TORONTO -- In the struggle to get more masks, gowns and gloves to front-line workers during the coronavirus pandemic, suppliers and importers are facing what has been called a "wild west" of personal protective equipment.
Empty boxes, unfulfilled orders and cargo planes landing at foreign airports to be greeted by no one.
"There have been some real horror stories, that's for sure," said Allen Graham, President of Momentum Logistics, which just helped deliver Canada’s largest single delivery of PPE to Montreal’s Mirabel airport Friday night.
"Over in some of the airports in China… it is the wild west and you really need to know what you're doing."
In April, two flights hired by the federal government and operated by a different company went to China only to find that the equipment wasn't ready for them.
"They lost their slot times and they (had) to leave and come back empty," he said.
Graham has heard of other planes that have flown to South America for PPE orders, arriving to the sound of crickets: “The airplane shows up, absolutely nobody there, no cargo and nothing to be done,” he said.
Before February, it’s likely few people could even define the acronym that has become a new kind of gold. PPE is a scarce and coveted commodity during the COVID-19 pandemic as more than 3 million people have contracted the virus globally. The protective gear is harder to get, more expensive to buy, and increasingly challenging to ship. Governments are even getting into the procurement business and buying directly from factories, a move that is driving up prices and leaving regular distributors without supply.
One of those orders, for the Quebec government, arrived in Montreal on Friday in the world’s largest cargo plane, the Antonov An-225.
The six-engine behemoth was loaded with nearly 300 tons of medical supplies from China, or some 800 cubic meters, organized on the plane to optimize the space. “Weight doesn't really mean anything because all of the equipment is very, very light,” he said.
On Friday alone, the company shipped about 1,400 cubic metres of PPE. “A busy day here in Montreal for PPE that's for sure.”
By May 20, Graham expects that the company will have operated up to 45 flights into Canada and other destinations in the U.S. He’s well aware that operations aren’t as smooth for other players in the procurement business. But Momentum Logistics has an established expertise in dealing with crisis and emergency response. They’ve airlifted tanks to Afghanistan and flown 25,000 Syrian refugees from the war-torn region to Canada.
The current health crisis is no less complicated.
“You have to be used to working in these kinds of chaotic environments because you need tremendous flexibility and adaptability by your airlines,” he said. “We, from an operational perspective, are doing everything we possibly can to bring the maximum amount required of any PPE into this country.”
That PPE is also coming in by water, in large shipping containers. In Toronto, Wayne Safety is supplying hospitals and worksites across the country with protective gear, including Friday’s order of disposable plastic gloves. But business for companies like Wayne Safety has become increasingly costly, said sales manager Rodin Lozada.
The new gloves have arrived, but at many thousands of dollars above the original cost. “I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years. I've never seen pricing change this quickly,” he told CTV National News.
In February, prices began to tick upwards, jumping by about 15 per cent every two weeks, he said. Lozada said that factories in China will send Wayne Safety a notice when a container is ready to ship and the company has to take it or leave it: “They’re saying ‘If you don’t like the price then we’ll just give it to the next person in line,’” he said. “It’s caused us to pass on the (price) increase to our customers. It’s not fair but they all realize that’s just the way it is right now.”
Compounding the problem of price surges is the intense demand that has resulted in major backlogs. An order for a precious N95 mask, which are recognized as the gold standard for protective gear, may not arrive until August, said Lozada, noting that it will become difficult to supply businesses with the PPE they need to reopen in the coming weeks and months.
“It’s kind of scary out there because you don’t know where it’s going to end up. It doesn’t look like it’s going to end any time soon,” he said. “Prices are going up every couple of weeks and it could get sky high.”
With governments around the world now heavily involved in procurement efforts, businesses like Wayne Safety are being pushed out of the supply chain. Governments are approaching the same factories that supply Lozada with higher offers.
“They’re basically outbidding us for inventory,” he said.
They don’t know which governments specifically are clearing out the supplies, but Canadian and U.S. officials have been sourcing product directly from factories in China, as have many governments in Europe.
There’s not much that Wayne Safety can do, said Lozada, since governments will take priority.
“We’ve tried to source through other countries, but we're finding that the quality is not good,” he said.
“The only thing we can do is wait it out.”
