Back in the Lead
The Los Angeles/Long Beach ports took a bit of a beating because of endless backlogs. In an attempt to work around the delays, shippers chose to divert containers coming from Asia to alternative ports in the East and Gulf Coast.
Thing is, the other ports just don’t have the infrastructure to manage the influx of imports. Their limitations have caused shippers to make their way back to the West Coast ports.
Despite the more than two months of COVID lockdowns in Shanghai and rising inflation in the United States, goods entered the US at an historic pace for the LA/LB ports during the month of May.
Retailers are still working to restock their warehouses despite rising inflation and slowing demands.
And on that note…
Source: JOC
Inflation Plaguing the Nation
The month of May is showing a decrease in US retail sales as Americans attempt to conserve money.
“Retail sales are reflecting Americans’ growing concern about inflation and its impact on the cost of everything from groceries to gas,” National Retail Federation’s President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Retailers are doing what they can to keep prices down, but we continue our call on the administration to repeal unnecessary and costly tariffs on goods from China to relieve pressure on American consumers and their family budgets.”
“There’s been little relief from inflation, and we expected some cooling off in sales in reaction to prices, NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “There have been swings across sectors that reflect the impact of both higher prices and supply chain disturbances, and higher interest rates are expected to curb spending going forward. As inflation continues, consumers are looking for ways to stretch their dollars by saving less, tapping into savings accumulated during the pandemic and increasing their use of credit.”
Although on a month-to month basis, shopping rates have slowed down, the year-over-year metrics show rates have increased.
Either way, we hope that the government figures out how to keep inflation at bay.
Source: AJOT