Are Supply Chain Pressures Easing for Medtech?

Here's what GE Healthcare, Stryker, Abbott, Boston Scientific, and Intuitive Surgical expect in terms of the global supply chain in 2023.

Amanda Pedersen

February 2, 2023

5 Slides
state of the global supply chain shown in this photo of the Hong Kong container terminal

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Image credit: xPACIFICA / Stone via Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the global supply chain for its weaknesses, and manufacturers of all sizes continued to be impacted by supply disruptions through most of 2022. Finally, we're beginning to see signs that the supply chain is on the mend, at least for most of the larger medtech companies.

Meanwhile, world leaders continue to work toward more long-term solutions. For example, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Biden administration is turning to India for help as the United States works to shift critical technology supply chains away from China and other countries that it says use that technology to destabilize global security. According to the report, Administration officials met with a delegation of Indian officials and U.S. industry executives this week. The discussions centered around technology development and investment in India as part of a broader U.S. push to cultivate alternatives to China.

One of the biggest wins for medtech in 2022 was the CHIPS and Science Act (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act) President Biden signed into law in August, opening access to more than $50 billion in research and manufacturing of semiconductor chips. The bill is intended to help the country regain a leading position in chip manufacturing by bringing more facilities back to the United States, which will help lower costs and prevent supply disruptions.

The law will invest $39 billion over five years to expand domestic manufacturing, providing companies incentives to build, expand, and modernize facilities and equipment. Additionally, it creates a new 25% tax credit for companies that invest in semiconductor manufacturing equipment or the construction of manufacturing facilities. However, private companies that receive financial assistance will be restricted from expanding certain chip manufacturing in China for 10 years.

By September 9, Biden was visiting a groundbreaking of a new semiconductor chip manufacturing plant in Ohio that Intel is building with the help of the new law.

President Biden visits groundbreaking for new Intel semiconductor plant, a step toward improving the supply chain for chips

Of the public medtech companies that have already reported quarterly earnings for the most recent quarter, most (but not all) are at least cautiously optimistic that supply chain pressures will ease in 2023.

Click through the slideshow to see what executives at GE Healthcare, Stryker, Boston Scientific, Intuitive Surgical, and Abbott said about the current state of the supply chain.

These other articles related to the medtech supply chain may also be of interest:

4 Headwinds of the Supply Chain Apocalypse ... and How to Overcome Them

Building a Better Medical Device Supply Chain

Optimizing Operations in the Medical Device Supply Chain

About the Author

Amanda Pedersen

Amanda Pedersen is a veteran journalist and award-winning columnist with a passion for helping medical device professionals connect the dots between the medtech news of the day and the bigger picture. She has been covering the medtech industry since 2006.

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