Kickstart: The perfect tree is the one you can get your hands on in 2021

Yes, Virginia, there is a Christmas tree shortage this year.

You can place much of the blame on issues for real trees that go far beyond state or country borders. Drought and wildfires hit tree-growing regions that will likely impact just not 2021 but continue for years to come. (One tree farmer, Mark Wonser, of Estacada, Ore., told The Oregonian he lost about 90 percent of his 2021 seedlings due to historic heat.)

But that doesn't mean there's an opening for artificial trees to fill. Global shipping and production issues in China — where many artificial trees are manufactured — have led to supply shortfalls while increased prices for raw materials are driving up costs.

In the Washington Post, National Tree Co. CEO Chris Butler said that even though it placed orders a year ahead of time, the East Windsor, N.J.-based company expects to have 10 percent fewer trees this year.

"Each pre-lit 7.5-foot Dunhill fir, which sells for about $330 at national retailers ... now costs $50 to ship across the ocean," Butler told the Post. "That's compared with $5 a year ago. Other components have also gotten pricier: the cost of PVC plastic for tree needles has risen 65 percent from last year, while steel for the pole structure is up 58 percent."

What does an economist think of the supply shortages? Plastics News Economics Editor Bill Wood sees a lot of silver linings.

"Due to the pandemic, there is a tremendous amount of pent-up consumer demand for celebrating," he wrote in this month's Numbers That Matter column. "But the pandemic has also created an unprecedented bottleneck in the nation's supply chain.

"Make no mistake, Americans will figure out a way to celebrate and spend their money. ... So, I have confidence the overall holiday spending numbers will be robust when compared with the data from the fourth quarter of last year," he added.

When we're talking about the supply chain, he wrote, we're talking about decisions made by millions of people. And while current conditions may point to people making poor choices, it also may highlight the potential for future opportunity.

"Employees are also the solution to the supply chain issues. They not only supply the labor and energy needed to make the supply chain operate properly, but they also supply the creativity, innovation, initiative and insight necessary for the supply chain to adapt to rapidly changing market forces," Bill wrote.

You can find more on his outlook here.

If you've been involved in plastics industry trade groups, you've probably run on the same track as Patty Long.

The longtime former Plastics Industry Association executive was named the new president of the Railway Supply Institute Nov. 18.

Long had served as interim president and CEO of the association after Bill Carteaux died from acute myeloid leukemia in December 2018, and she was chief operating officer of the group working for Carteaux before that.

RSI, in Washington, represents 160 companies that supply products and services to the freight and passenger rail industries.

"Patty's expertise, energy, and experience, combined with the recent enactment of the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act, brings renewed vitality to RSI's mission," the group said. On social media it pointed to more than $100 billion in rail and transit spending in the infrastructure plan signed Nov. 15 by President Joe Biden.

Before working in plastics, Long held senior executive roles at the National Association of Manufacturers. She left the plastics group in January 2020, in a management reshuffling after current President and CEO Tony Radoszewski came on board.