Container crises looms over Black Friday

Consumers hoping to fill their shopping carts during this year’s Black Friday should be prepared to see higher prices. Most of the most popular products have increased in price by more than 10% in 2021.

The rise in prices is due to the difficulties in importing inputs, parts, and finished products. The difficulties are transatlantic – and everything has become more expensive.

Freight prices have risen by more than 400%. Shipping a container used to cost US$2,000 (about R$11,000) to ship until the beginning of the pandemic.  Now, a container costs US$10,000 (about R$55 thousand) to ship, and some companies are reportedly paying US$30,000 (about R$165 thousand) to import a container of inputs and raw materials.

There is also an unprecedented shortage of containers, increasing travel times (the so-called transit time), and increasing queues.

Inputs and parts produced outside Brazil, mainly in East Asian countries, are also costing more in dollars, and at a time when the real is devaluing. Since January, the dollar has accumulated a 6.3% increase against the real; last Friday (October 8), the American currency reached R$ 5.5160.

“Our cost increase is not reasonable. Many of our inputs are dollarized and, to make matters worse, we have this global freight and container crisis”, says Jorge do Nascimento, president of Eletros, an association that represents manufacturers of household appliances, electronics, and portables.

A common Black Friday hit, thin-screen televisions have already accumulated a 28% price hike by August this year according to monitoring by consumer consultancy GfK. Laptop computers have increased by 30%, and clothes washers have increased by 11%.

Fernando Baialuna, director of business and retail at GfK, says the trend is for current prices to be maintained. In other words, there should be no new adjustment until Black Friday. “Most of the price increases have already taken place. Now the challenge is to be able to meet this latent demand with installments and offers.”

Source: Jornal de Brasília

To read the full original article, access the link: https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/economia/promocoes-da-black-friday-estao-ameacadas-pela-crise-dos-conteineres

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