Retailers And Customers Feeling Strain Of Supply Chain Logjam
STUDIO CITY (CBSLA) – A logjam of cargo ships at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has created a ripple effect felt by retailers, restaurants and, now, the customers they serve.
President of the California Retailers Association, Rachel Michelin, said the pandemic is partly to blame for the backlog, but not entirely.
“This is a national and international problem and, really, part of it is related to COVID, part of its related to consumer spending. There’s a lot of different factors engaged. We have issues with, you know, we need to recruit more truckers. We need to recruit more port workers,” she said.
Michelin added that the problem is not wholly unexpected.
“That’s part of a whole other conversation as why we have such a labor shortage in California. You can attribute that to some of the policies that might have come through because of COVID. I mean, I think it’s harder sometimes, you know, to recruit younger people in these types of jobs.”
The California Retailers Association and some of its biggest members are meeting with port managers next week to see how they can help things along.
