Vigilant News

Eternal Vigilance is the price of liberty.

Supply Chain

Setting the Stage? A List of Manufacturing Plants that Have Mysteriously Burned Down Around the World

By ,

Americans are already facing brutal gas prices and runaway inflation, but now food shortages will be added to the pile, as manufacturing plants the world over are mysteriously burning down.

In 2021, Resilinc, a leading global supply chain monitoring and risk management firm that has been tracking disruptions at manufacturing plants for over a decade, was prompted to create a WarRoom to track the sudden uptick of supply chain disruptions.

The company issued 11,642 to alerts notifying its, which include today’s largest multinational organizations, about supply chain disruptions; an 88 percent increase in supply chain disruptions in a single year.

North America experienced the 5,417 supply chain disruptions, more than any other developed nation, followed by Europe which saw 2,838, and Asia, 2,128.

A grim fact remains: more factory fires occurred in 2021 than any other year in recorded history.

Nearly a quarter of the supply chain disruptions globally were attributed to manufacturing plants being set aflame, according to exclusive data compiled from Resilinc’s EventWatch monitoring database.

“Resilinc issued 1,946 Factory Fire alerts in 2021, an increase of 129 percent year-over year,” Resilinc communications director Melissa Gieringert told the Gateway Pundit.

The company attributes the sudden cause of fires to labor shortages caused by the pandemic.

“The uptick is due mostly to gaps in regulatory and process execution as well as shortage of skilled labor in warehouses. Factory fires are contributing to record breaking supply shortages. If a warehouse goes down for a month due to a factory fire the trickle-down effect is huge,” Gieringer said. ” If no one is checking that the fire sprinklers work, or if there are flammable materials – like cardboard – left on the floor because there is not enough staff available to clean up, it can turn into a bad scenario.”

“Take this example: In October 2020  a fire broke out at a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan; it took three days to put the fire out and when the dust settled, production lines were estimated to be down a minimum of six months,” she continued. “As a result, procurement teams – from the hi-tech to automotive sectors – were scrambling. The price of some chips went from $5 to $110 in a matter of days and ultimately cost sourcing organizations tens of millions of dollars. A risk assessment survey later revealed that the site did not have anyone checking the automatic sprinkler or fire suppression system. This fire also contributed to the current chip shortage that is significantly impacting carmakers.”

Resilinc has yet to release data showcasing the number of fires at manufacturing plants throughout 2022, but the Gateway Pundit has compiled a list documenting  the number of major fires that have erupted at food industry facilities to date in 2022:

