One thing that could ease that tight market: Higher prices. If prices of consumer electronics continue to rise, it will likely slow demand for them as it has done in the past.
The supply of products that don’t rely on microchips should be “broadly sufficient” to meet holiday demands, according to a recent report from Goldman Sachs.
Of course, the rate of production doesn’t mean much unless the ships and warehouses get unloaded onto trucks and the goods get delivered throughout the country.
Transport times from China increased by 45% in 2021, according to the Goldman Sachs report. That translates to 23 extra days in transit. Competition for cargo ships pushed prices 10 times higher than they were at this time last year.
And while there is much talk of a truck driver shortage, it is turnover that is the problem. There are 15% more truckers working in the industry today than there were 10 years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But as working conditions and pay have worsened, turnover has reached 92%, according to the American Trucking Associations, and that’s better than it was in 2019.
To ease the logistical logjam, the National Retail Federation has urged trucking companies and others throughout the domestic side of the supply chain to hire more workers at better pay. Last month, Walmart said it would do that, along with chartering ships, rerouting shipments and promoting thousands of supply chain workers.
