Supply issues gripping businesses large and small

(NewsNation Now) — The cold reality of the global supply chain mess hits hard at places like Santa Monica’s Snyder Diamond Store. Most days, customers are being warned about order delays.

“It’s insane,” customer Cecile Billauer said. “Things have taken so long. But it’s not the store’s fault at all.”

“A lot of our products can take eight or nine months,” store owner Russ Diamond said. “Now we’re being quoted sometime in the spring of 2022.”

Delivery for some appliances can now mean a wait of nine months or more.

A key holdup in the chain is in the waters off Los Angeles. The cargo ship backup is at around 40 vessels today. Port officials say that’s been the status quo for months due to a labor shortage.

The ripple effect is product shortages on many fronts, from appliances to furniture, clothing and school supplies.

“For younger kids, they were kinda low on a lot of stuff like the drinks, the backpacks, the lunch pails,” Samuel Gonzalez, a shopper, said.

Now, the global supply chain is twisted up even more due to new COVID-19 outbreaks here and in export countries such as Vietnam.

That means continued disruption, delays and container stackups. The trickle-down effect for businesses and consumers is inflation.

“The transportation costs, you know, you’d pay $6,000-7,000 per container, now you’re paying $40,000,” Diamond said. He believes appliance prices have jumped 15%.

The supply issues have also forced many consumers to settle for available options instead of their first choices. Even then, there may be a long wait.