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Toy Makers Battle Supply Chain Hiccups

Global shipping snags risk leaving shelves empty as the holiday season approaches.

Although the calendar says it’s still summer for another day or so, consider getting your Christmas list polished up sooner rather than later.

Leading toy manufacturers are worried that continued slowdowns across global supply chains will impact the holiday shopping season.

And they told Reuters that they’re employing a number of different strategies to ensure their products are on store shelves in coming months.

Some are using cargo planes, but prices are only going up and capacity for this year appears to be nearly exhausted.

Others are attempting to route maritime traffic to ports that could be less busy, or asking major retailers to do their own shipping.

Complicating matters are continued shipping disruptions related to COVID-19, as well as record-high demand for toys through the first months of 2021.

Analysts also warned that seasonal items from earlier in the year, including school supplies and Halloween decorations, are already experiencing shortages.

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