The historic backup at America's ports — critical entry points for sneakers or Peloton bikes — is having a boomerang effect on companies and shoppers.
Why it matters: The port chaos may get worse. More stimulus checks are coming down the pipe, pushing Americans to spend and order more.
What's happening: Port of Long Beach, the second-busiest after Port of Los Angeles, handled more containers last month than any other February in its 110-year history.
What they're saying: "The good news is the economy is getting better. People are spending money. Given the consumer demand, which is beyond what we expected, even if you go back six months, we do have challenges," Mario Cordero, the port's executive director, tells Axios.
Catch up quick: Bored-at-home Americans with more money redirected spending to online shopping — setting off a rat race to get products from overseas.
The problem: A shortage of containers that carry the stuff that's shipped to the states via sea. Containers that do get sent are tied up at America's busiest ports, where workers are overwhelmed in unloading them — making the backup and the container shortage worse.
Another way to think about it: It's like a crowded airport, Daniel Hackett of shipping consultancy firm Hackett Associates, tells Axios....
- "The previous plane is still waiting to depart a gate, and the plane you are waiting for has arrived but is forced to sit and wait for the gate to free up," Hackett says.
- More people are waiting around the gate — the ones waiting to board the delayed and upcoming plane, much like the containers left floating