June 16, 2021
How Bad are Global Shipping Snafus? Home Depot Has Contracted Its Own Container Ship As Safeguard
Home Depot is one of the largest importers in the country. Yet with congested ports, container shortages and Covid-19 outbreaks slowing shipments, the company made a decision: It was time to get its own boat.
“We have a ship that’s solely going to be ours and it’s just going to go back and forth with 100% dedicated to Home Depot,” President and Chief Operating Officer Ted Decker said in an interview. It marks the first time that the company has taken such a step.
Decker said the contracted ship, which will begin running next month, is just one example of the unusual measures that the company is taking as it copes with challenges that have ricocheted across the global supply chain.
Other retailers have also had to go to great lengths to try to stock stores and distribution centers and keep up with consumer demand as the economy recovers from the pandemic. For shoppers, retailers’ logistical woes are playing out in the form of out-of-stocks, long delays before a purchase’s arrival and higher prices.