Alarming new reports are coming in about serious shortages of components and finished products made in China, which may prevent brands, distributors and retailers in all the sectors to respond to a surge in post-pandemic demand ahead of the critical Christmas selling season. One major cause is a big shortage of electricity to power the country’s factories, which may last through March. It has led the Chinese government to engage in a massive program to boost coal mining, which will affect the environment. Supply chains are also being strained by the ongoing congestion at major ports and the recent coronavirus outbreak that has hampered production in Vietnam and; to a lesser extent, other sourcing countries. The Financial Times reports that waiting times for container vessels to unload or offload their merchandise are now ranging from one to three days in the Shenzhen and Shanghai/Nimbo areas to up to six days at Rotterdam’s harbor and 7 to 12 days in Los Angeles/Long Beach, according to research conducted by Seaexplorer in cooperation with Kuehne+Nagel.

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