U.S. Supply Chains Could be Vulnerable in Bird Flu Outbreak

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usinesses’ reliance on just-in-time inventories could make the United States’ supply chain vulnerable if there were a pandemic outbreak of avian flu, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Companies from auto plants to hospitals generally keep 30 days’ supply of inventory on hand, in part to trim costs, the paper said in a front-page story.

The result in any possible flu pandemic could be that factories would have to close because of lack of workers, and there would be shortages of important medicines — aside from what is needed any flu outbreak itself, the Journal reported.

President Bush has promised to spend $2.8 billion to help jump-start new flu vaccine development programs, the paper said.