Explain to me, please . . .

[Shropshire Slasher]

This is not a Cabbage Patch Kids situation. The shortages are real. Either the shelves in stores are empty or what’s on the shelf is way more expensive than it was.

There’s no real pattern to it. Metal is pretty hard to get right now, like fencing and wire. I discovered the other day that paint is getting hard to come by. My tires are $20 more expensive each than they were just a year ago.

 

[ChrisLong]

A trucker friend sent me a video the other night that showed four major trucking companies (including the one he works for) investing heavily in driverless trucks. He is worried about his job, despite being 69, he is healthy and strong and has no plans to retire. He has two boys, 11 and 9. Mom (who was never his wife, don't ask) is on the fringe of this.

 

[The Big Ragu]

A trucker friend sent me a video the other night that showed four major trucking companies (including the one he works for) investing heavily in driverless trucks. He is worried about his job, despite being 69, he is healthy and strong and has no plans to retire. He has two boys, 11 and 9. Mom (who was never his wife, don't ask) is on the fringe of this.

The monetary inflation shows up in wages. And right now, workers on the lowest end of the wage scale have as much leverage as they have had in a long time. The higher wages companies are having to pay eat into margins. ... Which creates incentives to try to automate if it's possible. Driverless technology was going to be a reality either way. The mess we have created might end up expediting the eventuality, though.

 

[swingline]

HAWWWWW! Shoot that thang!

They gave Marcel the beer joint.

 

[goalmouth]

Wait, did we leave out government subsidies for me, not thee? Such as Tennessee just giving Ford $900M?

Or infinite defense contracts in Groton and Seattle?

Or, or, or....

 

[User 150927]

I think the bigger problem is I'm not sure that we, and by we I mean the world, is either equipped to or inclined to make it all go again. This could be a huge adjustment in the world. Ongoing.

 

[goalmouth]

I think the bigger problem is I'm not sure that we, and by we I mean the world, is either equipped to or inclined to make it all go again. This could be a huge adjustment in the world. Ongoing.

If you mean the supply chain, probably. Lunar New Year means a weeks-long break in China factory output early next year, so that's a slack period for eastbound trans-Pacific container traffic. However, there's something like a half-million FEUs (forty-foot equivalent units, standard international measure) of import container traffic waiting outside LA-Long Beach now. That's a lot of trains at a time when the Class 1 railroads are running lean and mean to please their hedge fund overlords. (Who just forced out the CEO of Canadian National after a failed merger).

Did I mention there's a shortage of rail workers, too?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Joe Biden, duh.

 

[Justin_Rice]

If we’re going to have supply chain disruptions, how come I have to go without Gatorade and Blue Mountain Dew, but there’s an infinite supply of political campaign mailers?

I swear to god: Every day we have three or four in the mailbox from one candidate or another.

 

[Driftwood]

In the year 2021, what do countries gain by being geo-political enemies?
Seriously. What?
There's no more land to grab. Non-defense corporations stand to make a whole lot more with a world getting along than a series of pissing contests.
Resources? If that were the case, wouldn't the U.S. have been taking advantage of that in the Middle East the last two decades?
What does China benefit by cutting off supply chains to the world? It benefits by selling the world cheaply-made goods.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

 

[goalmouth]

This was news about five months ago. The real news is that the congestion has spread to East Coast ports such as Savannah.

 

[outofplace]

This is not a Cabbage Patch Kids situation. The shortages are real. Either the shelves in stores are empty or what’s on the shelf is way more expensive than it was.

There’s no real pattern to it. Metal is pretty hard to get right now, like fencing and wire. I discovered the other day that paint is getting hard to come by. My tires are $20 more expensive each than they were just a year ago.

I know someone who works for one of the big paint companies. They got a big sales spike last year. The demand still hasn't slowed down, but they haven't been able to produce enough product to keep up with it.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Also at play - Boomers retiring.

 

[DanOregon]

My two cents - the economy relies on turning over containers, when containers are stacked up and full and not moving and being changed out - that's bad for the economy.

 

[goalmouth]

Union port jobs are hard to come by unless you know someone.

Not enough people want to work dirty, dangerous jobs in container yards, terminals, and railroads.

It's a challenge to find potential hires who will even show for, much less pass, a drug test.

Trucking is a crappy job that no longer pays well.

Bonus: Many container ships are crewed by the trade's slaves, Filipinos, while officers come from the vessel company's home country of China, Denmark, France, etc.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

Good read on the situation.

 

[heyabbott]

How the Supply Chain Broke, and Why It Won’t Be Fixed Anytime Soon

 

[Azrael]

Thanks, everyone!

How the Supply Chain Broke, and Why It Won’t Be Fixed Anytime Soon

 

[goalmouth]

Good read on the situation.

That's a minor minor aspect. The real issue is that his drivers are contractors and get no benefits. **** that.