All the containers are empty in this country.
A container used to quote at $1,600 to ship from Taiwan to Long Beach. Right now they're being quoted at $17,000.
Public bid projects, contractors holding bids for 30 days. The norm is 180. They can't go more than 30 due to supplier/sub refusal to hold pricing.
Furniture and appliances are kicking my butt. I have clients using a couple of my coolers because its taking 6-9 weeks to get a fridge.
Oh man.. you actually want to ship a container FROM here to somewhere? You should negotiate a lower rate. They are legit shipping empties out of here just to get them back to Asia and Europe.
Almost all of this is because of issues in China. This has been an ongoing issue for 5 years. It started out with a few items, like freezers and water heaters in the appliance industry. All of the manufacturing went overseas. It put those into perpetual backorder, increased prices, and made it harder on the small retailers.
Your vendors basically have you over a barrel because when there are any extra, you best buy them up, which kills cash flow. 5 years ago, a 15 cu ft chest freezer sold for 300.00 to 400.00, now its 540.00 to 700.00.
This is a microcosm of the larger picture, but one of the earliest items impacted.
Manufacturing needs to come back to the US or it will get worse.
Housing market risk seems underappreciated, however, lending is tighter than it was during the '07 melt, so I'm not sure what to think. Also, if you are not a "deadbeat", i.e. can pay your mortgage because you remain employed in a job that is adequate to do so, be thankful. I suspect there are a few actual deadbeats that are taking advantage during this time, but far more are suffering real repercussions related to a pandemic. If your family lost it's source of income, would you immediately move them to the streets to make sure you didn't become a deadbeat? Would you wait until you were a month behind? Two months? 6 months? It's OK to be pro work ethic AND have some compassion.
Well, you're wrong on your opinion of who isn't paying their mortgage. Hard working people have found jobs. Sensible people are employed. There are jobs everywhere right now. Most pay $15/hr plus. Trust me, I deal directly with it every single day.
The number of sorry humans grows daily.
9. General Labor - Mostly due to the cost of labor due to COVID with increased federal unemployment, some due to infection. Probably 10 to 1 wiht the 10 being people just simply not working and making equal to or more than they did as an employee. This has crossed every single hourly waged sector of the entire economy, and will end here shortly, but not without increased labor cost. The general labor issue has forced every product on the planet to be delayed. Every single one of them. Reduced capacity with growing need.
You need people to effectively work those jobs though. There is a massive shortfall of people willing or able to work a skilled manufacturing job in the us. Similar boat for construction.
I have a few friends that own decent size manufacturing operations. One is transitioning to imports and not going to rely as much on his internal production. Another is cashing out and selling his building/land. The third may be ahead of the curve, he is now hiring convicted felons. Says it's the only way to find people willing to work in a factory environment.
In certain jobs it doesn't matter how much you pay, you cannot attract willing workers. The only option may be a revamped immigration policy were we value blue collar workers as much as white collar workers. Seems more likely than cutting off the government tit at this point.
This particular issue goes all the way back to education. We (the USA) have put an emphasis on college education. We have told kids they are too good for vocational jobs. It is self fulfilling when kids are told this over and over. The majority of the jobs in retail, restaurants, and entry level manufacturing have always been held by young non college, or attending college individuals.
Kids need to be told that vocational jobs are valuable.
I suspect there are a few actual deadbeats that are taking advantage during this time, but far more are suffering real repercussions related to a pandemic
If the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it's that we need to manufacture more **** here and we need to ease up regulations to spur that revival. From pharmaceuticals to electronics to appliances... bring that **** back to US soil and stop relying on China and their poor labor practices for this ****.
The automobile industry has got to be sucking wind bad.
Your lips to God's ears. The problem is everyone from our politicians to our entertainment industry and countless manufacturer giants are tied to China at the hip.