Small businesses struggling to keep items in stock

PEORIA, Ill. (NewsNation Now) — As the supply chain hitches and halts worldwide, one of the areas being hit hardest is the small business sector. Mega-retailers have resorted to tactics like hiring their own cargo ships to bring stock from overseas, but independent local businesses don’t have that option.

Chad Ashpaugh, with Industry Brewing in Peoria, says his business is having trouble ordering simple things like glassware to keep serving customers their beer.

Leah Jordan, with Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas, says the supply chain bottleneck is even hitting publishing, with books in short supply because of a lack of paper. She tries to keep on top of what’s going to be available, but inevitably some customers go away empty-handed and annoyed.

Daniel Stanton, who goes by “Mr. Supply Chain,” says the problem now is at the ports. There are plenty of goods, there simply aren’t enough containers to hold them all, ships to carry them all across the ocean or trucks to distribute them all once they get here.

The restaurant industry is being hit especially hard, with the worker shortage piling on top of the shortage of food to serve customers. Some restaurants are having to take items off their menus, and some are having to close indoor dining because they don’t have enough staff to serve customers.

The supply chain problems will eventually be resolved, with President Joe Biden making moves like getting the Port of Los Angeles to agree to operate 24/7. The labor shortage is a more thorny problem, with the only seeming solution being workers offering higher wages, which will lead to higher menu prices.