In early November, the White House released key performance indicators measuring progress in clearing bottlenecks throughout the U.S. supply chain. The metrics showed an “abnormally high” number of container ships awaiting berth at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle 40% of containerized imports entering the country.
Congestion at major ports of discharge translates to product backorders and delays further down the supply chain across industries. Increased freight, transportation and materials costs — along with labor shortages — also factor into this.
However, if we narrow the focus to the healthcare supply chain, the short-term outlook materializes as a steady state through the end of 2021, with relief just over the horizon. “We hope to see improvement in 2022 as we all learn how to better navigate the landscape,” says Jack Slagle, vice president of category management at McKesson Medical- Surgical.
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