Consumer confidence in the US declined to a 28-year low in November 2008 but the effects on supply chains are yet to be felt, suggests research from IPC, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries.
Despite the lowest consumer confidence in a generation in November last year the number of new orders of electrical products were up, suggesting the supply chain will soon experience a sharp contraction as the slowdown is passed through the chain to manufacturers.
A statement made by IPC read: "Although US new orders of electronic products were up in November, they are expected to contract in the coming months. EMS (electronics manufacturing services) shipments on average are also slightly up, but the growth rate in this industry is slowing.
"Supply chain sales are expected to contract in the coming months, driven by the decrease in end-product orders."
To any business with a supply chain, foresight is crucial to the stability of its operations, and so a business hoping to protect itself from the sudden jolt of a drop in demand could contact a supply chain management company.
A supply chain management company will have the experience to spread the risks involved with any supply chain in order to insulate a business from any unforeseen supplier failures or changes to the demand of a product.
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