When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the immediate health crisis was just the first of a long line of problems that tech company Voltera had to overcome.
The Kitchener, Ont.,-based circuit board printer maker was still recovering from an aluminum shortage when the pandemic grounded international commercial flights Voltera relies on to ship products, so it switched to slower ocean freighters.
Costs began to soar as demand for shipping services surged. Voltera then started having difficulty acquiring certain parts after its plastic manufacturer was contracted by the U.S. government for COVID materials. On top of that, a shortage of semiconductors materialized.
"It was like popping holes in a boat," recalled Shawn Baron, Voltera's operations manager.
Voltera's experience is similar to what other Canadian tech companies faced as the pandemic upended global manufacturing processes, shipping times and supply chains.
They predict it will be months -- at the very least -- until their processes are back to normal and warn it will take even longer to make up for lost profits and elevated costs.
Baron said Voltera's sales took a 20 per cent hit compared to 2019 and though his company absorbed that blow, he believes others will be dealing with COVID-19 ripple effects for a long time.
Experts are predicting it will take years to clear the shortage of semiconductors, known as chips, that emerged when people purchased more gadgets for their increased time at home, factories closed to quell the disease, a Japanese plant was engulfed by fire and a Texas facility was shut down by a cold snap.
Apple has warned the shortage could cut US$4 billion from its sales, General Motors temporarily laid off 1,500 workers at its Ingersoll, Ont. plant because of the lack of chips its vehicles require and Canadian toymaker Spin Master Corp. previously it was considering price increases to deal with the situation.
Shipping is also experiencing upheaval. The Drewry World Container Index shows the rate to move a container from Rotterdam to New York reached US$1,142 this week and surged by 107 per cent since last year. The Shanghai-Rotterdam route was even more expensive at US$13,787, up 637 per cent from last year.
"And the container price itself is only a part of our total shipping cost," said David Coode, the chief executive officer at Sera4, a Waterloo industrial keyless lock company.
"We have the port fees, the loading fees, the customs and brokerage clearance and all of those things."
He's seen shipping costs triple and quadruple, has heard of containers surging from $2,000 to $15,000 each and said insurance is on the rise too.
To add to the headaches, one of the world's busiest cargo ports, Ningbo-Zhoushan in eastern China, partially closed in recent weeks to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak, causing port delays many expect to stretch into next year.
The closure comes after roughly 1,150 dock workers at the Port of Montreal staged a strike in March, massive cargo ships were sitting at anchor in California as staff struggled to keep up with unloading in April and a blockage in the Suez Canal snarled transport times during the spring.
Sera4 uses ports in South Africa often, but found during and after the Suez blockage others started diverting their shipments there too.
"Those ports got clogged and the knock on effect was really, really difficult," Coode said.
"I don't know when that's going to get back to normal."
Even those who stuck with or switched to air freight were not unscathed.
The Baltic Exchange Air Freight Index, which tracks global air freight capacity and prices, found rates on Hong Kong to U.S. routes averaged US$8.70 per kilogram in May, the highest they had been all year. The price has since slipped to US$7.90 per kilogram in July, but remains about double the US$3.44 per kilogram rate shippers paid in the summer of 2019.
Those who were willing to pay those prices also had to contend with a lack of capacity because fewer commercial planes in the air during lockdowns meant less space for goods.
Supply chain problems are common and the product of years of strict and long production networks spread out over vast distances, said Dan Breznitz.
The University of Toronto professor and Munk chair of innovation studies said companies would benefit from shorter and more regional networks, but business leaders seldom pursue them because of prices, competition and comfort.
"Everything we have opted not to remember and not to be aware of comes to haunt us now," he said.
"Companies suddenly realized that things that they thought are mundane and that they shouldn't worry about like who produces what and where are suddenly things that became critical."
When one region specializes in certain parts or products for much of the world, one hiccup can impact entire industries and fixing a snafu can be costly and time consuming, Breznitz said.
