Walmart Charters Cargo Ships Amid Supply Crisis The supply chain issues have been exacerbated by logjammed ports, COVID-19 and U.S.-China trade relations, as well as extreme weather.
By Entrepreneur Staff Edited by Emily Rella
Walmart has begun charting cargo ships amid an ongoing supply crisis in an effort to prepare for the busy holiday retail season.
Joe Metzger, U.S. executive vice president of supply-chain operations for the company, told Fox Business this week, "Chartering vessels is just one example of investments we've made to move products as quickly as possible."
The supply chain issues have been exacerbated by logjammed ports, COVID-19 and U.S.-China trade relations, as well as extreme weather.
Walmart isn't alone. According to Fox Business, Target, Home Depot, Costco and Dollar Tree have also been chartering ships to take on pandemic-related slowness.
As this goes on, more than 60 container ships are stuck outside of Los Angeles and Long Beach terminals, reported Fox Business. The top U.S. port complex rarely had more than one ship waiting before the pandemic. The 60 ships contain everything from clothing to furniture and electronics -- and it's worth billions of dollars.
Burt Flickinger, managing director at Strategic Resource Group, told that outlet that 20% to 25% of the goods stuck on ships will probably not be on shelves by Black Friday, which falls on Nov. 26.
