Reuters (September 13)
“Shortages of metals, plastics, wood and even liquor bottles are now the norm.” As these “hobble” the U.S. economy, “new challenges continue to arise, including hurricane disruptions to U.S. oil refineries.” Supply lines present additional challenges. “With so many manufacturers rushing to build supplies at the same time, the containers, ships, and trucks needed to move the goods often aren’t available, and have soared in cos…. That has disrupted some of the mechanisms that normally help keep supplies, and prices, in check.”
Tags: Basic materials, Bottles, Containers, Disruptions, Economy, Hobble, Hurricane, Liquor, Manufacturers, Metals, Oil refineries, Plastics, Ships, Shortages, Supply lines, Trucks, U.S., Wood
The Economist (September 10)
“New techniques mean that wood can now be used for much taller buildings,” potentially reducing the carbon footprint by nearly 75% compared with conventional steel and concrete structures. A 14-story wooden structure in Bergen, Norway will soon be unseated as the world’s tallest when an 18-story wooden dormitory goes up at the University of British Columbia in Canada in 2017. But UBC’s Brock Commons will soon be surpassed by a 21-story building in Amsterdam. “Some architects have even started designing wooden skyscrapers, like the proposed Tratoppen…a 40-floor residential tower on the drawing-board in Stockholm.”
Tags: Amsterdam, Architects, Buildings, Canada, Carbon footprint, Concrete, Norway, Skyscrapers, Steel, Stockholm, Structures, Tratoppen, UBC, Wood
