3 out of 4 European shippers have experienced supply chain disruption in the past 12 months – more than half with significant cost impact
Copenhagen, Denmark – Repeatedly disrupted supply chains remain a major challenge for shippers across Europe with significant financial impact for their bottom lines. That’s one of the results of a comprehensive survey among more than 2,000 of Maersk’s customers across the Europe Region. More than 76% of the businesses have seen supply chain disruption having a knock-on effect and causing delays to their operations in the past 12 months. One fifth (22%) of the businesses counted more than 20 disruptive incidents over the past 12 months, and 1 in 3 businesses subsequently had difficulty securing necessary materials for production. 58% of the cargo owners said that the experienced disruptions in their supply chains caused much more costs than they envisaged.
The results of the customer survey clearly indicate that the logistics environment remains very disruptive, even after the impact of the COVID pandemic on supply chains has been fully resolved. The new disruptions are caused by various root causes while two main reasons are a rising number of geopolitical conflicts and tension as well as severe weather situations due to the dramatic climate change, e.g. low water levels in canals and important rivers, floodings which are destroying infrastructure as very recently in Spain. That was also reflected in the answers of the 2,000 logistics professionals: 80% of them see geopolitical instability or state-on-state conflicts as the biggest potential disruptors to their supply chain in 2024.
If there is one thing that we have learnt lately, it is that disruption is imminent, and we also know from our customers that they see it that way. But very importantly, we see that European businesses are conscious that the best way to tackle disruption is increasing resilience in supply chains. For us at Maersk, the survey brings a wealth of findings, allowing us to work on solutions that truly help our customers. Such understanding of what really matters to them and how they see the future is truly invaluable.
Another interesting finding is that more than 1 in 2 (53%) businesses are considering new sourcing locations in the wake of disruption, and 1 in 3 (33%) of them would choose a location close to or within European shores. The most prominent sourcing location being considered is Turkey (11% of respondents) followed by Egypt (7%), Poland (6%), Morocco (3%) and Romania (2%). Maersk is offering a great transportation network with rail, barge and other inland solutions as well as warehouses in all of these countries besides a comprehensive Intra Europe ocean network.
Read the full report here: European Business Resilience 2024 | Maersk
About Maersk
A.P. Moller - Maersk is an integrated logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. As a global leader in logistics services, the company operates in more than 130 countries and employs around 100,000 people. Maersk is aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2040 across the entire business with new technologies, new vessels, and low-emission fuels.
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