Raw materials, materials, electronic components, transport: companies are faced with soaring costs that are putting them in a difficult position, while the pandemic is already causing its share of problems. From human resources to cyber risk, not to mention EMP reimbursements, there is no shortage of causes for concern.
Inflation and container shortages
At a time when the Chinese economy, which alone uses half the world's raw materials, is in full recovery mode, the price of basic materials is soaring. These soaring costs are not making things any easier for European companies, who are already having to cope with the many complications caused by the pandemic.
Oil climbed back to $60 in early February 2021, after dropping to less than $20 in April 2020.Steel soared first, as early as December 2020, followed by copper, whose price rose by 27.9% in one year. A tonne of copper is now selling for $8,500, a level not seen since 2012.
Aluminum prices are at their highest since 2018, nickel is close to a 7-year high, and iron ore has also risen.
In addition, certain materials, such as timber and electronic components, are in short supply, putting the automotive industry in a difficult position. Due to a shortage of chips, the construction of one million cars will not be completed in the first quarter.
As for transport, it is heavily impacted by the shortage of containers, due in particular to the global economic upturn. As a result, prices are soaring, and delivery times are increasing.
Internal sources of concern
These external factors add to an already complex internal situation for many companies.
State-guaranteed loans (PGE), which have bought us a little time, will eventually have to be repaid, and that won't be an easy task. At the beginning of February, 650,000 companies had benefited from a PGE, for a total amount of 130 billion euros.
Teams, for their part, suffer wage cuts due to short-time working and/or reduced bonuses, and have to cope with teleworking, which has been strongly recommended by the government for the past 4 months.
The spread of telecommuting is also leading to a reduction in office space. While such a decision is advantageous for the company, which sees its rent reduced, it can be a source of stress for employees, not all of whom are happy about having to work from home.
Finally, cyber risk is becoming increasingly important for companies. For example, on Monday February 15, a report by the French National Agency for Information Systems Security (Anssi) revealed that several computer intrusions had taken place between 2017 and 2020 on Centreon software, used by many major French companies and the Ministry of Justice.