Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Top Story
Bottlenecks at L.A.-Long Beach hits toy companies hard
Photo credit: Times-Picayune
Because of recent congestion at the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, it’s taking two to three times longer than usual to get merchandise delivered to the toy wholesaler Aeromax Inc., which does nearly $5 million in annual gross sales selling children’s costumes and toys.
"We’re feeling the pinch here," said Aeromax COO Sean Schipper, noting that the fourth quarter is the company’s busiest time of the year because of the holidays. "Each single day (of delay) costs us money and loss of sales."
The delays also affect the retailers and e-retailers that sell Aeromax products.
"We’re unable to provide accurate arrival data to our customers, and we can’t give them that because of the unknown factors," Schipper said. "And that causes strains on the business-to-business relationship when we can’t provide accurate delivery information."
Nationally, the toy industry is feeling the impact of congestion at the port complex, worrying they won’t get the merchandise in time for holiday shoppers. The delays have been caused by the lack of available chassis, long truck wait times at terminals and continued uncertainty over West Coast port labor talks.
Half of the toy industry’s $22 billion annual sales are generated during the fourth quarter holiday shopping season, specifically in late November and December.
"The toy industry is one of many industries being impacted by congestion at the ports," said Ed Desmond, executive vice president of external affairs at the Toy Industry Association. "Continued delays in delivering product to retail would cause a widespread loss of critical holiday sales and a significant blow to the U.S. economy."
For more of the Press Telegram story: www.presstelegram.com
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