Today, March 30th, 2022, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives to recognize four businesses in the Second Congressional District combatting the unprecedented supply chain crisis.
Thank you, Mdm. Speaker, I rise today to speak on an issue that has directly impacted businesses and farmers across Iowa’s Second District.
The last few years have been challenging for all of us. Manufacturing has been hit hard, with rising costs and supply chain disruptions impacting numerous sectors of our economy.
Although much of life has returned to normal since the pandemic began, the slow movement of goods through our economy is creating major headaches for American families. Empty shelves are becoming all too common at stores. Goods from overseas are being delayed by weeks and even months, contributing to higher shelf prices. We are facing an unprecedented supply chain crisis.
The supply chain is extensively interwoven and the companies within it depend on each other to keep industry and thus the wider economy going. The supply chain is a disaster, it's in disarray.
In Iowa, agricultural producers are also feeling the crunch, with capacity for their goods being hampered by a combination of surging demand for containerized shipping and a massive backlog at our nation’s ports. This inefficiency has downstream effects on commodity prices, hurting farmers and ranchers across the country.
As global competition has increased, control over our supply chains has fallen into the hands of fewer and fewer countries, most notably China. Such geographic concentration of supply chains has left many U.S. companies vulnerable to disruption – something we're now acutely experiencing.
Vermeer Corporation in Pella has been working overtime to produce their famous yellow iron at a record pace despite these supply chain issues. Vermeer has even gone above and beyond during this difficult time, working to help out their customers and partners. Last fall, a group of Vermeer team members working at a supplier in Minnesota worked for six weeks, away from their families, to make the harnesses necessary to keep that beautiful yellow iron moving out the doors. Vermeer did whatever was necessary to get the job done, despite the supply chain issues they were facing.
Kent Corporation, headquartered in Muscatine, is a family-owned corporation that manufactures several food and beverage products. They’ve faced supply chain issues similar to all companies, but working mainly with agricultural products, impairment in their industry adds to the difficulties our agriculture producers and farmers face every day. All the while our farmers continue to deal with increased input costs.
CNH Industrial located in Burlington, their biggest facility by square footage in the United States, has also faced supply chain issues. During our visit, we heard first-hand about their difficulty getting essential parts for their equipment, but their employees innovated and started producing the much-needed stabilizer bar for their backhoes. The industry did not think it could be done right here in the United States. It was inspiring to see what the people of Iowa are capable of during these difficult times, but these visits showed me how much of an impact the supply chain disruptions have had on everyone throughout southeastern Iowa.
LoMont Molding in Mt Pleasant does custom plastics design and molding for HVAC and agriculture businesses, concrete accessories for roads and buildings, and chemicals with a market that reaches every corner of the world. Plastic shortages led them to use cast off and now 99% of their regrind is reformulated. They also purchased a corrugator machine to make their own cardboard boxes and dividers for shipping. By reducing imports from foreign companies, their customers have more reliability and dependability.
Delays in deliveries have forced manufacturers across the country to resort to unorthodox and expedited methods of getting critical supplies. All these companies have adapted and improvised and demonstrate the critical need for reliance on homegrown products and solutions by in-house innovation or on-shoring. Pretending the supply chain crisis doesn’t exist isn’t going to make it magically go away. It isn’t just a “high-class problem”.
This should not be a partisan issue. Let’s get to work and deliver real results that support businesses and farmers across this country.
Thank you, Mdm. Speaker, I yield back my time.
Original source can be found here