He hopes Canada will analyze issues highlighted by the pandemic and try to address them.
The U.S., for example, is mapping out its supply chains. The goal, said Breznitz, isn't to completely replace products or parts from popular manufacturing countries like China and India, but find ways to bring some of those capabilities to the U.S.
Breznitz thinks Canada should join in and create a North American supply chain plan.
"We want to make sure this is an opportunity of a lifetime," he said. "But that will not happen without coordination and thinking."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 30, 2021
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking members of the United Nations to counter growing political polarization abroad while taking shots at Conservative rhetoric at home.
This week, Avery Haines follows migrants' harrowing journeys across the Darien Gap. Strict new rules to stem the flood of migrants through the notorious stretch of dense jungle appear to be working, but advocates fear it could backfire.
Health Canada issued a recall last week for various sexual enhancement products for containing prescribed drugs like tadalafil and sildenafil.
It had been 48 hours since the winds and rains from Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina and Sam Perkins still had not heard from his parents.
Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday after a battle with brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58.
If you're struggling to find a name for your baby, you may find some inspiration in a new list of popular names.
A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.
Officials tell The Associated Press that Israel has launched small, precision raids across the border in Lebanon and that a larger ground operation is being planned.
Thousands of years ago in the Himalayas, a river ate a smaller river and gave an unexpected boost to Everest's height, scientists have discovered.
A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.
The son of a Canadian couple killed during Israeli strikes on Lebanon last week says Ottawa must do more to help citizens leave the country as fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group intensifies.
Seas of orange shirts have come to represent a growing awareness of Canada's history of oppressing Indigenous Peoples – but that awareness must translate into more "substantive changes" from the government, according to a B.C. chief.
A child was sent to hospital after being attacked by a coyote in northwest Calgary.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
Dockworkers kicked off a three-day strike at the Port of Montreal on Monday, shutting down two terminals that handle more than 40 per cent of the container traffic at Canada's second-largest port.
For the first time in Rwanda’s history, its health ministry is dealing with an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, a rare but deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola – but unlike Ebola, there is no treatment or vaccines for Marburg, and it has a fatality rate of 88 per cent.
A man who authorities say spent 12 hours camped outside Donald Trump's golf course before Secret Service spotted him with a rifle pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal charges including attempted assassination.
Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together undercards who have spent two months going after each other and the opposing nominees who top the major-party tickets.
Nearly 6,000 people in Haiti are starving, with nearly half the country's population of more than 11 million people experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse as gang violence smothers life in the capital of Port-au-Prince and beyond, according to a new report released Monday.
Officials tell The Associated Press that Israel has launched small, precision raids across the border in Lebanon and that a larger ground operation is being planned.
A California man was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year, federal prosecutors said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking members of the United Nations to counter growing political polarization abroad while taking shots at Conservative rhetoric at home.
The Liberal government is announcing more details on its existing strategy and funding to fight hate crimes.
Migrant groups are pushing the federal government to reverse its cap on international study permits and tightening post-graduate work permit qualifications, claiming it will leave many students 'in limbo.'
Health Canada issued a recall last week for various sexual enhancement products for containing prescribed drugs like tadalafil and sildenafil.
The family of Kendyl Smith-Trimm, a young girl who bravely battled cancer, has raised a staggering $66,500 in her memory for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
The fertility rate in Canada reached an all-time low in 2023, and the lowest rate was recorded in British Columbia, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday's arrival of a SpaceX capsule.
The space rock — 2024 PT5 — was first spotted in August by astronomers at Complutense University of Madrid using a powerful telescope located in Sutherland, South Africa.
Canadian innovators and technical leaders gathered in Ottawa Thursday to demonstrate the latest cutting-edge technology.
A New Mexico judge on Monday denied 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed's request for new trial and upheld her involuntary manslaughter conviction for the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Oasis shocked fans by announcing a reunion tour last month, ending a 15-year hiatus and, presumably, the long-held feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. But those were only U.K. dates. On Monday, the band shared that they're planning on heading to North America in 2025, too.
Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, has died.
Three tobacco giants are yet again seeking to extend an order suspending legal proceedings against them, as they negotiate a settlement with creditors in a long-running case involving an order to pay out billions to some 100,000 smokers and their loved ones.
Dockworkers kicked off a three-day strike at the Port of Montreal on Monday, shutting down two terminals that handle more than 40 per cent of the container traffic at Canada's second-largest port.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resetting of the economy that followed it made hourly workers more aware of their value. Some experts think employers should expect to field demands for flexible hours and other workplace incentives even as the labor market weakens.
Have you been caught in a bind, far from home, that could have been avoided with the timely purchase of an insurance package? We want to hear from you.
Kim Ruether lifted her son's eyelid and saw his still, dilated pupil staring at the ceiling as he lay on a stretcher in a northwestern Alberta hospital hallway a decade ago. She says she didn't need a doctor to tell her the boy was dead.
Many people consider eating less meat, be it for health, environmental or animal-welfare reasons. (Livestock accounts for nearly half of agricultural emissions fueling climate change.) But they sometimes hesitate because they are concerned about how they would replace all that lost protein.
Ryan Hunter's athleticism has been on full display since his arrival in the CFL, but the Canadian's versatility is now shining through.
Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.
Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday after a battle with brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58.
General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle division will pay a US$1.5 million penalty after the unit failed to fully report a crash involving a pedestrian, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday.
A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
A U.S. driver somehow squeezed her vehicle through a parkade hallway at a Metro Vancouver casino Thursday, before getting stuck at an elevator bank.
On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.
A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.
A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.
Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.
A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.
An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.
The residential “school†survivor whose story sparked Orange Shirt Day — and the “Every Child Matters†movement — says she is worried the cause is being forgotten.
British Columbia drivers are reminded that winter tires and chains are mandatory on most highways in the province starting Tuesday.
A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.
Toronto police have charged a suspect with second-degree murder following a deadly stabbing at a Scarborough home on Sunday afternoon.
Toronto police say they have identified two suspects who allegedly assaulted and spat at police during a pro-Palestinian protest downtown earlier this month, and they are trying to identify one more.
Ryan Hunter's athleticism has been on full display since his arrival in the CFL, but the Canadian's versatility is now shining through.
Blood Tribe Chief Roy Fox says the death of Jon Wells on Sept. 17 after a scuffle with police at a Calgary hotel has brought back memories of a public inquiry in the 1980s that “underscored the cultural gap†between his community and police.
The Calgary police homicide unit is investigating after two people were found dead in a home in the community of Penbrooke Meadows.
A 14-year-old has been missing from Marlborough for two weeks, and police are hoping you can help find them.
The streets of downtown Ottawa are turning into a sea of orange with hundreds of people already in place on Parliament Hill ahead of a ceremony to honour the survivors of Canada's residential school system and the children who never made it home.
Health Canada has granted a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to one of Lowertown's safe consumption sites that will allow the facility to continue operating.
Ontario Provincial Police laid charges against an Ottawa driver after a child was found to not be wearing a seatbelt inside a vehicle early Sunday morning.
A 19-year-old man convicted of killing a Montreal teenager outside his school in October 2021 was sentenced to six years on Monday.
Several windows were damaged and spray painted with 'Free Gaza' during a protest at Concordia University Sunday night, Montreal police say.
A group of 23 bilingual municipalities are in Quebec Superior Court today to ask a judge to suspend the application of several portions of the province's 2022 language reform.
Mike Hoffman's shot at a spot on the Edmonton Oilers' roster is over.
Mounties say one person is dead in the aftermath of a collision involving two vehicles south of Calmar on Sunday.
Kim Ruether lifted her son's eyelid and saw his still, dilated pupil staring at the ceiling as he lay on a stretcher in a northwestern Alberta hospital hallway a decade ago. She says she didn't need a doctor to tell her the boy was dead.
