"Order your Christmas presents now," UPS chief says amid supply chain drag
CBSN
Supply chain problems that stymied retailers and clogged U.S. ports this year are expected to continue into 2022 as the COVID-19 Delta variant's effects linger. That means shoppers face potential delays in retailers replenishing everything from video games to clothing — especially during the coming holiday season.
"I half-jokingly tell people 'Order your Christmas presents now because otherwise on Christmas day, there may just be a picture of something that's not coming until February or March,'" Scott Price, the international president for shipping giant UPS, told the AFP wire service. Some consumers are already buying holiday gifts. More than 1 in 4 holiday shoppers plan to start by the end of this month, while more than half plan to start before Halloween, according to a new CreditCards.com survey.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.