Antitrust Chronicle^® – Supply Chains

Dear Readers,

Until recently, global supply chain issues have not typically penetrated the popular consciousness. This has changed in recent years and months. Remarkably, supply chains and logistics have become a hot-button topic in media and political circles.

Prominent examples include the hampered launch of Sony’s PlayStation 5; the global chip shortage hindering everything from electronics to automobile production; shipping to and from the UK being frustrated by Brexit-related frictions; labor instability in road, rail and shipping; traffic backlogs at transportation choke points such as the Suez canal; shutdowns due to COVID-19 outbreaks in key outsourced manufacturing facilities in Asia; the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine; and countless interrelated issues. These disruptions to the supply chain are blamed for rampant inflation, reduced economic output, and wealth disparity worldwide.

To state the obvious, supply chains have become a burning political, economic and social question. The relevant problems derive, ultimately, from a combination of evolving global trade patterns, the movement from physical sales to e-commerce, and the shifting tectonic plates of geopolitics and public health. Against this complex backdrop, the enforcement of antirust rules is but one of many tools that public authorities (and private parties) can leverage to alleviate the perceived economic pain. Yet it is a key part of the puzzle. Indeed, the genesis of antitrust lies in t