U.S. retailers are struggling to meet their demands as consumer spending combined with a shortage of freighters, cars and warehouses are pushing backwards in the past and threatening stocks over the holiday season.
Chains from Costco to Dollar Tree have warned in recent days that the growth of the port is raising the carrying price and increasing the time it takes to import goods to the US.
Retail stocks that were about a month and a half before the outbreak had a temporary sales peak of 1.1 by March, the lowest since 1992, US Census Bureau data show.
“For every 110 TVs a salesman can have, they sell 100 [each month]. That leaves little room for security, “said Noah Hoffman, vice president of North American pilot CH Robinson.
The retailer said many retailers had brought holiday orders from June to April to address the crisis. However consumers can also meet four or six weeks in anticipation of a Christmas shipment on ecommerce, added Hoffman.
With Asian ships waiting 12 to 15 days to unload domestic carriers such as Union Pacific and FedEx to boost seasonal and monthly expenditure, “we do not anticipate any increase until early 2022,” Hoffman said.
Several advertisers confirmed the calls received last week to speed up orders.
John Garratt, chief financial officer at Dollar General, said he had “stepped up” the purchase. The dollar-selling chain was good with its findings, he added, but “getting out of stocks remains higher than we would like for other more important things”.
Corie Barry, general manager of Best Buy, also noted the high demand for consumers in electronics as well as the disruption of companies to create “barriers” to the availability of electronic devices, computers and TVs.
Costco had ordered it to “open”, Richard Galanti, chief financial officer, told experts, realizing that the turnaround time for containers coming to the US, and delivering contents and returning overseas had doubled to 50 days.
“I feel like this will continue for the greater part of this year,” he said.
Shipping costs are also higher than regular rates, with prices from Asia to the US moving from $ 4,000 to $ 5,000 per container compared to $ 1,500 immediately in 2019, says Brian Whitlock, Gartner’s managing director. Some customers pay up to $ 3,000 on top to confirm the amount.
The delays caused by a submarine under the Suez Canal in March caused China to withdraw from the epidemic faster than the US and Europe have left many containers in the wrong places, Whitlock said.
Jason Hilsenbeck, President of LoadMatch, which equates freight forwarding with vehicles, said delays in importing “were worse than anyone could imagine”, but predicted consumer demand would decrease, reducing power by August.
The west coast port seems to be in good shape, Gartner Whitlock admitted, but said “bucket inequality” could continue beyond the third quarter as retailers often receive holiday deals.
“We hope that 2021 will be a very difficult year through the Chinese New Year” in February 2022, he said.
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