OVERWHELMED U.S. ports, elevated freight costs and accidents that sent goods plunging to the bottom of the ocean are causing headaches for U.S. retailers already reeling from the pandemic.

From appliance makers to shoe brands and fitness equipment manufacturers, corporations of all sizes are reporting logistics struggles, especially on trans-Pacific trade routes. Although they haven’t yet translated into widespread sticker shock for consumers, the ongoing shipping issues threaten to disrupt inventories if they persist much longer.

“I don’t think we’re meeting everybody’s expectations today — and frankly, we’re unlikely to. I doubt if anybody else is either importing products from Asia,” Crocs Inc. chief executive officer Andrew Rees said last week. “Getting it through Long Beach and other ports, getting shipped to customers is really challenging right now. And that’s not an issue with production capacity; that’s just logistics.”

The supply strains, compounded by shortages of shipping containers, are starting to hit companies’ operations. Nautilus Inc., which makes fitness machines like Bowflex, said that logistic issues delayed the launch of some of its new connected treadmills. Shoe-maker Wolverine World Wide Inc. said US$20 million in sales would shift from the first to the second quarter because of the backlogs. Steven Madden Ltd. said supply chain disruptions cut the footwear company’s first-quarter sales expectation by US$30 million.

Retailers expect the problems to spill into the next quarter, though some say they think the worst is behind them.

Nautilus CFO Aina Konold said the company no longer needs to send purchase orders two or three quarters into the future. (SD-Agencies)