Shipping crisis could impact holiday shopping

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The global shipping crisis has caused shortages of a variety of products including clothing and children’s toys. With that, you soon might want to start thinking about your holiday shopping.

Companies like Hasbro, Crocs and Adidas are already warning of disruptions ahead of the holiday season. The result could be higher prices and fewer options to choose from, especially the longer you wait.

Shipping worldwide is already delayed and getting more expensive. With COVID-19 and worker shortages still making an impact, it may not get better for a while.

While most children are still enjoying the summer season and some likely haven’t thought about what they want for Christmas, Marth Valenzuela is looking ahead. She keeps a list of toys her two children ask for throughout the year, so by the time the holidays come around, she knows what they want.

But still, she said she normally waits until right before the holidays to buy gifts.

“It’s like a week before, even probably two days before,” she said.

This year, that may not be the best option as companies plan for shortages of products because of he pandemic. It could mean less choices for gifts and higher prices.

Across the globe, terminals and ports are shut down because of COVID cases. The U.S. has a lack of truck drivers and some airports, like Chicago already have two-week delays to pick up cargo.

Some companies are moving production to entirely different countries, utilizing more ports and increasing the number of carriers they work with to make sure products are available, but are still expecting some delays and shortages.

Valenzuela said she doesn’t mind spending a little extra cash this year and plans on waiting a couple more months to shop.

“I think it’s just the same. I’ll go shopping a couple weeks before, a week before,” she said.

Supply-chain experts said if you’re out shopping and see something you think could make a good gift, you should go ahead and buy it then. And if you normally shop online, you should buy gifts at least a month ahead of time since shipping could end up taking about four to six weeks.

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