Thomasnet.com has reported that a record-breaking box demand and strained containers lead to the worst shipping delays in years. They report that we will “likely still be feeling (the impacts) by the time the holiday season arrives,” The shipping delays will likely impact every sector, “from furniture deliveries to food product shortages.”
The report attributes much of the latest impact to a series of COVID-19 outbreaks in Chinese ports last month.
“Shipping containers, especially refrigerated ones, have been extremely hard for manufacturers and distributors to find and fill with goods over the past few months. A key element of the supply chain, shipping containers transport large volumes of goods along global shipping routes. Problems first arose in early 2020 when shipping lines canceled some routes amid growing COVID-19 case numbers worldwide, but shipping container availability worsened as unpredictable port closures, the Suez Canal blockage, and intensifying labor shortages left containers stranded. As a result, international freight costs have also grown dramatically, with limited availability, lengthy delays, and lackluster service causing issues throughout the global supply chain. ”