Tyvek Supply Disruptions and Global PPE Crisis

The 2021 Texas Winter Storm Uri was one of the largest weather disruptions seen which resulted in a widespread resin shortage and the largest price hike witnessed in the last ten years. A few of the predominant issues with the resin shortage is transportation bottlenecks with port congestion, rail disruptions, container shortages, and labor shortages which have led to continuous disruptions. Tyvek is a synthetic resin that has majorly impacted the healthcare industry (as it is difficult to obtain), causing low vaccine supplies, a shortage of test tubes and plastic components required for the fight against Covid and medical devices.