Supply Chain Delays Hit Holiday Shopping
From Halloween costumes to peppermint candies, holiday shopping is up against major supply chain challenges this year. Worldwide shipping delays and supply chain disruptions are causing shortages that will affect seasonal holiday shopping traditions, lasting from Halloween to Christmas and potentially beyond. Bottlenecks such as congestion at shipping ports, shortages of products and raw materials, a diminishing workforce, and tight capacity have created a worrisome situation for holiday shopping.
A New Holiday Experience
With mounting shipping delays, trends show that many American shoppers have already started to purchase gifts and other items early to beat the long wait times. More than 51% of all U.S adults reported that an item they wanted was out of stock in store. Online stock shows similar results, and backorders are piling up. There’s growing concern that the strained supply chain will not be able to handle the amount of pre-holiday online purchases and consumers may be disappointed this season by the lack of available items to buy.
Truck fleets are experiencing challenges as well. The reduced workforce is resulting in trucks remaining parked due to a lack of drivers, and getting new trucks produced is another challenge of the semiconductor shortage. According to the American Trucking Associations Chief Economist, Bob Costello, “the shortage of trucks is a big deal.” He adds, “Fleets are having to cannibalize their older trucks, taking parts off of them, to keep fleets going.” These disruptions prolong the ability to get products to the desired location on time and will ultimately impact holiday shopping this year.
The holidays will be a different experience for most consumers globally this year, and the shortage market will continue to be a complication. At Converge, we’re closely monitoring the market and watching for signals to help our customers adapt and remain resilient throughout it all.
Contact our team today and let’s solve the future.
Read the full stories here:
Holiday Shopping Season Will Test Supply Chain, Experts Say | Transport Topics (ttnews.com)
Holiday Shoppers Already Feeling Effects Of Supply Chain Issues, Poll Finds (forbes.com)
Supply Chain Delays Hit Holiday Shopping—Buttigieg Says Could Last ‘Years And Years’ (forbes.com)