About 40% of electronics manufacturers saw disruptions this year at their own companies or in their supply chains that they linked to extreme heat, according to a Global Electronics Association survey. More than 80% of the affected firms said heat hurt productivity or throughput.
The association, which surveyed manufacturers from Aug. 17 to Aug. 31, calls extreme heat a “substantial operational risk.”
Firms reported the following as their most severe areas of disruption, with each able to select up to three:
supplier delivery delays, 47%
transportation delays, 28%
facility operating constraints, including cooling limits, 25%
missed shifts and reduced staffing, 22%
The survey lands after the three hottest years on record, with 2024 the warmest, according to NOAA.
Nearly half the affected firms (46%) described the impact as moderate. “To me, a moderate impact would be something that has to be addressed, something that impacted throughput, that impacted production schedules,” Shawn DuBravac, the association’s chief economist, told Supply Chain Dive.
North American manufacturers reported fewer heat-related disruptions than those in other regions. In North America, 31% saw heat-related problems, compared with 71% in Central and South America, and 67% in Asia Pacific. Half of the affected North American firms named supplier delays among their most severe impacts.
More than half of manufacturers (55%) consider their supply chains exposed to extreme heat. Some 65% expect continued heat events to affect productivity or throughput. Firms that have not yet been disrupted expect the worst problems in facility cooling limits, at 28%, and power reliability, at 26%.
The same survey found electronics demand at an all-time high. The association’s orders index rose six points to 123 in September, with orders and backlogs at their highest readings in four years. Some 79% of manufacturers reported rising material costs.
