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(Undated) -- Snow storms occuring to the south may have a slowing effect on the supply chain to the north in the United States.
William Rose is an Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Iowa State.
"I just looked at the weather this morning and I saw this band of winter warnings," Rose says. "Really, from the Rocky Mountains almost to the Atlantic Ocean so there's no way to get around it."
He says he doesn't expect a long term issue, but it's unavoidable in the short term.
"If you're trying to go from Fayetteville, Arkansas, where Tyson Foods has a big processing plant and they're trying to go north...they can not avoid this winter weather," Rose says.
The backup is a result of the weather being an anomaly in the southern portion of the country.
"When you get out into a place where they don't have salt trucks, they don't have as many plows, they don't have the equipment to clear this snow because they only do it two or three days of the year," Rose says. "This winter weather could have a big impact."