The countdown to Christmas is running, in a few weeks the presents have to be under the tree.
That could be a challenge this year.
The reason for this: delivery bottlenecks.
Munich - Some of you will have noticed the empty shelves and long delivery times.
Many companies are currently having problems importing their goods from abroad.
Furniture giant Ikea took a special measure to reduce the range and is relying on alternatives in the supply chain.
But not only Ikea is affected by the delivery bottlenecks, electrical appliances, bicycles and fashion items are also in short supply.
These are the reasons for the tense situation in global trade
Containers are currently a sought-after commodity around the world.
The population's appetite for orders increased during the corona pandemic.
As a result, the huge container ships are stowed in the major ports of the world.
There was also a corona infection among workers in the port of Futian, near the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen.
In May, according to
tagesschau.de,
only half as many freight containers could be handled as usual for weeks.
In March, the gigantic cargo ship "Ever Given" blocked the Suez Canal and caused further chaos in global trade.
This series of traffic jams and problems in container traffic is now being felt by customers when shopping.
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The aground container ship "Ever Given" blocks the Suez Canal.
© - / European Space Imaging / dpa / archive image
MediaMarkt, Saturn, Apple & Co. are affected
If you want to buy a Playstation 5, you have to be very lucky at the moment.
Sales in electrical stores are usually only sporadic.
"The PlayStation 5 has been on the market for eleven months - and buying a PS5 is still one thing above all
else
: stress." Writes
gameswirtschaft.de
about the nerve-
wracking
process of
getting
to a console.
The new Apple Watch series seven has been available for pre-order for a few days and will be released on October 15.
However, as
businessinsider.de
reports,
some retailers seem to be
feeling bottlenecks and even Apple seems to be able to deliver many models only at the end of November.
Bicycle dealers also complain of problems.
Especially e-bikes and their batteries are, according to
chip.de,
absolutely in short supply.
Delivery bottleneck: tips for the run-up to Christmas
An easing of the critical situation is not to be expected, especially now, in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
On the one hand, as is customary at this time, demand will increase even more.
On the other hand, experts do not expect the container crisis to normalize until March 2022.
Those who are nimble can try their luck with gifts at upcoming bargain promotions:
November 11: Singles Day
November 26th: Black Friday
November 30th: Cyber Monday