Free Republic

The Biden Administration’s regulations are coming so fast and furious that it’s hard even to keep track, but we’re trying. On Thursday the Environmental Protection Agency proposed its latest doozy—rules that will effectively force coal plants to shut down while banning new natural-gas plants. “With the announcement today, the power sector can make planning decisions with a full array of information,” EPA’s press release declares. Translation: Get moving with the green-energy transition because we’re determined to eliminate fossil-fuel power. Barack Obama’s regulation spurred a wave of coal plant closures. Now President Biden is trying to finish the job by tightening...

The Port of Baltimore is “closed until further notice” following the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy, sending several industries into disarray and jeopardizing national security. In 2023, the port handled a record amount of international cargo, ranked ninth for both dollar value and tonnage in the United States. Vital for both imports and exports of a variety of commodities, the Port of Baltimore has always had international significance and the impact of its closure will be wide-ranging and long-term for the supply chain in the United States and beyond. Given the seriousness of this issue, Congress must come together to...

WASHINGTON — Problems with an upgrade installed on some Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters rolling off the production line have now disrupted plans to incorporate those upgrades on existing aircraft, and the F-35 Joint Program Office does not have a date for when those jets will get the much-anticipated retrofits. The F-35 program “was scheduled to begin TR-3 [Technology Refresh 3] retrofits in April 2024 with the intent to modify 149 aircraft over the subsequent 12-month period,” JPO spokesperson Russ Goemaere told Breaking Defense. But now, “[t]he Program is working closely with F-35 customers to establish a new start...

“… Others believe this was a deliberate attack of US infrastructure based on various factors that do not seem to add up. Could it have been an inside job or a foreign agent? The truth will come to light, as it always does. Let me begin by explaining how crucial the Francis Scott Key Bridge was to America’s supply chain. Around 52.3 million tons of international cargo estimated to be worth $80.8 billion passed through the port in 2023. Around 4,900 trucks, carrying around $28 billion in goods, must be rerouted due to the bridge collapse. It is the second...

When I awoke early on Tuesday morning, I was stunned to learn that the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore had collapsed. We are being told that it was a tragic “accident” and that there is no evidence that any foul play was involved. Hopefully that is true. But no matter how it was caused, this tragedy is going to have an enormous impact on U.S. supply chains. And of course this comes at a really bad time, because Houthi missile strikes in the Red Sea and low water levels in the Panama Canal have been putting a tremendous amount...

Wendy’s is preparing to test an “Uber-style” surge-pricing model where prices will fluctuate throughout the day based on demand — meaning a Dave’s burger will cost more during the lunchtime rush. Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner — who rose to the chief role earlier this month — announced the new system on a call with investors, noting that the pricing menu will begin testing in 2025, Daily Mail earlier reported. With the dynamic pricing model, the chain’s iconic Dave’s Single could increase by as much as $1 at lunchtime and drop down by the same amount after the lunch rush. With...

WND reported just days ago on a video that showed empty stores in France, where a climate agenda threatened the production processes for farmers, and they more or less staged a strike.And just recently, in Germany, farmers blocked highways in protest over costly and unnecessary agriculture policies.Now, however, there's a new campaign against farmers, in which the United Nations works with banks to debank the food producers, closing their accounts and not allowing them to operate their businesses.The report is from NewsAddicts, which explained officials from 12 U.S. states have sounded an alarm after finding out the "unelected globalist United...

Farmers not sufficiently 'woke' can have accounts shut down without notice.. Farmers are under attack in multiple food-producing nations now... empty stores in France, where a climate agenda threatened the production processes for farmers, and they more or less staged a strike. ... And just recently, in Germany, farmers blocked highways in protest over costly and unnecessary agriculture policies. Now, however, there's a new campaign against farmers, in which the United Nations works with banks to debank the food producers, closing their accounts and not allowing them to operate their businesses. ... officials from 12 U.S. states have sounded an...

For months, a withering drought has created major traffic jams at the Panama Canal. The drought, which may have been exacerbated by climate change, has left the canal’s water levels lower than ever, forcing Panama to let fewer ships through. The restrictions have led to delays, increased shipping costs, and uncertainty over the future of one of the world’s critical trade chokepoints. “This has fundamentally changed how shipping through the canal works,” said Soren Stokkebaek Andersen, a regional commercial manager at Leth Agencies, a shipping agency.

The American economy can’t catch a break. In addition to the massive price inflation of food, cars, housing, energy, and so many other elements, international companies are now suffering from a near-doubling of ocean transportation costs in just the past three months, due to simultaneous crises in Central America and the Red Sea that have restricted international shipping through the Panama and Suez Canals. This is adding to the cost of goods all over the world, along with damaging lead times, as longer transits cause disruptions to both factory schedules and retail offerings. For thousands of years, ocean carriers moved...

