CI.N Podcast: Joshua Hon tackles supply chain, the auto lobby and war

This month on the CyclingIndustry.News Podcast we have had the honour to once more welcome bike and mobility industry figurehead Joshua Hon, best known in the business as the founder and Team Captain to Tern Bicycles. There are few better people in the bike industry to deliver on the subject of supply chain than Josh, whose experience spans decades and is backed by the experience of building a global brand from the ground up.

This conversation goes far wider, however, and our host Sean Lally covers in 45 minutes ground ranging how the bike industry infrastructure has struggled to align during Covid, how the war in Ukraine has affected some raw materials and of course Tern’s place in the mobility mix, including how its ridership has been pivotal in shaping the product.

When asked what are the major disruptions to the supply chain, Hon quips “the better question is what hasn’t been affected?”

“It’s everything raw materials – not being able to get enough steel. Aluminium is at an all time high in price. The website I check goes back 40 years, it’s clear that it has never been more expensive. It was high in Q3 and Q4, then in January it went straight up. I mentioned wood pulp too, can you imagine that there’s a shortage of cardboard boxes? Semi-conductors too, we’ve all heard about that affecting the car industry, but guess what – we use lot’s of those chips in eBikes. It’s the one area of the bike industry doing well, but we’re getting hit by shortages there and that affects everybody.

The podcast deep dives on what Lally describes as a supply chain seemingly “built on sand”, but many issues go wider than factors the bike industry can control; on of those is shipping:

“We also have freight, when we talk about that it’s not just that they’ve gone up by ten fold, now these containers occasionally go for $20,000. We sell pretty high end eBikes, so if the cost of an eBike goes up by $50 and hypothetically the FOB is $2,000 that’s something absorbable to an extent, but imagine you’re selling a children’s bike at FOB $50 and your freight cost is up by $30; that’s something that’s very difficult to absorb.”

All things considered, Tern’s goal of being part of the solution to fighting back against climate change remains at the forefront of the brand’s ethos. With sustainability in the spotlight of late Hon ponders how an interconnected planet has a shared responsibility and how war is not helping focus minds.

Reflecting on the subject of prosperity for all, Hon offers on the topic of war and global industry: “I would say that the world uniting financially against Russia, even famously neutral countries like Switzerland, and uniting so quickly, gives notice to anybody that there are ramifications beyond military. I think being part of the global financial system is so important to the success of every country, if you are shut off and ostracised it will be very difficult for you as a country and everybody is looking at that and thinking we need to recalculate. We need to peace to have a chance at prosperity.”

You can tune in for the full conversation by hitting play below, or if you prefer, tune in on Spotify.