Australia- supply Chain disruption has hit hard with industrial clashes slowing down ports and empty containers piling up. Competition Watchdog Rod Sims says Australians must do a favor to the economy by ordering Christmas presents as early as possible. Furthermore, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says the nation had been hit hard by a disturbance in global supply chains due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The crisis has led to freight costs soaring, piles of empty containers, and industrial disputes which shows down the nation’s ports and make them unfavorable to shipping lines.

He says normally Christmas orders come ‘’in a big lump and the system can handle that, but right now the system won’t be able to handle it.’’

‘’So the more we spread Christmas purchasing out over a longer period, the better it will be for everybody.’’

What disrupts placing orders?

Since Covid-19 has started, its impacts are on every industry. Similarly, it has caused a major disruption to the global supply chain. Also raising freight costs about seven times above what they were previously, according to ACCC reports.

The closure of Chines ports due to Coronavirus led to fear that the traditional Christmas shopping bonanza could be ruin. However, ACCC says even without Covid-19, Australia’s ports were not in a good shape. According to World Bank and IHS Markit research, even before Coronavirus Australia’s two big ports, Sydney and Melbourne were in the bottom of 15 percent ports. Additionally, the privatization of Stevedores raised the costs, according to ACCC research.

Infrastructure

Meanwhile, Australian exporters are also suffering as they are competing against empty containers. They containers must put back into places like China. The competition regulators believe investing in infrastructure can help to overcome this issue. The ports can take larger ships, and deal with the piles of empty containers.

To keep the rents and charges reasonable, privatized ports must be follow regulations. Also, restrictive work practices at stevedores must be addressed. ACCC says the capacity of shipping lines has declined during a pandemic. Sims says, ‘’ if you’ve got fewer shipping lines wanting to come here then you’ve got high freight rates because those that are coming here will charge more. And if you’ve got fewer ships coming here. Then you’ve got less reliable delivery times and a longer period between delivery times, and that mucks up the ordering system.’’

And he also hopes that once the pandemic is over, everything will get back to normality.