  1. 1/2/22 Firefighters battled a fire that burned down 75 percent of Van Drunen Farms Tu Thill plant in Momence, Illinois
  2. 1/7/22 Damage to a poultry processing plant on Hamilton’s Mountain following an overnight fire in Oregon
  3. 1/8/22 Two warehouses and a cold storage were destroyed in a fire at Raw Far Creamery in Fresno, California
  4. 1/13/22 Firefighters worked for 12 hours to put a fire out at the Cargill-Nutrena plant in Lecompte, LA
  5. 1/20/22 A fire broke out at Washington Potato Food Processing Plant in Warden, Washington
  6. 1/31/22 Wiston Weaver Company, a fertilizer plant with 600 tons of ammonium nitrate inside caught on fire in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  7. 2/3/22 A massive fire swept through Wisconsin River Meats in Mauston, Wisconsin
  8. 2/3/22 At least 130 cows were killed in a fire at Percy Farm in Stowe
  9. 2/4/22 Diamond Walnut Growers, a food processing plant was set aflame and permanently shut down following the fire in Live Oak, California
  10. 2/15/22 Bonanza Meat Company goes up in flames in El Paso, Texas
  11. 2/15/22 Nearly a week after the fire destroyed most of the Shearer’s Foods plant in Hermiston
  12. 2/16/22 A fire had broken at Louis Dreyfus Company, the US largest soybean processing and biodiesel plant in Claypool, Indiana
  13. 2/18/22 An early morning fire tore through the milk parlor at Bess View Farm
  14. 2/19/22 Three people were injured, and one was hospitalized, after an ammonia leak at Lincoln Premium Poultry in Fremont, Nebraska
  15. 2/22/22 The Shearer’s Foods plant caught fire after a propane boiler exploded in Hermiston, Oregon
  16. 2/28/22 A smoldering pile of sulfur quickly became a raging chemical fire at Nutrien Ag Solutions
  17. 2/28/22 A man was hurt after a fire broke out at the Shadow Brook Farm and Dutch Girl Creamery
  18. 3/4/22 294,800 chickens destroyed at farm in Stoddard, Missouri
  19. 3/4/22 644,000 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Cecil, Maryland
  20. 3/8/22 243,900 chickens destroyed at egg farm in New Castle, Delaware
  21. 3/10/22 663,400 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Cecil, MD
  22. 3/10/22 915,900 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Taylor, IA
  23. 3/14/22 The blaze at 244 Meadow Drive was discovered shortly after 5 p.m. by farm owner Wayne Hoover
  24. 3/14/22 2,750,700 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Jefferson, Wisconsin
  25. 3/16/22 A fire at a Walmart warehouse distribution center has cast a large plume of smoke visible throughout Indianapolis.
  26. 3/16/22 Nestle Food Plant extensively damaged in fire and new production destroyed Jonesboro, Arkansas
  27. 3/17/22 5,347,500 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Buena Vista, Iowa
  28. 3/17/22 147,600 chickens destroyed at farm in Kent, Delaware
  29. 3/18/22 315,400 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Cecil, Maryland
  30. 3/22/22 172,000 Turkeys destroyed on farms in South Dakota
  31. 3/22/22 570,000 chickens destroyed at farm in Butler, Nebraska
  32. 3/23/22 A massive fire erupted at a Pepsi Food Processing Plant in Piscataway, New Jersey
  33. 3/24/22 Fire fighters from numerous towns are battling a major fire at the McCrum potato processing facility in Belfast.
  34. 3/24/22 418,500 chickens destroyed at farm in Butler, Nebraska
  35. 3/25/22 250,300 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Franklin, Iowa
  36. 3/26/22 311,000 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  37. 3/27/22 126,300 Turkeys destroyed in South Dakota
  38. 3/28/22 1,460,000 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Guthrie, Iowa
  39. 3/29/22 A massive fire burned 40,000 pounds of food at Maricopa Food Pantry in Maricopa, Arizona  
  40. 3/31/22 A structure fire caused significant damage to a large portion of key fresh onion packing facilities in south Texas
  41. 3/31/22 76,400 Turkeys destroyed in Osceola, Iowa
  42. 3/31/22 5,011,700 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Osceola, Iowa
  43. 4/6/22 281,600 chickens destroyed at farm in Wayne, North Carolina
  44. 4/9/22 76,400 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  45. 4/9/22 208,900 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  46. 4/12/22 89,700 chickens destroyed at farm in Wayne, North Carolina
  47. 4/12/22 1,746,900 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Dixon, Nebraska
  48. 4/12/22 259,000 chickens destroyed at farm in Minnesota
