One of my tenants who is in the mattress fabrication and distribution business told me he has no supply, because the distribution chain is broken. I asked him how that happened. He said containers. What? He patiently explained to the clueless one that they were not being shipped back to China, because what the US ships to China has low value, so it is not worth it to ship the containers back there. I said, well it would be if the price got high enough, even if they were empty. Price? He laughed. He then emailed me the article below. Even price is not enough to get things moving – not yet anyway.
What a mess! It helps to explain some of the insane prices out there however. I expect to take a hit on some IKEA cabinets that I need to outfit a kitchen and dining room. I took on my latest rehab project at precisely the wrong time, that’s for sure. Among other things I managed to purchase the bulk of the lumber needed for framing at just about it’s peak price. Sad.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/08/business/shipping-containers/index.html
