The global supply chain has been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many ships are waiting to unload at the largest port in the US, while many stores are seeing their shelves slowly emptied and unable to replace products as quickly as consumers buy them. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has thus warned that the clogged ports, as well as supply chain issues, would last throughout 2022.

President Biden Committed to Alleviating Congestion at Ports

Buttigieg has said on various political talk shows that President Joe Biden's administration is doing everything possible to relieve congestion at overcrowded US ports. Furthermore, he stated that the Biden Administration will re-evaluate all options to ensure that products and services from ports are efficiently transported through US railways and roads to avoid bottlenecks.

During CNN's "State of the Union" show, he also mentioned that a lot of the challenges that consumers have been experiencing with the supply chain in 2021 will continue into 2022. He pointed out that the demand from US consumers has increased, which exacerbated the supply crunch that Americans have been experiencing. According to Buttigieg, the American shipping and transportation infrastructure has had a difficult time keeping up with the increased demand for products and the soaring retail sales.

As the Christmas holiday season approaches, America's Covid-19 hit economy is beginning to recover. American retailers are taking the necessary steps to avoid the clogged supply chain issues. President Biden announced that the Port of Los Angeles will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week in an effort to relieve congestion. Because of the 24-hour operations, many ships anchored off the coast will be able to unload their cargo.

Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser for Allianz, commented on "Fox News Sunday" that the supply chain issue should be called "the everything shortage."

El-Erian said that things would get worse before consumers see the better times. Therefore, consumers will see not only higher prices and shortages of goods but also inflation, which will remain at the four-to-five percent level. He went on to say that it will take time to resolve the issues that consumers are experiencing and will continue to face.

Return to Normalcy Is Not Possible Just Yet

For those keeping an eye on the global supply chain, the prospect of a possible return to normalcy has given way to the realization that supply chain woes will be the new normal. The public has grown increasingly enraged by the rise in consumer goods prices, particularly food and fuel prices. Because China manufactures many of the goods purchased by American consumers, the surge in demand has outstripped the availability of shipping containers at Asian ports, causing transportation to be delayed.

Taking a Closer Look at the Issue

The pandemic has shifted consumer spending from restaurants and in-store shopping to online shopping. As a result of the shift in consumers' spending habits, warehouses in the US have also had to deal with congestion, and many companies have increased their warehouse capacity to compensate for the increase in consumer spending. Warehouse shortages have made it difficult to unload ships at the Port of Los Angeles as well, with many shipping containers going unclaimed because there isn't enough space to store the unloaded goods. As the supply chain and consumers' spending habits are being studied, the data gathered will be useful in the future. For now, the US supply chain woes do not seem to be abating and may last until the end of 2022.

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