Even Suez Canal Blockage Can’t Hold Back Red-Hot Global Trade

04/01/2021

|

Paul Hannon | Josh Mitchell | WSJ

Factories around the world are struggling to keep up with soaring demand for all types of goods as the global economic recovery from the pandemic accelerates.

In the U.S., factory production and product sales soared in March, according to the Institute for Supply Management, an industry trade group. Its index of factory activity—a measure that takes into account new orders for goods, production, inventory levels and commodity prices—rose to 64.7 last month from 60.8 in February. Any figure above 50 suggests industry expansion.

The expansion—driven largely by American consumers venturing out in public again armed with government stimulus money—was broad based, with demand rising from every major industry, from restaurants to chemical companies.

To read the full article from the Wall Street Journal, please click here