Thomas News Highlights

WSJ: The Great Champagne Drought of 2021 - Potentially

The supply chain for countless products is or has been disrupted—and that includes wine. There are ships languishing in ports and undelivered cases cramming warehouses to capacity, not to mention winemakers awaiting shipments of labels and bottles. The result: empty shelves at wine shops as well as the aforementioned rationing.

Demand for items key to wine production and purveying—bottles, corks, labels—has spiked as well. According to Shawn Fitzgerald, chief marketing officer of Thomas (formerly known as the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers), there was a 77% increase in demand for wine boxes and a 172% increase in demand for wine bottles in September 2021 over the previous month. The situation has even led to “a rationing of sorts,” said Mr. Fitzgerald.

EPS News: Reshoring Success Stories in a Challenging Environment

The last two years have touched almost every supply chain imaginable.
According to Thomasnet.com, PCBs topped Q3 2021 product sourcing.  Growing demand for new cars, medical devices, and consumer electronics have skyrocketed the need for printed circuit boards.  Even the residential construction market now relies on PCBs to run many integrated smart devices and has contributed to product sourcing.

Supply Chain Dive: Steel prices soar as businesses rush to rebuild supply chains

Steel remained one of the most in-demand products among manufacturers in Q3, according to a new Thomas report, in part a reflection of how companies are furiously rebuilding their supply chains post-pandemic. 

The Globe and Mail: Labour shortage plaguing tech industry in Western U.S. amid fierce competition for workers

Labor shortfalls hold special importance for the high-tech sector as corporate America stages a made in the USA push, with encouragement from the White House as rivalry with China grows more intense. Companies are expected to announce the return to the US of some 220,000 jobs over the course of this year, according to tracing by the Reshoring Initiative, while a survey by Thomas, and industrial sourcing platform, has found that 83% of manufacturers said they expect to bring back work to North America, up from 54% last year. 

According to Tony Uphoff, president and CEO of Thomas, "It comes at a time when companies, spurred in part by the cost and confusion of shipping during the pandemic, have started to determine that maybe we don't need to manufacture in Vietnam when our core consumer is in Arkansas."

Automotive News Daily Drive Podcast: Emerging trends in the automotive supply chain

Tony Uphoff speaks with Steve Schmith, the host of the Daily Drive podcast about emerging trends in the automotive supply chain.  Topics include dual sourcing, reshoring, vertical integration, and what this means to the NA manufacturing sector.

Plastics Technology: Supply Chain Woes Meet the Cocktail-Party Topic Threshold

Conversations around the supply chain have become mainstream. 

"There are a bunch of different components coming together," Tony Uphoff, president and CEO of Thomas said, "and the reason the supply chain is becoming cocktail party conversation, I think, is that people are becoming all too aware of the complexities around all of these different components."

Thomas noted that printed circuit boards were the most-sourced products in the third quarter, owing to the ubiquity of computer-like interfaces and capabilities in everything from cars to refrigerators.

Consumer Talk with Michael Finney: The Coming Liquor Shortage

Tony Uphoff, president and CEO of Thomas talks to Michael Finney of KGO-810 Radio about the coming liquor shortage and what consumers need to know. 

Cloud Wars Podcast: Oh My: Supply Chains Have Become Sexy! - Episode 30

In this episode of Uphoff on Industry, Tony Uphoff and Bob Evans discuss supply chain disruption: why everyone is talking about it and the impact on the consumer economy over the next 12 months. 

Cheddar News: Liquor & Consumer Good Shortages

Shawn Fitzgerald, CMO at Thomas, an online platform for supplier discovery and product sourcing, was interviewed on Cheddar's News Wrap where he explained that the supply chain has been hit hard in terms of shipping and trucking opportunities as well as in the production of liquor bottles and labels. He discusses how the disruptions have also entered into consumer areas like furniture and household goods but noted the pandemic disruptions are likely temporary.

Supply Chain Dive: Shortages have created a 'traffic jam' in construction

The home building industry is facing labor constraints and shortages yet demand for material continues to remain high. 

Sourcing for building materials on supplier platform Thomasnet.com is up 115% year over year according to an August statement, with demand for lumber-related categories up an average of 81% year over year.