A Recap On The Shipping Crisis - 2 Weeks Later

Of course there are no solutions in sight with regards to the Global Shipping Crisis - especially over the Christmas & New Year's Day holidays .

• The Global Shipping Crisis will continue well into 2022
• Ships jam-packed with containers are stuck at ports
• Factories have had to limit production - in spite of increased online orders
• There are approximately 25 million containers on 5500 container ships worldwide
• Sadly the COVID-19 Pandemic (March 2020) led to lockdowns & inconsistent supply & demand - which have thrown global supply chains and transportation networks out of whack
• There is also a shortage of shipping & transportation industry workers
• The shipping crisis hit a benchmark moment when the Ever Given became stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021
• This blocked approximately 400 container ships for 1 week - and led to approximately $10B USD in tree losses
• Constant pressure to load and unload goods at shipping terminals has lead to hoarding of shipped goods
• Interestingly enough - goods can take up to 2 months to clear in California's port - but Amazon's cargo ships wait approximately 2 days
• Amazon can now make its own shipping containers - and use smaller ports and charters its own private ships
• In January 2021 - Amazon acquired 11 Boeing 767 Airliners to be used as cargo planes to ship goods worldwide
• Amazon is now in the top 5 of highest ranked shipping companies in the Trans Pacific Federation
• Amazon's techniques are very expensive but they are also very successful
• Amazon can send containers directly to the destination - without having to return them after each delivery
• By contrast - there are over 100,000 empty containers in the LA port waiting to be returned to their point of origin
• Amazon has sent approximately $4 Billion USD in shipping expenses
• Even Coca Cola is now chartering bulk shipping vessels that are usually reserved for hauling loose materials like coal
• These private ships can easily cost as much as $40K per day
• Most people are hoping the demand for shipping containers will decline after Christmas / New Year's Day
• Ultimately the longer-term issue is inflationary pressure
• Every manufacturer / brand will have to decide whether to increase prices or take quality out of the product
• Surging inflation could see millions of North American households paying $3500.00 USD in additional expenses over 2022