Cycling is becoming more and more popular, and the global bicycle shortage problem may become more common.

The US "Popular Science" monthly website published an article entitled "How to Deal with the Global Bicycle Shortage" on April 1, stating that the bicycle industry is a global industry that relies heavily on the international supply chain. When one of the links fails, it will appear. shortage. The full text is excerpted as follows:

Do you find that more and more people are riding bicycles? This is the fact. Before the new crown epidemic prompted commuters to look for alternatives to public transportation, bicycles as a means of exercise and convenient travel have been steadily increasing.

But when the epidemic broke out, the bicycle industry and the global economy faced the same unexpected challenges, including trying to meet the growing demand of new cyclists who no longer took buses and trains.

Heather Mason, president of the National Bicycle Dealers Association, said: "Retailers initially questioned whether bicycles would be recognized as a necessary industry, and then the industry boomed."

This should be good news for manufacturers and retailers, but it has become a headache because the commercial impact of the new crown epidemic has led to a shortage of new bicycles, parts and accessories. As sales continue to soar, it is not yet known when this dilemma will be resolved.

Although the epidemic will eventually end, the supply shortage may be affected by multiple factors, so when the inventory is not enough, you should know how to find what you need for your bicycle.

Why is there a shortage of bicycles?

In a world where cars can be delivered to your door, it seems hard to imagine that you can't buy a bicycle. However, the bicycle industry is a global industry that relies heavily on international supply chains. When one of the links fails, there will be shortages.

For example, bicycle manufacturer Trek purchases parts from 50 different suppliers around the world, then sends the parts to 4 factories on 3 continents for assembly, and finally ships the finished products to the company's warehouse network for sale. In normal times, this process can take up to 4 months. However, due to the epidemic, bicycles entered the hands of customers directly from the production line, and there was no chance to hoard them.

The result is a substantial increase in costs-as of September 2020, the price of parts alone has risen by 22%, and retailers expect the price of parts to rise by 10% to 25% in 2021. It is not yet clear whether the situation will improve after the epidemic, because before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, major exporters of bicycles and bicycle parts such as Taiwan and Japan were already facing labor shortages. Demand is also likely to continue to grow. According to a survey conducted by Boston University in 2020, among 130 U.S. mayors, 62% of respondents said that after the epidemic is over, citizens are expected to ride bicycles more frequently; nearly one-third of respondents The bicycle infrastructure installed during the epidemic will be permanently retained.

As of 2016, 65 cities in the United States have implemented bike sharing programs, and the number of bikes has been increasing since then. These bicycles are located in small kiosks with a lot of traffic. They are billed by the hour and can be paid directly through the application on the mobile phone. The best thing about shared bicycle services is that users can easily combine it with other forms of transportation because they can park their bicycles in different locations and continue commuting.

Boston launched BlueBikes in 2011, and by 2019, the company has nearly 500,000 users. On the West Coast of the United States, researchers at the University of California, Davis found that since shared bicycles entered Sacramento in 2018, local residents have almost immediately begun to use bicycles to replace cars.