Business slowed during the pandemic lockdowns; retail shops often closed; people stayed home and they stopped buying things. Wait . . no, they didn't exactly stop buying everything. Overall they spent less, yes, but not nothing.
Exercise equipment for home use actually saw more sales. No surprise there, since most people had much more home time for one reason or another. Sales of electronics also rose, plus equipment of all kinds for home offices.
A lot of that merchandise is brought into the U.S. by container ship. So there's another unintended, unforeseen consequence of the lockdown: big logjam. Thirty container ships per day have sat at anchor waiting to be unloaded just off Los Angeles, while the normal number is zero or one (says the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Port, in video below).
Seaboard imports started surging in the U.S. last summer as retailers tried to re-stock depleted inventories. Last fall there were 57 more cargo ships than normal. Ships backed up, too, because many workers in the transport system (trains, trucks, terminals, etc.) were sick or at home due to contact tracing.
No comments:
Post a Comment