Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I had the brief urge to cry. It wasn’t for joy
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Merchandise Shortage
- Thread starter castlecake2.0
- Start date
The worst part is the thousands of Disney Store cast that lost their job and now have to see this mess anytime they go into a target. HUGE slap in the face, and not a peep from Josh or Bob when they were all let go.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Also the lack of truck drivers isn't just an issue with the ports. It's an issue with supply chains in general.
When the Colonial pipeline was hit with a ransomware attack earlier this year, the gas shortages lasted longer than they would have otherwise for the same reason -- there simply weren't enough drivers to deliver gas to stations. There were trucks sitting unused because they had no one to drive them.
Companies have been struggling to hire drivers for a while now.
When the Colonial pipeline was hit with a ransomware attack earlier this year, the gas shortages lasted longer than they would have otherwise for the same reason -- there simply weren't enough drivers to deliver gas to stations. There were trucks sitting unused because they had no one to drive them.
Companies have been struggling to hire drivers for a while now.
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Pin Central , International Destinations, and the Kiosk near Germany are well stocked
hopemax
Well-Known Member
I read an article earlier on this, that there really isn’t a shortage of qualified truck drivers… There is a shortage of truck drivers that are still truck drivers.
The market forces, for years, have delivered a lot of trucking school graduates who then couldn’t compete for hauling jobs because they were being consistently underbid by larger, more established firms whose trucks and other “start-up” expenses had long been paid for. So people found other ways to use their CDL licenses or went into different jobs. It was becoming a problem before pandemic, but like everything else the ground shifted so fast that all those balls that had been juggled came crashing down.
The same story as a lot of other places, efficiency cost controls that worked when things were at cruising speed, didn’t hold up under sudden changes in demand. It was never anticipated we would have a throttle down / throttle up like this. Now all the things that were "just-in-time" streamlined means they can't handle the increased volume. However, since these were all business decisions companies made for profit reasons I'm not sure how the government is supposed to come in and fix it without being accused of interference. This is free market dynamics at work, just as all the other stuff was. It's the annoying part as we all want cheap stuff, when we want it but as I said about Disney's labor problem... Everyone loves capitalism when it makes things cheap not so much when the problems come. But we don't get to pick and choose, it's all or nothing.
Now you all will tell me how that's wrong
The market forces, for years, have delivered a lot of trucking school graduates who then couldn’t compete for hauling jobs because they were being consistently underbid by larger, more established firms whose trucks and other “start-up” expenses had long been paid for. So people found other ways to use their CDL licenses or went into different jobs. It was becoming a problem before pandemic, but like everything else the ground shifted so fast that all those balls that had been juggled came crashing down.
The same story as a lot of other places, efficiency cost controls that worked when things were at cruising speed, didn’t hold up under sudden changes in demand. It was never anticipated we would have a throttle down / throttle up like this. Now all the things that were "just-in-time" streamlined means they can't handle the increased volume. However, since these were all business decisions companies made for profit reasons I'm not sure how the government is supposed to come in and fix it without being accused of interference. This is free market dynamics at work, just as all the other stuff was. It's the annoying part as we all want cheap stuff, when we want it but as I said about Disney's labor problem... Everyone loves capitalism when it makes things cheap not so much when the problems come. But we don't get to pick and choose, it's all or nothing.
Now you all will tell me how that's wrong
Truck drivers age 18-20 can only drive in state. Truck drivers 21 and up can drive cross country. With shortage of drivers, there has been discussion of allowing the younger age group to drive to different states and or cross country.I read an article earlier on this, that there really isn’t a shortage of qualified truck drivers… There is a shortage of truck drivers that are still truck drivers.
The market forces, for years, have delivered a lot of trucking school graduates who then couldn’t compete for hauling jobs because they were being consistently underbid by larger, more established firms whose trucks and other “start-up” expenses had long been paid for. So people found other ways to use their CDL licenses or went into different jobs. It was becoming a problem before pandemic, but like everything else the ground shifted so fast that all those balls that had been juggled came crashing down.
The same story as a lot of other places, efficiency cost controls that worked when things were at cruising speed, didn’t hold up under sudden changes in demand. It was never anticipated we would have a throttle down / throttle up like this. Now all the things that were "just-in-time" streamlined means they can't handle the increased volume. However, since these were all business decisions companies made for profit reasons I'm not sure how the government is supposed to come in and fix it without being accused of interference. This is free market dynamics at work, just as all the other stuff was. It's the annoying part as we all want cheap stuff, when we want it but as I said about Disney's labor problem... Everyone loves capitalism when it makes things cheap not so much when the problems come. But we don't get to pick and choose, it's all or nothing.
