The journey of a Tonka toy truck from its Asian factory to U.S. stores offers a window into what it takes for a small toymaker to survive in 2021.
Foreman doesn’t have those strings to pull. Control of about 80% of the global shipping market and 95% of the transpacific routes is concentrated in the hands of nine companies based mainly in Asia and Europe, according to S&P Global Platts, and they exert near-total control over the prices. It currently costs $10,000 to $15,000 in the spot market to ship a 40-foot container from China to the West Coast, more than five times the pre-pandemic rate.
Congestion at U.S. ports isn’t easing up, forcing some like Connie Gee, a logistics specialist for San Francisco-based University Games, to change tactics. She’s pivoted shipments fromto Prince Rupert and Vancouver in Canada because these ports are less likely to experience delays, even though it takes as much as five days longer to get the toys to the company’s distribution center in Memphis, Tenn. And since University Games is struggling to find workers in the tight U.S.
“Christmas is not going to move to January,” said Joel Berger, executive vice president of Tara Toy Corp. in Long Island, N.Y. “It’s sort of like a cliff. You’ve got to get this done before you fall off.”
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