A broken supply chain isn't a problem for the logistics industry. It's a moneymaking opportunity
Thirty thousand high-end snow globes are trapped in California's San Pedro Bay, split between two shipping containers on two ships in the idle flotilla offshore.
One ship arrived in late September; the other in late October. They've been stuck at anchor ever since.
Liz Ross, co-founder of CoolSnowGlobes, says that at this point in the season, all is lost. Her snow globes — representing $1.5 million in sales — needed to get to customers before the holidays.
But Wan Hai Lines Ltd., the Taiwanese shipping corporation that owns those vessels, is making a record profit this year. So is every major ocean shipping company, trucking company and warehouse company, as consumer demand has led to a 20% jump in imports.
The supply chain, defined as the system of moving goods from factories and farms to end consumers, is tied into knots and failing to deliver. But supply chain companies, each a private entity that hopes to
