b'FEBRUARY 14 - MARCH 13, 2022TOP NORTH AMERICAN SHIPPERS 13(EASEcontinued fromButtheproblemisthatoperators at 29 ports expires(MONITORINGcontin- theMidwest, Baltimore and page 2) shifting production and sourc- on July 1. In November, theued from page 4) New England areas.Maya is early was one of the mitiga- ingiseasiersaidthandone.InternationalLongshoreandsufficiency. alicensedinsurancebroker tion strategies that importersTheresalotmoreinvolvedWarehouseUnion(ILWU)Disclaimer:Thisarticlein the Commonwealth of Vir-adopted,butitalsocontrib- than just making the products,rejectedanemployerpro- is provided for informationalginiaforProperty&Casu-uted to congestion. said Gold. You need all of theposaltoextendthecurrentpurposesonlyanddoesnotaltyInsuranceandholds That congestion will likelysupply-chain pieces in place.agreementforanotheryear.constitutelegaladvice.Itnumerous non-resident agent persistthroughthisyear,Its also important to workIn2014,WestCoastportsshould not be construed as anlicenses in other states.accordingtotheDescarteswithpartnersthatcanbefacedmonthsofslowdownsoffer to represent you, nor is report.Retailersarenownimble and can adjust whenas negotiations on the currentit intended to create, nor shalla bouTR oanokeconcentratingonrestockingyou need them to. contract proceeded. the receipt of such informa- Roanoke Insurance Group inventoriesfor2022,andTherehavebeensomeSlowdowns or work stop- tionconstitute,anattorney- Inc., a Munich Re company, thequestioniswhethertheopportunitiestonear-shorepages at West Coast ports thisclientrelationship.Readersis a specialty insurance broker omicronvariantofCOVIDsourcingofcertainproductssummer could throw retailingare urged to seek professionalfocusedonsuretybondand willmotivateconsumerstoand that trend is going to con- supplychainsintoturmoil.orlegaladvicefromappro- insurance solutions for logis-continue to spend on stay-at- tinue, he added. Having theMoreshipmentscouldbepriatepartiesonallmattersticsserviceproviders,cus-home goods, or whether theyright technology, informationrouted to East Coast ports as amentioned herein.toms brokers and companies will re-diversify their spend- systems,anddatainplaceresult, said Gold, a trend thatmanagingsupplychains. ing habits to include more inwillalsoprovetobeveryis already ongoing according toa bouT Thea uThoR :Foundedin1935,Roanoke the way of services, such asimportant to make sure retail- the Descartes report. As a per- MayaMackeyjoinedwas the first provider of cus-travel and restaurant meals.ers have better forecasting. centage of the top ten ports,Roanoke in 1998 and is cur- tomsimportbondsaswell IntheU.S.,consumerRetailers must also con- the report noted, the Port ofrently an Assistant Vice Pres- asthefirstappointedATA behavior driving a high ratiosidertheimplicationsofLos Angeles declined by 4.6%ident responsible for sales inCarnet provider in the United of goods to services expen- futuresupply-chaindisrup- whencomparingDecembertheBaltimoreregion.MostStates. Roanoke has decades dituresisthefundamentaltions, an issue which is hardlyandMay,whilethePortsofofhertenurewithRoanokeof partnership with the trade driverofthecurrentsitua- theoretical.Thelaborcon- NewYork/NewJerseyandwasspentasaBondMan- community as a trusted pro-tion and doesnt appear to betractcovering15,000WestSavannah increased by 2.4%ageroverseeingcustomerviderofinsurance,surety changing, said Chris Jones,Coastdockworkersand70(EASEcontinued onsupportandcustomsbondbonds, ATA Carnet products aDescartesexecutiveviceoceancarriersandterminalpage 34) underwritingforclientsinand specialty servicespresident. Chris Jones, Descartes Exec. VPLast yearwith dispos-ablepersonalincomeup 4.1% and spending on goods increasing12%,according toNRFnumbersclothing andaccessories,sporting goods,furniture,electron-ics and appliances, building materials,andgardensup-plieswereallbigwinners, eachpostingincreasesof wellintothedoubledigits through November.The ratio of spending of goods to services, which has consistentlyhoveredbelow 50% since 2016, rose during thepandemictoahighof around58%,accordingto Descartes figures. After fall-ingafewpercentagepoints lastsummer,theratiohas been inching up since then. Thenewcoronavirus variantsarehavingmultiple impactskeepingconsumers fromspendingonservicesas opposed to goods, said Jones, andexacerbatingexisting resource shortages and the abil-ity to move goods efficiently.g oingf oRWaRd in22Goingforward,retailers willfacemultipleobstacles intheireffortstoresettheir supplychains.Delta,Omi-cron, and other possible future COVIDvariantsrepresent causesofanxietyforimport-ers. In addition, Chinas zero-COVIDpolicyisworrying if it should lead to factory or port shutdowns, said Gold.'