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10 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2021 e questions I receive most frequently de- pend upon the individual or group asking the questions. For this column, I will focus on the different questions coming from the manu- facturing industry and media. e industry oen asks questions about busi- ness, such as: • How long will the supply chain pressures last? • What government impacts do you expect? • What can we do to solve our workforce issues? e media oen asks about the future, such as: • What is the next thing that will take us to new capabilities? • How can global manufacturing companies continue to meet the challenges presented to them? Here are a few high-level answers to those questions. How long will the supply chain pressures last which have been exacerbated by COVID-19? is question is very dependent upon the in- dustry segment that is asking, but right now there is a cascading effect that will likely last through the end of the year, if not into mid- 2022. A shortage in one segment of the supply chain can oen lead to additional shortages as substitutes are sought and modifications are made to try to meet demand. e steep nature of the recession, followed by bounce-back, wreaked havoc with supply chains in several areas—largely because they did exactly what they were supposed to do. When an industry drops demand significantly (like the automotive industry did in going from 900,000 vehicles manufactured in a month to 6,000), the prudent thing to do is to move your processes to a different segment where you can make sales. is was done. What has never happened before was the meteoric rise back to higher levels of sales in such a short period of time. Sadly, I expect the aershocks to contin- ue to ripple for a while. Responding to Questions About the Future of Electronics Manufacturing One World, One Industry Feature Column by Dr. John Mitchell, IPC PRESIDENT AND CEO