The conflict in Iran, specifically the throttling of the Strait of Hormuz, continues to affect the price of materials worldwide. Plastics in particular are affected as petroleum pushes to premium prices. Among the industries affected are paddlesports, with specific components of kayaks surging due to petrochemical shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rob Handfield<\/a>, the Bank of America University Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at Poole College, spoke with Jeff Moag at Paddling Magazine<\/em> about the supply chain issues affecting prices in the kayak world. Handfield discussed the history of the Strait of Hormuz, from Alexander the Great until the ongoing war in Iran, and went over the problems facing petrochemical products as tanker traffic is throttled. He also spoke about the challenges facing kayak companies across America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know we have some historically great kayak manufacturers [in and near North Carolina],\u201d said Handfield. \u201cThey\u2019re hurting right now. The price of polyethylene has effectively doubled which means the kayaks have effectively doubled in price as well. Most of the people buying kayaks are price conscious, and they\u2019re not going to want to pay that much for a kayak, so this could really hurt some of these smaller manufacturers. They were already dealing with the struggles of tariffs, so with these surging material costs, there\u2019s only so much they can absorb in their bottom lines before they pass it on to consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to the interview at paddlingmag.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n The conflict in Iran, specifically the throttling of the Strait of Hormuz, continues to affect the price of materials worldwide. Plastics in particular are affected as petroleum pushes to premium prices. Among the industries affected are paddlesports, with specific components of kayaks surging due to petrochemical shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n