Ask HN: How is your supply chain dealing with soaring shipping container costs?

7 points

5 years ago

The cost of shipping by container has been soaring in 2021, with no end in sight. For those businesses that rely on container shipping, as tech clearly does with its colossal quantities of hardware originating in Asia, how have the supply chain plans of your business, whether big or small, been affected, and what steps can/should be taken to address it?

Some background links:

"Rising consumer demand and constrained supply of containers is causing disruption on the seas":

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/02/11/container-shipping-costs-have-surged-in-recent-months

"Container rates are continuing to climb driving carriers’ profits while shippers continue to struggle with the ever-increasing costs. All major trade corridors have seen rate growth during the first five months of 2021 and fresh records continue to bet (sic) set.":

https://maritime-executive.com/article/container-rates-continue-to-set-new-highs-in-2021

"Last year we were paying $1,500-$2,000 a container from China and right now it's $10,500":

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/shipping-container-price-increase-1.6146496

Smith Corona even calles it "chaos":

https://www.smithcorona.com/blog/2021-supply-chain-chaos/

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