Kickstart: Easy answers are also in short supply

The turbulence of doing business — or just living — in the 2020s is continuing.

While vaccinations and the easing of mask requirements may give some companies breathing room, for auto suppliers the impact of microchip shortages is only growing.

The latest outlook from consultants at AlixPartners says that the chip shortage could cost the auto industry a combined $110 billion in lost revenue in 2021. That's nearly double the estimate from January.

"The company said it also anticipates that net production of 3.9 million vehicles will be lost this year, bringing expected global light-vehicle production down to 80.7 million units," Alexa St. John, from our sister paper Automotive News, writes. "Automakers have been idling plants for days or weeks at a time as the shortage worsens, with Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler owner Stellantis taking some of the worst hits."

For plastics suppliers to the auto industry, the chip shortage backlog comes on top of material cost increases and shortages.

I wish I could provide some great idea to help alleviate concerns, but at this time, easy answers are also in short supply.

Plastic straws are about to be kicked out of New York City. Well, not completely kicked out, but at least severely restricted.

On May 11, the City Council voted to prohibit plastic straws from being handed out to customers at restaurants and foodservice locations, but it would mandate that those facilities still have them available for those who request one, to accomodate people with disabilities.

In addition, it would ban plastic stirrers.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bill into law.

Ineos is pumping the brakes on the launch of its Grenadier sports utility vehicle, saying production will begin in July 2022, rather than the end of this year.

The materials company has already inked a deal to take over Daimler AG's "Smartville" assembly plant in Hambach, France, but on May 11 said it revised the start of the production to complete more tests.

It recently took a prototype through mountain tests in Austria. Ineos says the future testing will take place in intense heat conditions in Death Valley in the U.S. and sand dunes of the Middle East.

OK, this isn't plastics but it is plastics adjacent. The city of Akron, Ohio, has just unveiled a statue honoring rubber industry workers.

The statue in downtown Akron was created by Alan Cottrill, a former milkman turned artist, who said he wanted to capture "the common man and woman, the people time has forgotten," our sister paper Rubber & Plastics News reports.

The statue is "a testament to .... every single worker who participated in the industry," Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan said. "Their dedication will never be forgotten and will be forever honored in the very new center of Akron's downtown."

You can watch the unveiling here.