--- title: The supply chain is fine, but inflation is not - The Hustle description: It’s still expensive to ship from Europe and store in the United States. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1321399645-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-28T003320.109Z.webp --- # The supply chain is fine, but inflation is not ![Mark Dent](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/0-3-1.jpeg?width=48&height=48&name=0-3-1.jpeg) [Mark Dent](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/mark-dent) Published: April 11, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 The supply chain, a major headache during the pandemic economy, is in much better shape. ![The supply chain is fine, but inflation is not](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1321399645-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-28T003320.109Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1321399645-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-28T003320.109Z.webp) Containers [that took](https://www.businessinsider.com/supply-chain-crisis-over-risk-china-labor-2022-12) up to ~120 days to ship between  warehouses in China and the US during the pandemic now take ~14 days, and the spot price for shipping a container from China to the US has declined from a peak of ~$20k to ~$1.2k, roughly equivalent to pre-pandemic prices. Yet many shipping prices remain high, [according to *Bloomberg*](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-26/supply-chains-have-healed-yet-their-mark-on-inflation-to-endure?sref=3Ac2yX40)*,* contributing to inflation. **Why?** For one, China to the West Coast isn’t the only prominent shipping route. Many American goods come from Europe, where prices for shipping a container are ~3x 2019 prices. There’s also timing: - Per *Bloomberg*, 70% of freight on a given ship has been negotiated under long-term contracts, so many importers are locked into rates set in 2021 and 2022. - Big companies are reluctant to change their prices, often adjusting them a couple times per year. **Plus, it still costs a lot…** … to store freight and to ship it by rail or truck in the US. - Warehouse vacancy rates are low, pushing up rents. - The logistics sector has struggled to hire and retain employees, which has led to higher salaries and costs. - The price of diesel is [~2x](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GASDESW) its summer 2020 price. It’s even gotten more expensive to [build new truck trailers](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU3362123362121#0). Retailers and industry leaders don’t see the prices of goods falling much until at least later this year, per *Bloomberg*. But logistics industry leaders [are meeting](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-02-27/supply-chain-latest-tpm23-gets-underway-as-supply-chains-heal?sref=3Ac2yX40) in Los Angeles this week to discuss the need to restore trust in the supply chain. The convention, as *Bloomberg*’s Laura Curtis described, will be a regular “Davos on the Docks.” Topics: [Logistics](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/logistics) [Supply Chain](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/supply-chain) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Bowling balls, nipple clamps, rubber chickens: Essential or not, you can get ‘em on Amazon](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/202924809-2020-News-Brief_2020-04-09T012738.687Z.webp) ### Bowling balls, nipple clamps, rubber chickens: Essential or not, you can get ‘em on Amazon - ![USPS wants in on the fast-delivery wars. 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Here’s why](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/128834109-News-Brief_2021-12-02T003828.331Z.webp) ### Retailers are telling customers to keep items instead of returning them. Here’s why - ![Amazon’s about to beat the delivery giants at their own game](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/434620645-News-Brief_2021-11-30T004738.854Z.webp) ### Amazon’s about to beat the delivery giants at their own game Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Mark Dent", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/mark-dent" }, "datePublished" : "2023-04-11T05:29:31.000Z", "headline" : "The supply chain is fine, but inflation is not", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1321399645-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-28T003320.109Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/02282023-supply-chain-inflation", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Mark Dent", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/mark-dent" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:32:16+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-04-11T05:29:31+0000", "headline" : "The supply chain is fine, but inflation is not", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1321399645-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-28T003320.109Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```