Corporate Site Location in the COVID 19 Hurricane

COVID 19 is similar but not the same as a hurricane. The differences between COVID 19 and a hurricane are in scale, scope, and length. Both events have dramatic personal impacts on human safety and economic security, but a hurricane hits one area while COVID 19’s target is everywhere. A hurricane lasts for hours, but COVID 19 lasts for months. From a corporate site location perspective, COVID 19’s impact has transformed the global economy and corporate site location into New Orleans during Katrina.

Economic Disruption
COVID 19 is a massive economic disruption. Manufacturers like Honda, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, and others have temporarily shut down U.S. facilities. Economists predict a double-digit drop in the U.S. GDP in Q2 of 2020 and growth in Q3 is not optimistic as the end date of the public health crisis is unknown. The International Chamber of Shipping said the pandemic is costing the worldwide industry around $350 million per week, and in January 2020, North American transport volume was down 9.4 percent, impacting the over 225,000 Americans working in the freight transportation industry according to recent USA Today reports.

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