Search

• We propose a new metric of supply chain exposure to network concentration risk: the pass-through frequency (PTF). • The PTF measures the frequency that a supply chain engages with the industrial sectors in a particular region of analytical concerns (natural hazards, geopolitical risks). • The PTF as a frequency-based indicator is compared with "trade in value-added" as a volume-based indicator, so that the supply chain exposure is evaluated in two analytical dimensions. • An empirical analysis using multi-country input-output tables shows that the US ICT equipment sector is highly skewed towards frequency-based concentration in China's production system, raising likelihood of getting caught by any contingency in the country. • The analysis of mutual risk positions for the US and China's supply chains reveals a notable asymmetry in the dependence structure between the two countries. In this paper, we present new referential statistics for the degree of supply chain exposure to network concentration risk. The study's contribution rests on the development of a metric that indicates network concentration in terms of the frequency of supply chain engagement with the regions of analytical concern, alongside the traditional approach based on volume measurement of value-added concentration. Japan, a country with a high propensity to encounter natural hazards, and China, under mounting geopolitical tension with the United States, are chosen as the target regions for the assessment of network concentration. In addition, the highly asymmetric structure of mutual economic dependency in the US-China relations is identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the strength and significance of global maritime trade in general, and Israeli maritime trade in particular. Furthermore, it seeks to analyze the various disruptions that have affected maritime trade in recent years, including exceptional events such as climate phenomena, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Swords of Iron war, whose ramifications are only beginning to emerge. In particular, this paper discusses the current disruptions in supply chains due to the Iranian and Houthi attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea. These disruptions indicate numerous weak points in the stability and operation of global supply chains, which are crucial for the national economies and security of numerous countries, particularly Israel. Over the past three years, the world has experienced a series of extreme events that have significantly affected various aspects of life, especially the global economy. This paper examines these events and their repercussions on global geo-logistics--the distribution of supply chains according to level and type. Additionally, it includes a description and analysis of Israeli foreign trade, specifically highlighting the import processes and the types of cargo that have been affected by the disruptions during the period in question. Israel's grain imports, which are vital for the country both in normal circumstances as well as during emergencies, are used as a case study. Furthermore, the paper also surveys the operational conditions, including challenges faced in the ports of origin of the various cargoes and recent challenges within this market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article utilizes the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to decide how to choose an effective weapon system for the A2/AD (anti-access/area denial) strategy at the Sunda Strait, Indonesia's strategic choke point. The main discussion is limited to selecting the types of weapon systems considered effective in implementing A2/AD at Indonesia's strategic choke points. The next step is to decide which primary, secondary, and alternative criteria are the most important. Each of these will then be put together mathematically by measuring consistency using the Consistency Index (CI), the Consistency Ratio (CR), and the Consistency Hierarchy, which is the ranking as the result of the analysis. This method resulting in a weight for the navigation criteria of 66%, projection of 19%, and operability of 16%. Furthermore, in conclusion, the order of the best weapon systems is RBS15 MK4 with a weight of 66%, Brahmos II at 18%, and Neptune 360ST at 16%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of logistics have embraced the "choke point" thesis: the notion that a strategically positioned group of workers or insurgents can exercise outsize power by disrupting the circulation of goods through the supply chain. This article examines this proposition through the case of Coco Solo, Panama, an informal community situated at the epicentre of Panama's transit economy but persistently excluded from its benefits. Between 2001 and 2014, as part of a protracted struggle over housing, Coco Solo residents repeatedly blockaded key ports and logistics facilities. Despite their location at a critical node in global capitalist commodity circuits, the community's actions met with limited success. I draw on the case to refine existing theorisations of logistical resistance, emphasising the contingent factors that influence the effectiveness of such tactics, the diverse contexts in which they are mobilised, and the value of going beyond workerist and insurrectionist accounts of supply chain disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global trade is often understood by trade union officials to be an abstract policy-level issue without a direct role for workers or shop floor influence. As the UK establishes an independent trade policy in the wake of Brexit, this article explores the concept of strategic supply chain organizing as the basis for a shop steward-led strategy to counter the industrial impact of trade. Based on interviews with Unite shop stewards and work with the union's Research Department, this article explores efforts within Unite the Union, the largest private and public sector trade union in the UK and Ireland, to advance such a strategy through the union's activist shop stewards and democratic structures. While considering the limitations of existing union approaches to trade issues as well as the challenges of developing such a strategy within the context of a large multisector trade union, the article puts forward a methodology of applied industrial research rooted in the principles of workers' inquiry and supply chain solidarity. Taken together, the article considers the potential for new collaboration between the union's shop stewards within supply chains to more fully realize their latent collective industrial power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]