  49. 4/13/22 Fire destroys East Conway Beef & Pork Meat Market in Conway, New Hampshire
  50. 4/13/22 Plane crashes into Gem State Processing, Idaho potato and food processing plant
  51. 4/13/22 77,000 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  52. 4/14/22 Taylor Farms Food Processing plant burns down Salinas, California.
  53. 4/14/22 99,600 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  54. 4/15/22 1,380,500 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Lancaster, Minnesota
  55. 4/19/22 Azure Standard, the nation’s premier independent distributor of organic and healthy food, was destroyed by fire in Dufur, Oregon
  56. 4/19/22 A fire broke out at Nutiren AG Solutions prompting evacuations in Leoti, Kansas
  57. 4/19/22 339,000 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  58. 4/19/22 58,000 chickens destroyed at farm in Montrose, Color
  59. 4/20/22 2,000,000 chickens destroyed at egg farm in Minnesota
  60. 4/21/22 A small plane crashed in the lot of a General Mills plant in Covington, Georgia
  61. 4/22/22 197,000 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  62. 4/23/22 200,000 Turkeys destroyed in Minnesota
  63. 4/24 Fire broke out around 3:45 am at General Mills manufacturing site in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  64. 4/25/22 Officials launched an investigation into the cause of a fire that broke out at Hormel Foods Facility in Suffolk, Virginia
  65. 4/25/22 1,501,200 chickens destroyed at egg farm Cache, Utah
  66. 4/26/22 307,400 chickens destroyed at farm Lancaster Pennsylvania
  67. 4/27/22 2,118,000 chickens destroyed at farm Knox, Nebraska
  68. 4/28/22 the basement of Agriway Partners was set ablaze in Kalona, Washington
  69. 4/28/22 Egg-laying facility in Iowa kills 5.3 million chickens resulting in plant firing over 200 workers
  70. 4/28/22 Allen Harim Foods processing plant killed nearly 2 million chickens in Delaware
  71. 4/28/22 110,700 Turkeys destroyed Barron Wisconsin
  72. 4/29/22 1,366,200 chickens destroyed at farm Weld Colorado
  73. 4/30 A soybean processing tank caught fire at the Perdue Farms plant in Chesapeake, West Virginia
  74. 4/30/22 13,800 chickens destroyed at farm Sequoia Oklahoma
  75. 5/1/22 A fire broke out at Saladinao’s food processing plant in Fresno, California
  76. 5/3/22 58,000 Turkeys destroyed Barron Wisconsin
  77. 5/3/22 118,900 Turkeys destroyed Beadle S Dakota
  78. 5/3/22 114,000 ducks destroyed at Duck farm Berks Pennsylvania
  79. 5/3/22 118,900 Turkeys destroyed Lyon Minnesota
  80. 5/7/22 20,100 Turkeys destroyed Barron Wisconsin
  81. 5/7/22 A fire erupted at JBS meat packing plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin
  82. 5/10/22 72,300 chickens destroyed at farm Lancaster Pennsylvania
  83. 5/10/22 61,000 ducks destroyed at Duck farm Berks Pennsylvania
  84. 5/10/22 35,100 Turkeys destroyed Muskegon, Michigan
  85. 5/13/22 10,500 Turkeys destroyed Barron Wisconsin
  86. 5/14/22 83,400 ducks destroyed at Duck farm Berks Pennsylvania
  87. 5/17/22 79,00 chickens destroyed at Duck farm Berks Pennsylvania
  88. 5/18/22 7,200 ducks destroyed at Duck farm Berks Pennsylvania
  89. 5/19/22 Train carrying limestone derailed in Jensen Beach FL
  90. 5/21/22 57,000 Turkeys were destroyed on a farm in Dakota Minnesota
  91. 5/23/22 4,000 ducks were destroyed at Duck farm Berks Pennsylvania
  92. 5/29/22 A Saturday night fire destroyed a poultry building at Forsman Farms in Howard Lake, Minneapolis
  93. 5/31/22 3,000,000 chickens were destroyed by fire at Forsman facility in Stockholm Township, Minnesota
  94.  6/2/22 30,000 ducks were destroyed at Duck farm Berks Pennsylvania
  95. 6/7/22 A fire occurred Tuesday evening at the JBS meat packing plant in Green Bay.
  96. 6/8/22 Firefighters from Tangipahoa Fire District 1 respond to a fire at the Purina Feed Mill in Arcola
  97. 6/9/22 Irrigation water was canceled in California (the #1 producer of food in the US) and storage water flushed directly out to the delta.
  98. 6/9/22 Freeport LNG, one of the largest US export plants that produces liquefied natural gas was shut down following an explosion at its Texas Gulf Coast facility.
  99. 6/12/22 Largest Pork Company in the US Shuts Down California Plant Due to High Costs
  100. 6/13/22 Fire Breaks Out at Festive Foods in Belmont, Wisconsin
  101. 6/14/22 Over 10,000 head of cattle have reportedly died in the recent Kansas heat wave
  102. 6/23/22 George’s Inc.: Poultry and Prepared Foods announced it will close one of its food processing plants in Campbell County, Tennessee

