October 9, 2020 • Posted in Daily Bulletin, News

COVID-19 Bulletin: October 9

Good Afternoon,

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Supply

Supply Chain

  • Hurricane Delta, a Category 3 storm, is expected to make landfall on the Louisiana coastline Friday evening. It is the sixth hurricane to strike the U.S. gulf in the past several months.
  • The approaching hurricane has curtailed port operations along the Gulf Coast.
  • Much of Japan is being battered by slow-moving Typhoon Chan-hom as it passes along the nation’s southern coast.
  • As 22 major wildfires continue to burn in California, the forecast calls for the possibility of light rain Saturday in Northern California with dry conditions returning next week.
  • The month of September saw a 7.1% year-over-year increase in containers and trailers carried by U.S. railroads. It was the fourth-busiest month ever for intermodal rail traffic.
  • Global freight container traffic jumped 1.5% in August, the first year-over-year increase in traffic since the pandemic began.
  • India is exploiting disruption in global supply chains by subsidizing 16 manufacturers of mobile phones and electronic parts to strengthen its position as a global manufacturing center and fulfill more domestic demand.
  • With tight freight capacity nationwide and supply constraints with many plastic resins, clients are advised to provide expanded lead times on orders to help ensure delivery dates.

Markets

  • The U.S. reported more than 56,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest level since mid-August and second-most behind more than 78,000 new cases in India. The death toll in the U.S. has passed 211,000, with 961 reported Thursday.
  • Average daily infections are averaging more than 45,000 this week, an 8% increase from last week’s average.
  • Thirty-two states have rising infection trends this week.
  • On Thursday, New York and New Jersey both recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases since May. State officials are anticipating a second wave as the weather gets colder and people stay indoors.
  • Wisconsin and the Dakotas lead all states in new COVID-19 cases per capita with hospital beds filling up rapidly.
  • After vacillating earlier this week, the White House is again signaling support for a large-scale stimulus bill. The house speaker and treasury secretary resumed talks on the bill Thursday.
  • The U.S. budget deficit hit a record $3.1 trillion in the fiscal year ended September 30, triple the deficit in 2019 and 15.2% of GDP, the highest percentage since 1945.
  • Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal believe jobs in the U.S. won’t recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2023 or later.
New Jobs Stagnating in US

International

  • A surge of 96,996 new COVID-19 cases in Europe Thursday sealed a record increase in global one-day infections (338,000+), according to the World Health Organization. Cases are rising in 54 countries, with surges in Europe, Canada and Argentina.
  • Poland registered record daily COVID-19 infections today for the fourth consecutive day.
  • The Czech Republic has registered record COVID-19 infections for the past three days.
  • New infections in Russia topped 12,000 today, a record.
  • Governments across Europe held emergency sessions to plan countermeasures against the spreading virus, including new shutdowns and social distancing mandates.
  • GDP in the U.K. rose a disappointing 2.1% in August, less than half analyst estimates and a third of the growth rate in July, indicating its recovery is slowing. Output remains 10% below pre-pandemic levels.
  • China, which has experienced no community spread of COVID-19 since early August, saw a surge in domestic travel and tourism in its just ended Golden Week holiday.
  • China has joined an $18 billion effort backed by the World Health Organization to help provide lower-income countries with an eventual COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Cautious Japanese consumers pocketed government stimulus handouts, sending the nation’s savings rate to 44% through August, a two-decade high.
  • The mental health toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is reflected in Japan, where the increasing number of suicides this year outnumbers virus deaths by more than 10,000.
  • The U.S. Federal Reserve joined six other central banks in a meeting today to plan for eventual digital currencies.
  • Japan will begin testing a digital currency next year.

Our Operations

  • 3D Market Manager Haleyanne Freedman and Jacob Fallon, Braskem’s Technology Engineer for 3D Printing, co-hosted a webinar on Polypropylene Advancements in 3D Printing this week. Watch the recording here.
  • Stop by M. Holland’s virtual booth at IWCS to meet our team of Wire & Cable experts. The M. Holland team is exhibiting October 15-16 from 8 am to 1 pm ET. Click here to learn more.
  • Plastics News featured an article on our new partnership with JL Goor in Ireland
  • Global Healthcare Manager Josh Blackmore will be a featured speaker at the Plastics in Healthcare Virtual Edition, sponsored by Plastics News, October 26-30. The title of his talk: Applying the Lessons from the First Wave of COVID-19 to Successfully Navigate the Second
  • To access 3D Printing training, order parts and seek technical assistance, visit our new online resource.
  • Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets. To arrange a videoconference or meeting with any of our Market Managers, please visit our website.

Thank you,

M. Holland Company

We will provide further COVID-19 bulletins as circumstances dictate. For all COVID-19 updates and notices, please refer to the M. Holland website.

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