'Containergeddon' Ignited Year-End Shopping Frenzy

Worst Logistics Crisis Materializes Ahead of US Black Friday and China's Guanggun Festival

[Asia Economy Reporters Yujin Cho and Yuri Kim] As the year-end mega consumption season approaches, including the US Black Friday and China’s Guanggun Festival, the worst logistics crisis is becoming a reality. The increase in import and export cargo amid global supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to severe congestion at West Coast ports in the US, turning them into battlegrounds. Additionally, the worst power shortage hitting China is delivering a chain reaction to the global supply chain, raising concerns that it could shrink the world economy.

According to major foreign media reports on the 8th (local time), as serious bottlenecks occurred at the representative West Coast ports of Los Angeles (LA) and Long Beach ahead of the year-end peak season, major US retailers are facing an emergency in securing vessels. Large retailers, struggling to secure inventory due to the worst logistics crisis, are busy preparing countermeasures such as deploying chartered ships.

Transportation consulting firm Ocean Audit described the competition among retailers to secure cargo ships as “Containergeddon” (a blend of container and Armageddon), highlighting the severity of the situation. Furthermore, the severe power shortage in China, known as the “world’s factory,” and factory shutdowns in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries are deepening the supply shortage.

The retail industry is already worried about a shopping frenzy during the year-end peak season. The container crisis has intensified during the periods most focused on by direct overseas shoppers, such as Black Friday, Guanggun Festival, and Christmas. Moreover, the resurgence of COVID-19 in Vietnam, the world’s largest garment production base, has made it difficult to operate factories, preventing the production of winter clothing.

A fashion industry official said, “We are urgently producing products domestically that were previously made in Vietnam, but it is difficult to produce the required quantities on time,” adding, “Due to rising labor costs and inventory shortages, we have no choice but to raise winter clothing prices.” An e-commerce industry official said, “So far, no issues have appeared on the surface, but we are closely monitoring the situation as there could be disruptions in product logistics during the major shopping seasons of November and December.”

According to Statistics Korea, online overseas direct purchase amounts grew from 1.9079 trillion won in 2016 to 2.2436 trillion won in 2017, 2.9717 trillion won in 2018, 3.6361 trillion won in 2019, and 4.0677 trillion won last year, more than doubling in four years. Already surpassing 2.5 trillion won in the first half of this year, it is expected to exceed 5 trillion won this year. Recently, with the popularization of overseas direct purchases and the global shopping festivals held during this season, domestic consumption is also showing a significant increase.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.