The Shipping Container Drought Continues Amid the Holidays

Do you plan to ship anything during the holiday season? If so, plan to start early. With Christmas coming up, there aren’t any containers for people who aren’t businesses and prices are projected to rise for the next six months. At least, that’s what shipping container experts predict. The shipping container shortage in Houston, TX can throw a real wrench into your holiday plans. Read on to learn more about “shipageddon” and what you can do to mitigate it.

What is shipageddon?

“Shipageddon” is the name experts have given to the shipping container drought around the world. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, online retail sales have boomed. This is largely due to the fact that shelter-in-place orders and the coronavirus have made it more difficult, if not impossible or unhealthy, to shop in brick and mortar stores.

Because the demand for shipping is so high, the demand for shipping containers is equally intense. According to the New York Times, “The combination of our reliance on online shopping during a pandemic and our eagerness for online shopping during the holidays has made some e-commerce experts predict a ‘shipageddon’ in the United States—delays and chaos as parcel companies already stretched thin also tackle a surge in holiday packages.”

In other words, if you’re planning to buy or ship gifts this season, it’s best to start early. The U.S. Post Office is already suffering slowdowns from decommissioned sorting machines and other issues. Be prepared to ship as early as possible if it’s important that your gifts arrive before Christmas day. Either way, be prepared to be flexible—it doesn’t look like shipageddon will end anytime soon. Shippers are seeing bottlenecks in the supply chain, which could trigger delays down the line.

Should you be worried?

Will it really be that bad? Depending on who you ask, this could be anything from a minor inconvenience to a major disaster. Expect the actual results to be somewhere in between. You should plan for delays, but there’s no reason to expect the worst. Since more people are shopping online, demand is high and shipping will naturally be slower. As long as you’re not shopping on Dec. 24 and hoping for same-day delivery, you as a consumer should be safe.

However, be forewarned that you may have issues buying anything at all—or getting those deep Black Friday discounts you’re used to. Since supply is short and demand is high, stores probably won’t be inclined to discount merchandise like they normally do. They know they can charge more, and who can blame them?

If you’re a retailer, you probably already know about shipageddon—and hopefully you’ve made plans to deal with a potential dearth of supplies or shipping opportunities. If not, now is the best time to start preparing.

If you need help dealing with the container shortage in Houston, TX, A Mobile Box can help. We’re equipped to provide the containers you need to move your goods, set up that extra workspace and more. Call us today to learn more about our shipping and storage containers.

Categorised in: Shipping Containers

This post was written by Writer