From “just-in-time” to “just-in-case” logistics

Marketplace All-in-One

Marketplace

News, Business

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For decades, importers and exporters have leaned into what’s called “just-in-time” logistics — only order what you need only when you need it. But the ongoing trade war has upended that model, forcing businesses to stock up in case tariffs make the global supply chain increasingly unpredictable. Plus, companies offering child care may have a leg up over the competition. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Importers play tariff dodgeball. I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. It is an edgy time for importers and exporters unclear on two key pieces of information. Is there a border tariff? And how much? For decades, businesses have leaned into just-in-time logistics, make the product in the most efficient place possible,
0:21.4	and only ship it when needed. But given tit-for-tat tariffs, Marketplaces Kimberly Adams looks at
0:26.9	Just In Case Logistics. Just In Case Logistics is about having a backup plan, says international
0:33.5	trade lawyer, Skyler Rocky Rydell, founder of Rydell Law Firm.
0:38.4	Old fashion, we buy what we need, we store it, and we use it when we need to, and we don't rely on a supply chain to get it to us immediately when we need it.
0:47.4	That means stockpiling extra products or parts, so you're covered in the event of, oh, I don't know, a trade war. Another component of
0:56.3	just-in-case logistics? We've seen a big increase in a product that's called trade credit
1:01.6	insurance, and that's essentially protection for customers in the event that a customer
1:06.7	defaults. David Kinzell is a senior vice president focusing on the political risk practice at the
1:13.1	global insurance and risk advisory firm Marsh. He says his team used to barely spend any time on
1:19.3	these types of insurance products. Now, with the trade war, it takes up about two-thirds of his day.
1:25.6	We've already seen, I'd say, an increase in business of at least
1:28.8	20 percent so far this year. And he expects that to grow because the global trade environment
1:35.0	is getting less and less predictable. In Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams for Marketplace.
1:40.9	Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says stock market downturns can be healthy, telling NBC's
1:46.5	meet the press over the weekend that straight up euphoric markets can lead to crisis. The S&P 500 stock
1:52.4	index was in a correction down 10 percent from a recent peak, but after a bounce Friday, it's down
1:58.1	8 percent from that peak. S&P and Dow futures now are down 3 tenths percent. And there's
2:03.3	word just now the club of industrialized countries. The OECD is cutting global growth from 3.3 to 3.1
2:10.9	percent this year due to trade friction. Starting tomorrow, the Marketplace Morning Report here
2:16.3	brings you teachable moments from the biggest of rodeos.
2:19.9	There are real markets at work there, and I've been getting a string of tricks of the trade tips from the pros at work.
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