“I think we’re bouncing from one disaster to another,” says Jason Webb, managing director at Sussex manufacturer Electronic Temperature Instruments (ETI), neatly summing up the state of the world today.
Webb lists a series of ominous challenges his business is facing. Some of the firm’s thermometers use a particular microchip, the price of which has rocketed from around £4 per unit pre-pandemic, to £60 today. His company is also competing for components with thousands of other firms, which means the parts often end up going to the highest bidder.
“Our products sell for under £100, so even an extra £10 on a chip [that might have previously cost £1] is really critical to us.” Unfortunately, car manufacturers also use the chips ETI needs – and absorbing an extra £10 into vehicle cost is much easier. Deliveries of parts are slower than ever, too. Widgets that once took 12 to 36 weeks to arrive, now take between 70 and 100.
Then there’s the impact of today...