Causes, effects of supply chain struggle on Florida

You’ve probably noticed prices of everything from gas to groceries going up. Procter & Gamble say it is raising prices on retail items because costs are rising due to supply chain issues.

The surge in demand for products as the pandemic lessens has been higher than many industries were ready for. That and a trucker shortage means it takes goods longer to get to you.

The Florida Trucking Association says it is short-staffed and incredibly busy but has still managed to work with the other links in the supply chain.

“Well, those drivers are always busy in our ports,” said Alix Miller, with the Florida Trucking Association. “They have, you know, been open for business, are highly successful, really efficient systems. And we’re really proud to coordinate and work well with all of the different transportation modes to bring Floridians what they need.”

The pandemic changed our spending habits: Instead of going out or taking vacations, people spent their money on products and goods. But the shutdown of global factories created a huge back log of products that companies are taking advantage of, charging around $10,000 for shipments of goods from China to the U.S. that used to cost around $3,000.

Ships trying to offload their cargo in California are seriously backed up, waiting nine days before they can unload. Gov. Ron DeSantis says ships can come to Florida, but supply chain experts say that could cause other issues.

“Can we then move those containers, empty them?” said Raj Srivastava, from the Florida Gulf Coast University Center for Supply Chain Excellence. “Warehouse them, and have the logistics to move them out quick enough? But certainly the opportunity is there, that we could do that.”

Srivastava says that industries do plan for surges during the year, like hurricane season or the holiday season, but he thinks they need to have an emergency plan in place for the next time there is a global disaster. As we enter into the holiday season, there will be another surge in demand, and manufacturers are working overtime to be ready. But with the existing backup, things will be slow for several more months.