ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will hold an afternoon roundtable discussion "regarding the global supply chain and what Georgia agencies and companies are doing to help mitigate challenges."
The governor's office said public and private sector experts from the following categories to participate in the round table discussion: ports, transportation, driver services, economic development, rail, roadway, retail, and small business.
Delays in the global supply chain will impact holiday shopping across the board, experts say.
Many Thanksgiving grocery shoppers already found empty shelves days ahead of thanksgiving.
"I've read that the shelves are at about 4 to 11 percent below where they should be in terms of stocking," supply chain expert and University of Georgia lecturer Marty Parker said.
He said that on March 20, when the pandemic began, the shelves were down 13 percent.
"So we're not all the way to the worst of the pandemic, but we're fairly close. Frozen turkeys, cranberry sauce, cream cheese, a weird combination of things are in short supply," he added.
The supply chain issues will impact your holiday gift shopping, too.
Prices for most products are up across the board. Parker says that's thanks to a "perfect storm" of factors, including a worker shortage.
"You've had the great resignation and six to seven million people have dropped out of the workforce exactly when they are needed," Parker explained. "The economy is doing well and there are lots of jobs, but there aren't people to fill them. You put all of those constraints together and prices are going to go up. It's difficult.”
If you plan to shop online, expect significant shipping delays, especially for certain popular products.
"I would be most concerned about anything that has a computer chip in it," Parker said. "If I'm buying that, I'm buying that now. If I'm going to get a laptop or a TV or car or any of those kinds of things, you just want to make sure that you don't wait too long."