Now you all will tell me how that's wrong
hopemax
Well-Known Member
I thought that was included in the Infrastructure bill that already passed.
Ldno
Well-Known Member
So what ever happened to the sanctions and fines everyday a ship is docked over there?The problem in the California ports is getting much worse, not better. The media stopped reporting on it for some reason this month, but it's happening. And getting worse by the day.
The staging areas within 40 miles off the coast of Los Angeles is overfull, so now the ships are waiting a hundred or miles out into the ocean and/or slowing their speed on their way from China because they know when they get here there's no place for them to unload and they'll be in an offshore queue for weeks.
As this article from December 6th nicely explains, any talking head on TV who tries to say "We have fewer ships waiting to get into the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach" is lying and using word games to describe the worsening situation.
Fewer ships are anchoring at the Port of Los Angeles, but it doesn’t mean the supply chain is healing
A change in where ships wait for a berth led to the erroneous impression the logjam was reducing.qz.com
I live in Orange County, California and have a great hillside view out to Catalina Island. I can see the dozens of ships sitting in San Pedro Bay from my home. When you drive on the 73 Freeway in Orange County, from the hilltop you can see dozens of giant container ships stretching to the horizon just sitting there. It's getting worse this month, not better.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
They aren't docked, they haven't been assigned a berth yet, and they aren't in the approved waiting areas.
The ships are waiting more than 40 miles offshore now, so they don't count and can't be fined.
Problem Solved!
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Picking up and dropping off loads at the ports isn't really profitable due to the amount of dead hours (non revenue producing) that drivers face. Wait for a trailer frame, go find your container, get it loaded, get cleared from the yard so you can start driving to make money. You are limited on the number of hours per day you can drive.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
…and yet still…that’s what our bulk buying, mass consuming, not budget conscious land of opportunity is dependent on…
if we’re gonna revert to rail…we got a lot of track to lay.
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
And they'll face a battle with Amtrack who wants more access to freight lines for passenger service. Aside from the North East, rail travel isn't used that much for passengers.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
It’s not used for passengers much here either…it’s window dressing
Chip Chipperson
Well-Known Member
I've been waiting on those same boxes for a couple months. Our contractor said he has clients who have been waiting 7 months for siding. It makes me wonder if there won't be a renewed push to manufacture more things here. It may cost more, but if the alternative is not having any available to purchase then people will adapt, particularly for the important things - building supplies, car parts, Mickey keychains, etc.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
No business wants to manufacture here…
because workers tend to have a voice…and sweatshops are - believe it or not - illegal
dealbreaker
And the saddest part for those of us who remember what Freight Trains looked like or lived in a place where the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe began to see how much of the rail has gone to rot. So many closed lines because people didnt want it shipped by train. I am not anti environment but, I now understand what some of my family who worked/retired in Railway industry meant by it was dying in the 80s-90s.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
No company is ever going back to brick and mortar. I saw there are 23 Disney stores left. I think there were 800 at its peak.
its lost to history
I could see a couple more strategic locations being added back eventually, the remaining stores all seem to be very purposeful in their locations (ie in each major economic market to keep a small foothold in place) but I more meant that Id rather then just do online and pull out of target instead of allowing this mess to continue.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
There is a relatively new and giant 20 mile long rail trunk line, known as the Alameda Corridor, leading out of the Port of LA and Long Beach to the massive railroad complex in southeast LA. The Alameda Corridor was designed in the 1990's and built in the early 21st century, and it's one of the most efficient and massive cargo rail corridors on the planet. It has an extremely high design capacity.
The Alameda Corridor has a designed capacity of 150 long cargo trains per day. In 2018, pre-Covid and during a very good economy with a very busy port, the corridor was averaging just 38 long cargo trains per day. The Alameda Corridor was built for the future.
The Alameda Corridor leads from the port to the various cargo rail network mainlines that all end up in the Los Angeles basin, owned by the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Once the Alameda Corridor feeds into those two private rail networks and their trans-continental mainlines throughout greater LA, each train car loaded with cargo speeds on its way across the continent on those very efficient private rail networks.
The private railroads in this country are not to blame for product shortages, nor is the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority that manages that key rail link to blame. In my opinion, of course. But what do I know? I'm one of the people who still use Amtrak!
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Just have certain people in Washington DC meet with key media people and convince them to talk about things in more rosy ways. Problem solved!They aren't docked, they haven't been assigned a berth yet, and they aren't in the approved waiting areas.
The ships are waiting more than 40 miles offshore now, so they don't count and can't be fined.
Problem Solved!
This problem with shipping isn’t going away anytime soon. I’d be surprised if it’s alleviated by next summer.