to tackle all of these things at once and ask ourselves the question: Can we use technology to overcome these hurdles?” Lang told BIV…read more.

Dust off the disco ball and rolled up dollar bills, because the 1970s are back. At least the signs of 70s-style stagflation are forming, according to one of Canada’s Big Six banks. National Bank of Canada (NBC) chief economist Stéfane Marion warned clients of the rising risk of global stagflation. Rising oil prices, soaring food costs, and slow economic growth are all surfacing. This growing issue threatens to undermine the global recovery.

What Is Stagflation?

Stagflation is high inflation during a recession, when it typically shouldn’t be seen. In a healthy scenario, inflation is the result of rising productivity and a tight job market. It’s viewed as a side effect of too much success. During stagflation, inflation rises with high unemployment and slow growth. It’s often the result of lower confidence in a currency.

It might be obvious why this is an issue, but let’s just spell it out for everyone. Rising inflation for essential goods means diverting spending from other areas of spending. Diverted cash diverts revenues for certain companies, which can further slow growth…read more.

Transport and health ministers of the G-7 countries are due to meet virtually on Thursday to discuss ways to restart international travel, according to people familiar with the matter.

The meeting is being organized by the U.K., which holds the presidency of the Group of Seven nations this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified ahead of any official statement. It’s aimed at moving closer to a consensus on how to ease border restrictions.

While some countries, notably members of the European Union, have used so-called vaccine passports to successfully resume cross-border travel, others including the U.S. have held back on implementing app-based technology over concerns ranging from politics to privacy or fairness between people who have and haven’t received the shots. Another sticking point has been whether to recognize vaccines in countries where they haven’t been approved.

Airlines for Europe, the industry lobby group, called on the G-7 to promote the EU’s approach as a global standard. Citizens within the bloc are able to move between countries without Covid-19 tests if they can show they’ve been fully inoculated or have recovered from the disease. Travelers present a digital or paper-based bar code, and the EU and U.K. have granted reciprocal recognition…read more.