The Covid-19 pandemic rocked global supply chains – with the epoxy putty stick market hit particularly hard. And the disruption did not end when lockdowns were lifted. It continued for many months beyond 2021 after people were allowed to socialise in pubs and attend mass-entertainment events again.
There were many contributory factors why the pandemic impacted epoxy resins so much. Factories, shipping operations and logistics were all heavily impacted by lockdowns, workforce shortages and sudden demand shifts.
All of this caused resin scarcity and heightened prices globally. Which in turn created an epoxy putty stick shortage, impacting industries from pipe repair to autosports to model makers who just wanted to sculpt Warhammer figures.
Five years on from when Covid-19 first emerged in China, we look at what lessons have been learnt by the epoxy stick market about how to survive supply shortages caused by unexpected circumstances like pandemics or trade wars.
China and the epoxy putty stick supply chain
As the initial epicentre of Covid-19, China imposed some of the strictest lockdowns in the world. These included shutting down key industrial hubs like Shanghai, bringing ports and freight operations to a standstill. Trucking capacity dropped to below 20 percent and backlog at container ports surged.
China is a leading exporter of both epoxy putty sticks and the raw components which go into making them. So, these disruptions not only prevent finished products leaving China. But they also meant epoxy putty stick manufacturers in North America – the other main exporter to the global market – were unable to produce sticks due to a lack of input materials.
The pandemic highlighted very clearly the pitfalls of an overreliance on China for epoxy putty stick manufacturing and supply.
Amplified epoxy putty stick demand meets constrained supply
Most analysis of supply issues caused by Covid-19 tends to focus on the disruption to imports and exports. The global epoxy putty stick market faced an additional challenge as demand from end-users soared.
With people stuck at home and placed on furlough in the United Kingdom and other similar schemes worldwide, many opted to fill their time with DIY.
The owner of B&Q and Screwfix reported sales of DIY products jumped by 21.6 percent during the first three months of UK lockdown in 2020.
Epoxy putty sticks are an essential DIY product for general repairs and application. In terms of pipe repair, there was an increase in people trying to fix leaks and bursts themselves rather than require contact with a plumber.
A considerable number of people also turned to model making and crafting. Products like Milliput Epoxy Putty and Green Stuff became immensely popular and sold far too quickly for the market to keep up.
The pandemic created the perfect storm of increased epoxy putty stuck demand at the exact same time as supply became constrained.
Logisitcs crisis: Ports, containers and costs
The pandemic exasperated the global shipping breakdown. Ports became gridlocked, container shortages compounded delays and freight costs skyrocketed.
Resin produces in China could not secure timely international shipping, further strangling supply flows. And it did not take long for these issue to be felt worldwide.
Impact on epoxy putty stick availability
Epoxy putty sticks depend on a consistent resin supply and timely shipping. When the pandemic disrupted both these areas, production of sticks in both Asia and North America slowed. In some places, it halted entirely.
Lead times were massively extended. For epoxy putty stick suppliers in the UK, products which before Covid-19 were received in a matter of weeks from the United States took in excess of six months to arrive.
It was a similar story elsewhere. To countenance the increased lead times, suppliers started placing bigger orders to hold more stock in an attempt to ride out further delays.
This squeezed the limited epoxy putty stick supply even more. By the end of 2020, the prospect of the world running out of epoxy putty sticks was very real.
How the epoxy stick supply chain changed post-pandemic
Europe in particular was hard hit by the epoxy putty stick shortage. Suppliers in the United States and China were able to buy from domestic manufacturers in their respective nations, partly shielding them from the chaos in global shipping and air freight.
But with hardly any companies in Europe manufacturing sticks, it was a continent effectively cut off from the supply chain through limited access to the two dominant forces in the market.
It therefore became clear that greater supply chain diversity was essential. Sylmasta in the UK responded by investing in the latest epoxy putty stick manufacturing technology, becoming one of the few companies in Europe making epoxy putty sticks.
Sylmasta now enjoy far greater resilience to unexpected changes to the epoxy putty stick supply chain than before the pandemic. As do the many European-based epoxy putty stick suppliers who have since switched to Sylmasta products.
Future challenges to epoxy putty stick supply chains
The World Heath Organisation declared the Covid-19 pandemic over in May 2023. But challenges remain to the global epoxy putty stick supply chain.
Nobody knows when or what contagious diseases will sweep the world in the future. Much more immediate disruption looks likely to come from protectionist trade measures impacting on chemical markets.
Trump administration tariffs and anti-dumping measures have seen some epoxy putty stick manufacturers in the United States cease production.
If it becomes harder for companies in the United States to import raw materials from China and difficult for them to also sell finished product around the world because of increased tariffs, the epoxy putty stick market could face further significant disruption.
In which case, it will fall on reliable trading nations like the United Kingdom and the European Union to fill the void.
Leave a Reply