Joe Falzarano, owner of Huzzah Toys in Venice Beach, met last week with a sales rep from Hawthorne-based Bruder Toys America, Inc. to place orders for the busy fourth quarter shopping period. But the pickings were slim.
“We are getting some product in, but not everything we want,” Falzarano said. “A key item like a fire engine, which is a basic staple for kids in terms of toys, is not going to be available for the holiday season due to the supply chain backup and everything sitting on the water.”
Merchants like Huzzah Toys are in the eye of “a perfect storm” brewing at the San Pedro Bay port complex, according to Christopher Tang, professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
Last week, there were 144 ships in San Pedro Bay, of which 85 were waiting at anchor or drifting along the coastline, according to Marine Exchange of Southern California, a nonprofit that coordinates traffic at the ports and churns out daily vessel arrival and departure reports.
The higher transportation prices have attracted other players in the shipping realm who are looking to profit by picking up the excess cargo. Freight lines that used to operate only from Asia to Europe, or Asia to Africa, are sending ships to carry goods to L.A. instead, “jamming the ports of California,” Tang said. “The more ships are stuck, more of the product is not going through because there’s congestion.”
Click here to read the full report from Medira DiMartino with the Los Angeles Business Journal.