B2BNN has been named a finalist in the 2021 Canadians Online Publishing Awards (COPAs). Started in 2009 as an industry showcase of the best digital content creators in the magazine and newspaper industries, the COPAs have become the largest Digital Publishing Awards Program in Canada covering Academic, B2B, B2C and News/Sports media with a mandate to reflect Canada’s multi-culturalism. This site is nominated for the series of articles entitled the Shecession Pandemic: Covid-19 is worse for women and the economy by Kate Baggott in the Best Investigative Article category.

Other nominees in the category include entries from The Lawyer’s Daily, York University Magazine, Azure Media, and Cartt.ca. The COPAs for 2021 will be awarded in February 2022.

In addition to award and prize-related announcements, December also means the news cycle will feature 2021 year-in-review analyses and predictions for 2022.

IDTechEx was the first to get in a review this year. Their release concerns the materials and chemical sector that it calls “the backbone of every industry.” The sector has been especially hard-hit by the supply chain issues, chip shortages, climate catastrophes and geopolitical turbulence that have been the global story of 2021.

In its review, the research firm highlights trends in mergers and acquisitions, SPAC formations and IPOs.

“The most notable 2021 news was certainly from DuPont and their significant acquisition of Laird Performance Materials (completed in July) and Rogers Corporation (agreement announced in November),” the review said. “In both cases, they became part of DuPont’s Electronics & Industrial business unit and cited autonomous vehicles as a key market. Beyond that, the Rogers acquisition boosts the capability for electric vehicles, and Laird expands the reach into high-performance computing, AI, 5G, and IoT. The material portfolio and capabilities are broad but certainly center around some of the key challenges facing these industries, such as thermal management and EMI shielding.”

Press release: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/268765/20211201/significant-advanced-materials-news-2021-discussed-idtechex.htm

Another trend from 2021 that we will see more of in 2022 are price increase announcements. As the cost of living increases, so does the price of doing business. The “worker shortage” has been called out as a “wage crisis” as people start to demand salaries that actually house and feed their families.

The next expense to be called out may well be transportation. With chip shortages leading to a lack of automotive inventory for both consumer vehicles and commercial fleets, as well as rising gas prices and the demand for remote work over office-based positions, our love affair with the internal combustible engine may well end in divorce.

Yesterday, Michelin announced price increases up to 12% on its passenger and light truck replacement tires. There will be increases of up to 5% on motorcycle tires, and up to 16% on both on- and off-road commercial tire and service offers. The increases will be effective Jan. 1, 2022 across North America.

Details will be presented to dealers, end-users and commercial equipment manufacturers by Dec. 15.

Press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/michelin-implements-price-increase-across-passenger-brands-and-commercial-offers-in-north-american-market-301435108.html

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Kate Baggott is a former Managing Editor of B2BNN. Her technology and business journalism has appeared in the Technology Review, the Globe and Mail, Canada Computes, the Vancouver Sun and the Bay Street Bull. She is the author of the short story collections Love from Planet Wine Cooler and Dry Stories. Find links to recent articles by following her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-baggott-9a0306/

• B2B News for Thursday, December 2, 2021: Canadian Online Publishing Awards, Materials & Chemical Sector in Review, Price Increase Announcement Trend Continues – December 2, 2021
• B2B News for Tuesday, November 30, 2021: Make Investment Decisions According to Your Circadian Rhythm, Dreary Business Outlook, Clean Tech Startup Conference – November 30, 2021
• B2B News for Wednesday, November 24, 2021: American Thanksgiving & Supply Chain Management, Kwayga Replicates Food & Drink Trade Shows, Sustainalytics Launches SCM Tool – November 24, 2021