Fact-checkers,  including Reuters and Snopes, insist claims that fires at processing plants are intentionally orchestrated to create supply chain shortages are conspiracy theories.

But the string of fires that continue to damage manufacturing plants across the United States appears to be a deliberate effort to sabotage food processing operations.

While Reslinc correlates the uptick in fires at manufacturing plants to a global workforce shortage, more factories have been mysteriously set aflame in the United States than any other country.

FreightWaves CEO Says “Supply Chains Are Never Returning To Normal”

By ,

Ryan DeLarme
May 20th, 2022

The current worldwide supply chain problems are not likely to be stabilizing any time soon, at least not according to FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller.

In a recent article published by Fuller on the Freight Waves website, the CEO makes a compelling case as to why it could take upwards of a decade for things to “return to normal”, and that is assuming world events don’t continue to spiral into chaos.

In the article, Fuller lays out a series of challenges he sees that suggest “continuing challenges for decades to come”. Among those challenges, he lists that:

 

  • Supply chains will remain under constant threat of disruption for the next decade 
  • Supply chains operate best when the world is peaceful and stable 
  • A smoothly running supply chain requires “buffer stock,” which is challenging with declining population demographics 
  • There is a conflict between environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and supply chains optimized for cost and speed. If we prioritize ESG, we will need to contend with supply chain risks 
  • Supply chain technology will become the big venture capital category winner as companies continue to make investments in technologies that can help them mitigate their supply chain challenges 

 

To be sure, we live in a world faced with the imminent possibility of tightening supplies, higher energy costs, heightened geopolitical risk, and strained transportation networks. Fuller seems to believe that advanced supply chain technologies will become “mission-critical” for many more companies.

In the article, Fuller explains how supply chains benefit from times of peace:

 

“Since the end of the Cold War, global supply chains have benefited from peaceful trade between developed and developing countries. Many poorer and less developed countries that were previously ruled by Communist or autocratic regimes took advantage of new markets in the developed world and used global trade to move beyond subsistence economies to prosperous ones. Some of these countries developed into capitalistic and democratic countries, while other governments exploited the free market system to solely benefit those already in power, and became wealthy and powerful enough to threaten the very system that enabled their ascension.The Eastern European countries that were formerly part of the Soviet bloc are examples of the countries that embraced capitalism and shifted toward democracy, while China did the opposite.”

 

The arbitrage (that is the capitalisation of risk-opportunities in financial markets)  between the developed and developing countries has been massive. The cost of producing goods in countries with cheap labor, lax environmental and labor regulations, and little regard for sustainable natural resources has enabled the world to enjoy unprecedented prosperity and peace, albeit at the expense of the planet and the oppressed.

According to Fuller, labor is key in supply chains. But cheap labor is becoming scarcer, particularly in Asia. This is largely due to aging populations – the average age continues to increase and there are fewer people working in these manufacturing jobs.

On top of that, ESG requirements hamper the stability of supply chains. ESG stands for “Environmental, Social, and Governance”, and refers to an approach to evaluating the extent to which a corporation works on behalf of social goals that go beyond the role of a corporation to maximize profits on behalf of the corporation’s shareholders. Typically, the social goals advocated within an ESG perspective include working to achieve a certain set of environmental goals, as well as a set of goals having to do with supporting certain social movements, and the third set of goals having to do with whether the corporation is governed in a way that is consistent with the goals of the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement.

These ESG requirements at least appear to be rooted in compassion, but according to fuller they are having a disastrous effect on the global supply chain.

 

“Companies have instituted ESG requirements that require disclosures and monitoring of how and where products have been sourced. This pressure means that goods that are produced in factories that don’t match Western standards for environmental controls and human rights may not be available to Western consumers. The factories that do produce goods that match Western standards will often be more expensive and therefore there will be less buffer stock in the system.  

The same ESG standards also create challenges for commodity producers, as the cost of adhering to environmental and social disclosures makes it more expensive and less productive. It also discourages investment in the production of environmentally sensitive commodities – most obviously in energy. 

Environmental concerns and regulations that have prevented exploration and production and killed pipeline projects are largely the reason that the world currently lacks sufficient energy resources to buffer against the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war. “

 

So then what recourse is left? Are we forced to remain dependent on cheap labor and pollution? Well, according to Fuller what he calls “Supply chain technology” will be the big winner going forward.

“Companies will look closer to home for product sourcing. They will prioritize production in countries that are far more stable and friendly to the United States. The Freedom Trade movement will drive supply chain professionals to prioritize production and sourcing in the Americas. 

Latin America will become a big winner, as it benefits greatly from having direct land transportation networks with North America and seas that are well protected by the U.S. Navy. 

The American South and Midwest will also see an acceleration in manufacturing and production, as they can offer predictable and resilient sourcing, without the geopolitical risks of foreign suppliers or the labor unions of the Rust Belt.

Automation, including robotics, will become more important. Nearshoring manufacturers will try to offset higher production costs with robotics and other automated production systems.

Supply chain market intelligence systems, a data category that monitors developments around supply and demand, will be critical for supply chain professionals who are trying to navigate increasingly complex and opaque markets. Materials and product supplies are no longer guaranteed, so the need for constantly refreshed data models that track the balance of supply and demand will be critical to the success of companies. 

FreightWaves SONAR provides near real-time market intelligence information, which has seen explosive growth in recent months as shippers have realized that supply chains are not returning to normal and the need for high-frequency data is increasingly critical for success. Historical models no longer work – as the world becomes far less predictable, peaceful, and safe – and supply chains are far more exposed to supply and demand shocks.”