Continuing with the global supply chain, 2021 looks set to be one of the most complex years in living memory. The sharp increase in consumption in developed countries - and especially in the US - generated a severe imbalance in container availability and high congestion at the main shipping and destination ports. The closure of the Suez Canal in March for a week due to the grounding of the giant container ship Even Given added to the pressure on the chain. In mid-June, an outbreak of Covid forced a shutdown of operations at the port of Yantian, one of China's main export points. The stoppage, which is estimated to take six to eight weeks to return to normal, added more chaos to the already existing chaos. The result? Rising freight rates and difficulties in arriving with enough products for the peak selling seasons of late summer and building inventories for holiday sales.