Breaking news! America's largest warehouse district is full

The latest news is that the Inland Empire, the largest warehouse area in the United States , is now full, and major American retailers have warned that sales of clothing, electronics, furniture and other goods at distribution centers east of Los Angeles are slowing.

As goods of all kinds continue to pour in from across the Pacific , things are about to get worse for the Inland Empire , America ’s busiest warehouse district .

Experts warn that the U.S. supply chain will be hit by a "bullwhip effect" if companies panic-order goods to keep inventories full , with large shipments from Asia likely to get bogged down by low demand .

Warehouses in the Inland Empire, centered in Riverside and San Bernardino counties , have expanded rapidly in recent years to handle surging demand and imports from Asia .

The booming region has 1.6 billion square feet of storage space, stretching from Los Angeles, the busiest U.S. seaport, to near the Arizona-Nevada border—an area nearly 44 times the size of New York City’s Central Park .

But now, reduced consumer spending has left retailers with inventory that exceeds warehouse capacity, exacerbating supply chain disruptions. Retailers are forced to choose between paying huge storage fees or selling the goods at a discount .

The Inland Empire’s warehouse vacancy rate is the lowest in the country , at a record 0.6%, compared with a national average of 3.1%, according to real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield .

As inflation rises and the U.S. economy tanks, goods from around the world continue to pour in at record levels .

Data from Descartes Datamyn shows that container imports of goods from China and other countries increased by more than 26% from pre- pandemic levels in the first half of 2022. Continued shipments of Christmas-related products and the reopening of major Chinese factory centers are likely to push container volumes up further .

Meanwhile, cargo continues to pour into the nation’s busiest ports , Los Angeles and Long Beach . In the first half of this year, longshoremen handled about 550,000 more 40-foot containers than before the pandemic , according to port data.

Christmas toys and winter holiday decorations have landed at the docks in July , along with some Walmart patio furniture and Target stretch pants, jeans and shoes, said CEO Steve Ferreira, who reviews ocean freight invoices .

Many retailers ordered the goods months ago , with most destined for the already crowded Inland Empire warehouse district .

The scramble for warehouse space continues , with yards and spare lots across the Inland Empire being converted into temporary container warehouses . Carriers are also working with state officials and big-box store owners to find new locations for inventory.

For sellers, it is important to adjust the stocking plan. They can ship in small quantities and multiple times, or first ship the goods to overseas warehouses for storage, and then transfer them from overseas warehouses to warehouses when the warehouse has storage capacity.

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