Full coverage: Supply chains

Harry Hughes has just steered the century-old Westport-based family business through the global dogfight for access to PPE while acquiring a stake in a footwear manufacturer in the eye of the pandemic storm. Yet he says companies should focus on something else: Brexit.

Authorities are balancing health restrictions with the need to keep essential supplies moving across Europe, but trade further afield is beginning to feel the ripple effects of the pandemic, with shortages of Chinese-made goods emerging and freight rates going through the roof.