Shipping, Inventory and Delays. Oh my!
Every industry has had its own unique challenges over the past two years, but what’s the one thing they all have in common right now? Supply chain issues with shipping, inventory, and other delays.
What is going on?
Supply chain issues involve how a business brings the supplies needed to complete your order to its doorstep. With many products needing to be imported, the shipping industry has seen some of the biggest impacts during this time. Those impacts can be felt by almost every business in almost every industry.
In late August, California began dealing with a record-breaking problem. 44 container ships stuck waiting to dock and unload their goods. For reference, the normal number of ships at anchor would have been zero to one. This is only compounded by how much larger these ships have become, at almost twice the size of ships in years past, they require more workers and more time to unload.
The ports in California ports make up about one-third of all US imports, leading to lengthy delays and increases in shipping costs. Average freight time from Shanghai to Chicago rose from 35 days to 73 days, and one LA port is facing a wait time of just over 7 days once the ship has arrived.
What does that look like?
Businesses are open and eager to run at full speed but are unable to get the products they need to do so. Major issues with shipping, inventory, and other delays have become the new normal. You may have seen restaurants limit their menus, retail shops with near-empty shelves, or at the very least a few of your amazon packages will likely arrive later than expected. At Charleston Cotton Exchange, we have always gone above and beyond to get your order out before our quoted date. The effects on our industry have led to a longer production time and more limited product than we would like.
What’s next?
While it might take some time for these issues to be resolved, we are working hard to make sure our customers feel as little of this impact as possible. Charleston Cotton Exchange is constantly assessing inventory and transit times with our many vendors. Our salespeople are studying up on the thousands of styles available to make sure we can get your order done right and right on time.