Pete Buttigieg, US Minister of Transport, warned on Sunday that current supply problems, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, would continue “next year”
US Transportation Minister Pete Buttigieg warned on Sunday that current supply problems would continue “next year,” and pleaded for a long-term solution. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused global supply chain disruptions, which have caused delays in the United States driving up prices.
The problem is worrying as Christmas approaches, with some experts predicting massive shortages for the holidays. “A lot of the problems we face this year are going to continue into the next year,” he told CNN Sunday morning. According to him, the situation is particularly linked to a sharp increase in demand, at a time when the economy is reopening in the country.
A central subject
“The problem is that even though our ports are handling more (goods) than they ever have, record amounts of goods are arriving, and our supply chain cannot keep up,” he explained. . Dozens of ships are docked outside the major ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on the West Coast, waiting to unload their cargo.
“These two ports represent 40% of our container traffic”, recalled the American minister, underlining the measures taken to remedy this congestion. “They now operate 24 hours a day. It’s not something easy to do overnight, but it was a strong commitment. “
“We need to tackle the long-term issues that have made us vulnerable to these kinds of bottlenecks,” he pleaded. “This is why we must pass the infrastructure plan” of President Joe Biden. This gigantic bill has a relatively consensus in Congress, but the left of the Democratic Party refuses to consider it before securing a colossal social spending plan.
These supply problems were a central topic at the meeting of finance ministers of industrialized countries gathered this week in Washington.
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