As the world slowly works its way back to pre-COVID-19 operations, the global demand for products requiring import has increased to meet the rising demand. This increase in shipping activity has created logistical challenges in global transportation. Similar to issues experienced when airlines overbook flights, freight vessels are becoming severely overbooked, causing containers to be delayed or bumped from shipments. Containers are then re-assigned to other overbooked vessels, leading to further delays which can exceed 30 days from the original ship date. Congestion at receiving ports is also contributing to delays, where long lines of container ships are awaiting access to U.S. ports. Products of necessity including gloves, aprons and other personal protective equipment are becoming delayed in this bottleneck leading to temporary inventory shortages.

Peak shipping season is approaching, which will potentially place more strain and delay on global transportation. Supply and inventory issues are beginning to affect vendors in the food processing industry, including BPD, as well as various other industries requiring import. As with the start of the pandemic, when similar transportation and inventory issues were occurring, you can rest assured that the entire supply chain team at Bunzl is working to identify alternative product solutions that are readily available to mitigate any potential issues. We will continue to work with you and your business to meet your product needs and to help keep your operation running smoothly and efficiently. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at 800-456-5624. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we all work together to overcome this global matter.