You Better Start Christmas Shopping Now, Prices Going Up!

Just when we thought the pandemic was loosening its nasty grip on everything in our lives, you have to start your holiday prep now, especially if you have children on your list!

Toy prices are the next item whose prices are heading skyward. According to information gathered by the Wall Street Journal, toymakers are in alarm mode.

As you might guess the problem continues to be logjams in harbors around the globe. This continuing problem is putting a dent in toymakers' plans to get toys on shelves by October, for the traditional stocking of Christmas products.

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Hasbro Inc., Mattel Inc., and other manufacturers say they are navigating supply-chain disruptions and rising costs for materials and labor, leading them to raise prices to recoup some of the added costs.

Much of the problem has to do with toy companies finding space on shipping containers for their products. Those that have made it through are already being sold at much higher prices.

...premium surcharges for a 40-foot container from China to the U.S. West Coast as of Wednesday was $18,346, compared with about $2,680 last July and $1,550 in July 2019.- -Wall Street Journal

And since most toymakers outsource their production to China, where the supply chain isn't just damaged but broken. Getting their products here starts the problem, and the gridlock at U.S. ports heightens it.

Approximately 30 ships a day just sit in the ports of L.A. and Long Beach, full of products from toys, to cars, to electronics, just waiting for the goods to be unloaded, and then the lack of labor continues to slow down the distribution process.

The advice is to start looking for the toys on your kids' lists now, but, expect to pay quite a bit more.

Ultimately, Santa’s going to fly. What’s going to be in the sleigh is up in the air right now.- -Independent toy consultant Chris Byrne/Wall Street Journal

Source: Wall Street Journal