Pirate's Cove

Here’s one from NPR from September 24th, saying it is a terrible time to be buying a car

The result is a severe car shortage: Auto-sales site CarGurus reports inventory levels are down 64% over last year. And that has driven average prices up by thousands of dollars in just a few months.

My dealership would usually have 600-800 new, well over 100 certified used. We now have around 2-4 new that are not spoken for, and may 10 certified. And this is expected to last into summer 2022 if not 2023. And then we get

Inside America’s broken supply chain

The commercial pipeline that each year brings $1 trillion worth of toys, clothing, electronics and furniture from Asia to the United States is clogged and no one knows how to unclog it.

This month, the median cost of shipping a standard rectangular metal container from China to the West Coast of the United States hit a record $20,586, almost twice what it cost in July, which was twice what it cost in January, according to the Freightos index. Essential freight-handling equipment too often is not where it’s needed, and when it is, there aren’t enough truckers or warehouse workers to operate it.

As Americans fume, supply headaches that were viewed as temporary when the coronavirus pandemic began now are expected to last through 2022.

Dozens of cargo vessels stuck at anchor off the California coast illustrate the delivery disruptions that have become the signature feature of the recovery, fueling inflation, sapping growth and calling into question the global economic model that has prevailed for three decades.

Today’s twisted supply chain is forcing companies to place precautionary orders to avoid running out of goods, which only compounds the pressure. Consumers are confronting higher prices and spot shortages of cars, children’s shoes and exercise gear, as the holiday shopping season looms.

Through 2022, which probably means deep into 2023

Fallout from the once-in-a-century health crisis is the chief culprit behind soaring freight bills and delivery delays. Americans trapped at home slashed spending at restaurants, movie theaters and sporting events and splurged on goods such as laptops and bicycles, triggering an import avalanche that has overwhelmed freight channels.

But the pandemic also exposed weaknesses in the nation’s transport plumbing: investment shortfalls at key ports, controversial railroad industry labor cuts, and a chronic failure by key players to collaborate, according to interviews with more than 50 individuals representing every link in the nation’s supply chain.

“It’s like an orchestra with lots of first violins and no conductor. . . . No one’s really in charge,” said Fran Inman, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate executive who has advised government agencies on supply issues.

Normally, this orchestra with no conductor works just fine. The Chinese coronavirus caused major problems with this, obviously, and now it’s hard to get back on track, especially with COVID raging in areas where production occurs.

When the supply chain works, goods flow continuously, as if borne along by a river. Today, one bottleneck follows another. The problems are especially acute on the Asia-to-U.S. trade route.

It’s a pretty detailed, long piece by the Washington Post, explaining just what’s going on, what should be going on, and how it’s disrupted. A piece that fails to ask “what the hell is the Biden administration doing?” Where is the Biden admin? This is exactly the type of issue for which the federal government could come in and coordinate all the various players, much in the way FEMA is supposed to operate during emergencies, coordinating all the communications between local and state governments to other local and state governments, as well as federal agencies, plus the energy companies which dispatch employees and trucks and material to other states. Bringing in aid and setting the distribution lines. They aren’t there to do everything, it’s coordination and communication.

Why is this not occurring? What is the Biden admin doing? We never hear any news on how they’re trying to help, and a web search finds virtually nothing. It’s being ignored. Instead, Biden is pushing his hardcore leftist agenda, forcing compliance with vaccine mandates, running off to Camp David or Delaware every weekend, Kamala is flying to Palm Springs for something secret with no press and no transparency. None of his people seem to be doing anything. While Trump was focused on the economy, on getting things moving again, Biden is doing a whole lot of nothing.