If you've ordered anything online this year, you know that shipping can be very fast … or… you could be checking the mail for a month.
'Backordered' is a word with serious implications this year.
In fact, if you wanted some electronic gadget, you probably should have ordered it in August or September.
Companies that have the product warehoused in the U.S. could send them swiftly. But if the product has to be shipped from Asia, don't count on it, especially if you want electronics. If you still haven't ordered in November, don't count on it for Christmas or Hanukkah.
In September, there were 74 cargo ships waiting in California ports one weekend, a traffic jam that had no end in sight.
There have been plenty of good reasons why products haven't reached their destinations.
In July, a typhoon delayed container ships at one of the world's busiest ports in China, and a single case of COVID-19 shut down the whole port in August, according to CNET. Once unloaded in the U.S., goods are delayed by a truck driver shortage.
Anything with microchips, which includes many goods including cars, magnets (toys), and even some plastics, will be hard to find if they haven't been warehoused in the U.S.
The good news: You might have some luck shopping locally in actual stores, whose buyers probably did order in August or September.
