The manufacturing industry in China was seriously interupted due to the outbreak of the coronavirus - covid-19 or coronavirus disease 2019 (as was first discovered in 2019) - but, workers in Wuhan where the disease first manifested itself in large numbers of the population have begun returning to work. Wuhan, the largest city in Central China, has a population of 11 million and is a industrial hub, often called the Chicago of China.

As ThomasNet reports, "many factories in China have resumed some production, but most are not yet running at full capacity. Staff safety, compliance, manpower, and transportation issues continue to challenge companies even as customers and headquarters want increased output".

One in five American electronic component manufacturers have facilities in China, so the impact of the coronavirus has led to many weeks long delays in delivery of components throughout the world. This has slowed production in many industries and had a major economic impact.

ThomasNet has offered suggestions for dealing with the reduced capacity of the Chinese manufacturers:

• Assess demand downstream and define your production goals.
  • Domestic customers may not be fully operational either.
• Identify which products your customers prioritize.
• Generate a list of critical components.
• Take stock of available inventory and confirm warehouses are operational.
• Determine the skillsets of available staff and plan production accordingly.

They also recommend working with domestic manufacturers and distributors with large inventories in house. You can check availability of the components you are searching for here. Remember, in many cases, you can use a component made by another company, that is compatible to the part you are currently using.

While manufacturing in China is slowly returning, issues with shipping will be the next hurdle needed to be addressed.