Port congestion continues, Halloween costumes are still stranded...

It seems that the topic of "port congestion" cannot be avoided during the peak season every year . This year, due to various factors such as the global epidemic and labor shortage, the phenomenon of port congestion has become more serious.

In order to ensure that they have sufficient inventory during the peak season, many sellers start preparing for the peak season several months in advance. However, many sellers still run out of stock during the peak season due to port congestion.

What’s worse, the holiday season has already passed, but some merchants’ holiday products are still “floating on the sea.” Recently, foreign media reported that a port executive said that there are still Halloween costumes stranded at the container terminal.

Noah Hoffman, vice president of North American surface transportation at C. H. Robinson , said: "There are millions of containers waiting to be processed at U.S. ports, and these boxes contain hundreds of different products, including some Halloween and Christmas products."

To get these products on the shelves before the holidays , logistics companies like CH Robinson are deploying employees to open these containers and sort out some of the more time-sensitive holiday products , speeding up the pickup of these products so that they can be put on the shelves in time.

Hoffman said : " In previous years, consumers could buy Christmas products directly from e-commerce platforms or offline stores before Black Friday. This year, many Christmas products are still on the way. Even some Halloween costumes are still stranded at the port, and this is still the case now. "

According to bills of lading compiled by ImportGenius software, this massive congestion is inevitable from Thanksgiving to the second week of December . One of the biggest challenges facing logistics companies and importers at present is that it takes a long time for containers to leave the port by rail and truck due to a shortage of truck drivers .

To avoid port delays, many shipping companies urged customers to start ordering holiday goods in April . However , manufacturers failed to keep up with the orders due to a number of factors , including a shortage of raw materials, a massive power outage in China some time ago, and the closure of many factories due to the COVID-19 epidemic .

Those Halloween costumes that are still stranded at the port may have to be stored in the warehouse first, and wait until next year to find an opportunity to start clearing out the stock ...

Holiday Shopping Season

Cross-border e-commerce

Port congestion