Add Rubber to the List of Things That Are About to Get More Expensive Due to Shortages
In an odd phenomenon, there have been some pretty unexpected shortages as the world tries to pull out of a pandemic. One might expect such times to create shortages of essentials such as grocery items or hand sanitizer. Instead, we find certain industries impacted that we would have never expected.
What is it Now?
According to Bloomberg, the movement of natural rubber has been dislodged a bit as of late. It isn’t just for one particular reason, either. Instead, there are a variety of factors that are said to be impacting the production of natural rubber.
One reason cited is that China is said to be stockpiling rubber products. This coincides with a devastating leaf disease that has left rubber prices trending upward as the trees used to produce natural rubber are unable to do so effectively.
Where do We Go From HEre?
With that in mind, this is something that could end up impacting the automotive industry that has already been on its heels a bit. During the pandemic, much of production was shut down for major automakers. Therefore, there is currently a shortage of supply for vehicles as they are left to try and play catch-up a little bit.
The potential of an impending rubber shortage could make things get a little bit more chaotic. We have to not just think about tires but also the countless items under the hood that are composed of rubber.
Natural rubber isn’t something that could necessarily be fixed with the snap of the fingers, either as it depends on tree growth of about seven years or so, according to Bloomberg.
Luckily, in many situations, synthetic rubber is an option to turn to. However, there are many situations where natural rubber ends up being a much better option. According to Michelin, the rubber content of a tire is about 60% synthetic and 40% natural.
According to professionals close to the industry, this hasn’t yet become a huge issue in the automotive community but it’s something to be closely monitored.
