Santa's Elves Demand Proper Working Conditions

Now, with the potential for vaccinations, everyone seems more cheerful for the holidays. However, with a cargo ship back-up at the ports, we may have to shop early to get those presents under the tree. “Dozens of cargo ships anchored off the coasts of Los Angeles face shocking wait times of up to four weeks and rail yards and trucking routes are hopelessly clogged due to the lack of manpower to unload goods” (Hammer, 2021). This means that there is a consumer goods back-up, which means things will take longer to get to where they need to be.

With more things opening up and restrictions slowly being lifted, people are getting back into consumer spending. They now have the time and freedom to do other activities, which has led to an increase in spending. People spent $1.53 trillion dollars on packaged goods alone last year, and with the trend in spending still up, retailers are trying to keep up (Lucas, 2021). Now, with the shortage in port workers, retailers are having to wait longer to get their products, which in turn creates a longer wait for the consumer.

The shortage in port workers also makes it more difficult for the shipping companies to fulfill orders, which has led to a high demand and low supply due to the fact that the companies have a small amount of employees unloading containers from the ships. This type of situation made companies think outside of the box. Some chose to spend extra time and money using new ports and other innovative ways to get their products on land. Since the companies had to use another means to get their products into the stores, it is most likely that they had to spend an extra amount of money in order to do this, and when a company gets charged extra money to ship their products, the cost falls back on the consumer. This means that the shipping costs of the product rose or in some cases, the company may have incorporated the extra shipping costs in the total price of the product, making it look like the shipping was still free while the retail price of the product went up.

By raising the prices in products, people are left to spend more on items that they usually get for an affordable price. This is not something that people want to do right after a pandemic, and it can create an issue in accessibility for those that don't make enough money to keep up with the change in cost.

What is causing the port worker shortage? Well, there are a number of things. Along with the coronavirus shutdowns, these workers have also been battling other issues. In fact, before the coronavirus was even a thought in our heads, the number of maritime workers was in a decline due to issues with pay, the isolation that the job can bring, deteriorating sea conditions due to climate change and global warming, the lack of support from ship owners, and the increase in work pressure (Singh, 2020).

So, what can we do to fix the problem? The answer is somewhat simple. These workers need better benefits and better pay. If we want them to be there when we need them, then we need to treat them right. Maybe, if the working environment is more appealing, we will have more workers in that field.

Sources

Hammer, Alex. (2021). Cargo ships anchored off LA face 4-WEEK wait to berth and trains in Chicago are backed up 25 miles with global supply chain on the brink of collapse: Americans face shortages of cars, shoes and exercise gear as holiday season looms. DailyMail. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10049621/Cargo-ships-anchored-NY-LA-face-4-WEEK-wait-unload-amid-unprecedented-supply-chain-crisis.html.

Lucas, Amelia. (2021). Remember the pandemic stockpiling last year? Consumer products companies are still catching up. CNBC. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/20/consumer-products-sales-jumped-9point4percent-to-1point53-trillion-last-year.html.

Singh, Bikram. (2020). Why Maritime Careers Are Not Preferred Anymore. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://www.marineinsight.com/careers-2/why-maritime-jobs-are-not-preferred-anymore/.