More than a hundred people marched on Cape Breton’s Membertou First Nation on Monday – the fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The St. Andrews Historical Society in St. Andrews, N.B., announced that it would exhibit “one of the most significant 18th-century treaties between Great Britain and two First Nations of Canada†at Drewhaven Town & Country on Thursday.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
Residents in Tadoule Lake, Man., and Churchill can expect to see heavy rain trickle in Sunday afternoon, lingering until Monday evening.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen touched down in Winnipeg this week, ahead of his lunar mission set to launch in a year’s time.
Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews believe a candle caused a major house fire in the city’s William Whyte neighbourhood Sunday afternoon.
A man is in custody after allegedly robbing a business in McLean, Sask. with an edged weapon on Saturday.
The Friends of the Regina Public Library (FRPL) sponsored an architectural tour on Sunday, for folks looking to learn more about the history of the library's historic central branch.
With the writs expected to drop this week for the Saskatchewan general election, political experts say Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party is on track for a fifth majority government but will lose seats to Carla Beck's NDP.
An Etobicoke resident was taken to hospital after he told a Guelph Police officer he had been stabbed during Homecoming celebrations near the University of Guelph.
A woman has been charged as part of a murder investigation in Brantford.
A Guelph woman has been charged after another woman said her boyfriend was shot with a BB gun during an argument over smoking.
With the writs expected to drop this week for the Saskatchewan general election, political experts say Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party is on track for a fifth majority government but will lose seats to Carla Beck's NDP.
Monday marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation across Canada — a time to honour the Indigenous peoples impacted by the brutal legacy of residential schools.
The fourth and final walk in memory of Megan Gallagher drew around one hundred people in Saskatoon on Sunday.
A 73-year-old man on a mobility scooter was killed Sunday night in Sudbury after being hit by a vehicle on Lasalle Boulevard and Barry Downe Road.
There were some tense moments in downtown Sudbury on Saturday night after patrol officers found a pipe bomb in the trunk of a vehicle during a traffic stop.
A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.
A pair of homes are destroyed on Penhale Avenue in St. Thomas, Ont. after an electrical fire set a garage ablaze Sunday night.
Students from three elementary schools in the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) were taking part in a day of learning on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The City of London is informing drivers about temporary road restrictions on Wellington Street as part of the Downtown Loop Phase 3 finishing work and surface paving.
The fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation saw plenty of community members gathering across Barrie on Monday, reflecting on the impacts of residential schools and honouring survivors.
Around 20 South Simcoe Police officers attended the 47th annual Canadian Police and Peace Officers' Memorial Service in Ottawa on Sunday with three fallen constables in their hearts.
An early Sunday morning fire in Colgan that caused significant damage is under investigation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $11,000 US from an inbound American citizen at the Ambassador Bridge.
A section of Drouillard Road will close this week for an infrastructure renewal project.
The City of Windsor has unveiled plans for the “Park in Perfect Harmony†initiative in the downtown core.
The residential “school†survivor whose story sparked Orange Shirt Day — and the “Every Child Matters†movement — says she is worried the cause is being forgotten.
British Columbia drivers are reminded that winter tires and chains are mandatory on most highways in the province starting Tuesday.
Seas of orange shirts have come to represent a growing awareness of Canada's history of oppressing Indigenous Peoples – but that awareness must translate into more "substantive changes" from the government, according to a B.C. chief.
Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.
A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.
A man and woman have been charged after a Lethbridge ice creamery was broken into earlier this week. Staff arrived at Cookie Crimes, in the 300 block of Sixth Street South, just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday to discover the front window broken.
Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
Ontario Provincial Police remind the public that ‘a case is never closed until it is solved,’ while highlighting the force's continued investigation of the 1996 disappearance of Melanie Ethier.
Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at Â鶹´«Ã½. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
