The current crisis in the logistics industry has become a logistical nightmare. Ships are stuck at sea waiting to get into port. Trucks can’t move items fast enough. Store shelves sit empty. The supply chain issues may disrupt the Christmas giving season (or is it time to reevaluate the way we approach the holiday season?).
On top of the frustration that this crisis has bred, prices are on the rise. Everything from gasoline to beef to clothing is costing more. Even though Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has offered to put the full capacity of his state’s ports behind resolving these issues, this part of the logistics debacle doesn’t look to go away soon.
At least that’s what one expert says. Florida Ports Council Chairman Jonathan Daniels told Fox News that the U.S. is in a crisis of its own making:
“It’s really a perfect storm,” Florida Ports Council Chairman Jonathan Daniels told Fox News. “The logistics system itself is not capable, and it was not built to handle the surge that currently we’re going through in the United States.”
Daniels, who is also the chief executive of Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, said the supply chain may not see relief until spring.
Daniels points out that one of the biggest causes of our supply chain woes is American reliance on cheap Asian products that flood the market. He says that we could resolve that problem long term by shifting our reliance from Asia to Latin America.
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Another thing that Daniels brings up is the idea that our high prices are likely to linger, especially as these logistics problems stretch further into next year.
“If that’s going to happen, we can’t get those goods onto the shelves into the distribution center,” he continued. “You’re going to see increased prices, and ultimately, one of the big cost drivers associated with pricing happens to be the transportation system.”
DeSantis has continued to speak out on America’s supply chain woes, reminding the industry that his state is ready to help alleviate pressure as best as it can:
“As the rest of the nation faces rampant inflation and businesses stare down unprecedented supply chain problems, our message is this: Florida is here, we have capacity, we have incentive packages to help businesses who want to move here, and we are going to make sure Americans get their Christmas gifts this season,” DeSantis said in a statement.
The Biden administration has made futile attempts to remedy the crisis, ordering the Port of Los Angeles to remain open extra hours and on weekends. It hasn’t helped, as shipping companies run the port terminals, and they refuse to pay overtime for the longshoremen. Besides, the federal government doesn’t really have the authority to do anything.
So it looks like long wait times for items and high prices for everything are here to stay, at least for the short term. If there’s a bright side to this debacle, it’s that supply chain problems ought to spell disaster for the Democrats in 2022 and perhaps beyond.
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