March 13, 2023

According to a recent BIS study, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a less connected world.

People have been traveling less and working from home as a result of lockdowns and restrictions. This has resulted in fewer supply-chain relationships with other companies two years into the pandemic than at the start, according to data from 34,000 companies and 450,000 maritime shipments to U.S. consignees.

While almost all U.S. companies experienced a drop in international suppliers during the first quarter of 2020, shipping volumes for the remaining companies increased above pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, with the number of suppliers also rebounding for nearly 40% of the economy.

The study also discovered that equity investors paid close attention to lockdown announcements in countries where firms had ties, with stock prices of globally integrated companies falling 1.5% more in the week following an announcement than those of unconnected peers.

The decrease in connectivity has also had an impact on internet traffic, which has shifted from urban areas to suburban areas. Local networks, which were not designed to handle such high traffic volumes, have been put under additional strain as a result.

The sources for this piece include an article in DataCenterKnowledge.