Coronavirus Exposes Fragility in the Marijuana Vape Supply Chain

Almost all hardware for marijuana vape products is made and sourced from China.

The COVID-19 outbreak highlights how fragile the supply chain is for marijuana businesses in the sector.

Industry analysts estimate 90%-95% of all components that comprise a marijuana vape are manufactured in factories in Shenzhen, China, and of the remaining 5%-10% of supplies that may be sourced domestically. U.S. manufacturers lack the ability to serve the cannabis market.

Today, some of the factories are back in operation, alleviating part of the concern over disruption to the supply chain, but they aren’t operating at full capacity.

One reason Chinese factories are underproducing is that many of the nation’s factory workers are still reluctant to return to work due to fears of contracting the virus. Other workers have found themselves quarantined.

“We’re going to be looking at a few weeks of delays in raw material,” said Arnaud Dumas de Rauly, founder and CEO of New York-based The Blinc Group, a cannabis vape hardware manufacturer.

Delays are expected in marijuana packaging, plastics and extraction and cultivation equipment – not just vaping hardware.