That week in January when the ice storm shut down half the supply lines into Detroit

Our small parts shop in Sterling Heights had to close for three days because our main supplier in Ohio couldn't get a truck through. We lost about $15,000 in sales and had to call every client to push back their orders. The real kicker was seeing how many other local shops, from metal stampers to food distributors, were posting the same problems online. It showed me how fragile our whole area's business network can be with just one bad weather event. Has anyone else set up a backup supplier in a different state since then?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.barbara6d ago

It reminds me of how we all just expect things to show up on shelves now. My own power was out for a day, and the grocery store looked empty. It made me realize our whole daily life is built on a house of cards, all depending on trucks getting through on time. We've gotten used to a system that works until it doesn't, and then everyone is scrambling. It makes you wonder what other single points of failure are out there that we just don't see.

blake_lewis6d ago

Man, that storm was a mess. My buddy runs a diner in Royal Oak and he had to throw out his entire produce order because it sat on a truck in Toledo for two days. It's wild how one icy patch in Ohio can ruin lettuce in Michigan. He started buying some stuff from a place in Indiana after that, but says the prices are worse so he only does it in a real pinch.