In early 2020 in the midst of the covid lockdowns, blue states run by leftist governors pursued mandates with extreme prejudice. In red states like Montana, after the first month or two most of us simply ignored the restrictions and went on with life as usual. It was clear that covid was not the threat federal authorities made it out to be. However, in states like Michigan the vice was squeezed tighter and tighter under the direction of shady leaders like Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer used covid as an opportunity to institute some bizarre limitations on the public, including a mandate...

Supply chain snags are driving up the prices for fish and chips. As many as half of the U.K.’s “chippies” could shut down. HASTINGS, England — Ever since she was old enough to walk, Terrilea Coglan was climbing aboard fishing boats that set sail each morning from the rocky beachfront of Hastings to harvest the key ingredient in Britain’s most iconic dish: fish and chips. The day’s catch travels just a short way from the boats up to the seaside fish and chips shops, or “chippies,” that pride themselves as much in the freshness of the fish as in the...

The ongoing scarcity of critical medications has trapped Americans between a rock and a hard place.Active national drug shortages hit a 10-year high this year, leaving many health care providers, pharmacies, and hospitals without enough life-saving and supportive medications, according to data collected by the University of Utah Drug Information Service.A survey by the same university in July found that 99 percent of the 1,123 pharmacists who responded—many of whom work in hospitals—reported shortages. One-third of the pharmacists listed the shortages as "critically impactful," which is defined as being forced to ration medication or delay or even cancel medical treatments.The...

Joe Biden's economy is a disaster, but that doesn't mean it can't get worse. A couple of little publicized commerce/transport events make new problems, specifically, shortages of consumer goods, all but certain. Start with what's going on around the Saudi Arabian peninsula, where Houthi rebel rocket and drone attacks on ten commercial ships has reached crisis levels, and major shipping lines, such as Maersk, have opted to go around the horn of Africa the way Magellan had to do, in order to deliver their cargo loads to Europe and beyond.According to the trade publication Insurance Journal:Shipping in the Red Sea...

The Biden-Harris regime has announced a new “White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience.” This new council is charged with preventing such problems as we experienced in the famous “supply chain crisis” of 2021 and early 2022 that preceded, and contributed to creating the current economic downturn. Granted, the Biden-Harris regime had already created a “Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force” in the first months of 2021, virtually as soon as they changed the names and dress sizes on the White House letterhead, and that didn’t seem to help. Maybe they’re hoping we forgot about that one. But then again, maybe...

Dec 4, 2023 1 in 10 New Yorkers struggle with hunger, and due to recent budget cuts, food pantries and other city funded nutrition programs may experience shortages. It is going to get very scary in NYC soon.

As part of his Bidenomics agenda to lower costs for American families, President Biden is announcing nearly 30 new actions to strengthen supply chains critical to America’s economic and national security. These actions will help Americans get the products they need when they need them, enable reliable deliveries for businesses, strengthen our agriculture and food systems, and support good-paying, union jobs here at home. President Biden will announce these actions alongside members of his Cabinet and other senior Administration officials at the inaugural meeting of the new White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience. The Council, which President Biden is...

We all know about gold and guns. But here are some important provisions that might not occur to most people. Our national descent into the hellish landscape of climate hysteria, virulent Jew-hatred in the streets, and Marxist-Leninist despotism continues unabated. Due to runaway inflation and the massive federal debt, the dollar’s value has shrunk like a cheap cotton towel washed in hot water. Weekly grocery bills and energy costs have almost doubled since 2021, while real wage growth has declined due to the economic strangulation of progressive bureaucratic regulation and nonexistent congressional oversight. Combine this bleak economic outlook with our...

JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania — Two months ago, 30,000 truckers at Yellow lost their jobs when one of the nation’s oldest and largest trucking companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Last week, Convoy, the digital freight broker that was supposed to reinvent the wheel and disrupt the trucking industry in a positive way, also abruptly shuttered its doors. These kinds of closings by both freight carriers lay bare the uncertain state of trucking, an industry that is an indicator of the mood of the consumer and also the beating heart of our economy. “In my opinion, this industry is heading in...

Supply chains are not something most of us think about on a day-to-day basis. Or they weren't, until the last few years, when we've been exposed, at least on the right, to the fragility and susceptibility of said supply chains. This author works in the shipping industry and has a few thoughts. First and foremost, one needs a rudimentary understanding of how the supply chain actually works, so here is a summation. Let's call it Supply Chain 101: 1. A producer creates goods. 2. Goods need to get to market, which is handled by shippers. 3. Markets may be local,...