I am having unusual conversation with my logistic clients. They are living a nightmare. The work is there for the taking, but they can’t take is because they don’t have the trucks, or they don’t have the drivers.
Retailers this holiday season simply can’t keep up with demand and every link in the supply chain is badly strained.
Apparently there is no easy fix.
Running ocean ports around the clock is difficult to do. But that solution does not solve the problem on it’s own. If all the ships were unloaded that are backed up in Southern Calif., that just shifts the congestion to overcrowded docks, due to lack of drivers and truck chassis.
Find enough trucking to move the containers, and they just stack up in railroad terminals or warehouses.
Fix that problem and then the goods build up at inland distribution hubs like Chicago.
A delay somewhere in the chain means knock-on delays everywhere farther along.
These problems won’t get resolved until sometime next year, when consumers slow their purchases of goods and spend on services the way they did pre-COVID.
Even as goods purchases ease, retailers will be busy restocking depleted inventories.