Parents Face Long Waits for Car Seats and Other Baby Items
The cost of freight to import products has also skyrocketed, from under $2,000 to $15,000 or $20,000 per container, which the company has largely absorbed so far, Mr. Shamie said. A typical container can fit about 300 cribs, he said.
“We’ve had situations where we have a hot product and are rushing to get things in — this is not what this is,” he said. “This is a case of the actual system being broken down.”
Those kinds of challenges have led some sellers to diversify their supply chains and focus on best-selling products.
Million Dollar Baby, whose brands include Babyletto and DaVinci, has increased the number of freight carriers and trucking companies it works with in an effort to dislodge the shipping backlog, said Teddy Fong, the chief executive. It has also made the Babyletto Hudson and Lolly cribs, among its most popular items, a manufacturing priority in Taiwan.
Still, roughly 35 percent of Million Dollar Baby’s items are out of stock at any point, though they typically become available again in two to three weeks, said Mr. Fong, whose parents founded the company in Los Angeles in 1990.
“It’s all sorts of these stories and seemingly new bottlenecks that pop up every week,” he said. “It’s very frustrating because there isn’t a clear line of sight in terms of what needs to be done to get us out of the situation.”
How the Supply Chain Crisis Unfolded
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The pandemic sparked the problem. The highly intricate and interconnected global supply chain is in upheaval. Much of the crisis can be traced to the outbreak of Covid-19, which triggered an economic slowdown, mass layoffs and a halt to production. Here’s what happened next:
A reduction in shipping. With fewer goods being made and fewer people with paychecks to spend at the start of the pandemic, manufacturers and shipping companies assumed that demand would drop sharply. But that proved to be a mistake, as demand for some items would surge.
Demand for protective gear spiked. In early 2020, the entire planet suddenly needed surgical masks and gowns. Most of these goods were made in China. As Chinese factories ramped up production, cargo vessels began delivering gear around the globe.
Then, a shipping container shortage. Shipping containers piled up in many parts of the world after they were emptied. The result was a shortage of containers in the one country that needed them the most: China, where factories would begin pumping out goods in record volumes
Demand for durable goods increased. The pandemic shifted Americans’ spending from eating out and attending events to office furniture, electronics and kitchen appliances – mostly purchased online. The spending was also encouraged by government stimulus programs.
Strained supply chains. Factory goods swiftly overwhelmed U.S. ports. Swelling orders further outstripped the availability of shipping containers, and the cost of shipping a container from Shanghai to Los Angeles skyrocketed tenfold.
On the receiving end are customers who don’t need another source of anxiety. First-time parents often research heavily before selecting strollers, cribs, car seats and other wares. And out-of-stock items can crimp registries; Babylist says new parents often select 100 to 200 items.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/29/business/baby-parents-supply-chain.html