PPB August 2021

says. “Right now, every supplier is feeling the pressure from freight problems. In this current shipping setting, people are going toward the products they know they can get and that their end users will use and appreciate.” Since early last year, the pandemic has disrupted global trade, exponentially driving up the cost for shipping goods and extending delays. According to Mark Yeager, CEO of Redwood Logistics, freight rates from China to the U.S. and Europe have surged 300 percent compared to last March. As more people get vaccinated and the pandemic wanes, logistical problems will likely persist for both distributors and suppliers, and one of the main issues is the critical shortage of shipping containers. “Essentially, China is producing way more than other parts of the world and as a result, we are seeing a surplus in some countries, while China itself is starved for shipping containers,” says Yeager. “We’re hearing people are waiting weeks to get a container right now. Their alternative is to pay a huge premium in the spot market. They’re just producing a lot and other places are not because the pandemic is really inhibiting ability to get up to full production.” In the spot market, international commodities are exchanged through immediate payments and prompt deliveries. Trading “on the spot,” or the short-term placing of orders, takes place at current daily prices without long-term contracts. Yeager also says that fewer transcontinental passenger flights have hindered the option of air freight. “There just isn’t as much air freight capacity because there aren’t nearly as many transcontinental passenger flights,” he says. “And air freight companies typically use that extra capacity in the belly of a passenger plane. So, then you say, okay, if I can’t use the airplane, I’m going to use expedited steamship containers in the spot, but the pricing is way up. The lack of options, combined with this crazy amount of demand, has produced this crisis.” For distributors looking to navigate this “global transport crisis,” writing instruments can mark the way. Although a promotional pen may not seem like a new idea, with the almost limitless combinations of ink type, color, material and pen style, pens can send a distinct and lasting message. With pens, there are plenty According toPPAI research, whenpeople see a promotional pen being given away, they almost always pick it up, which iswhywriting instruments are among the top-selling promotional products year after year. | AUGUST 2021 | 51 GROW