Seafreight delays see more business’s turn to airfreight.

Container ships parked outside Long Beach

A record 60 container vessels are at anchor or adrift in the San Pedro Bay, waiting to be unloaded at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach seaports and another 20 are due to arrive in coming days, a port executive said on Wednesday.

The global supply chain has been reeling due to overwhelming demand for cargo;, temporary COVID-19 closures of ports and factories in Asia; shortages of shipping containers and key products like resin and computer chips; and severe weather. Transportation costs have spiked, exacerbating delays and fueling product shortages.

Fashion retailer Urban Outfitters has turned to airfreight to offset ocean supply chain disruptions and keep its products on shelves in Europe and the US.

In a recent conference call, Urban Outfitters chief executive Richard Hayne explained: “We are bringing a lot of, or most of our product by air to try to offset the port congestions and the shipping charges on ocean and the lack of containers”

“But we believe that bringing the inventory in as quickly as we can is the most prudent thing to do right now.