Toy makers race to get products on shelves amid supply clogs
ABC News
With three months until Christmas, toy companies are racing to get their toys onto store shelves as they face a severe supply network crunch
NEW YORK -- With three months until Christmas, the Basic Fun toy company has made an unprecedented decision: leave one-third of its iconic Tonka Mighty Dump Trucks destined for U.S. store shelves in China.
Why? Given surging prices of shipping containers and clogs in the supply network, transportation costs to get the yellow bulky toy to U.S. soil is now 40% of the retail price, which is roughly $26. That's dramatically up from 7% a year ago. And it doesn't even include the cost of getting the product from U.S. ports to retailers.
“We've never left product behind in this way,” says Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun. “We really had no choice.”
Toy companies are racing to get their products to retailers as they grapple with a severe supply network crunch that could mean sparse shelves for the crucial holidays. They're trying to find containers to ship their goods while searching for alternative ports. Some are flying in some of the toys instead of shipping by boat to ensure delivery before Dec. 25. And in cases like Basic Fun, they are leaving certain toys behind in China and waiting for costs to come down.
