Major shipping lines continue to not be able to meet commitments, even for large customers, because ports and distribution partners are drowning in freight volumes, which is forcing vessels to wait at sea for up to two weeks at major ports. Back in June, Home Depot made the decision to contract its own container ship, hoping to minimize the impact that the global shipping crisis has had on the industry. 

Costco has decided to charter three ships for a year and lease several thousand containers to import merchandise from Asia to the US and Canada according to Freightwaves. Throughout their one-year lease period, the vessels will carry between 800-1,000 containers and each wil make about 10 trips. Last Thursday on a call with analysts, Costco CFO Richard Galanti stated that this will help avoid spending six times the normal price on shipping or containers through a third party. Galanti also mentioned that Costco is beginning to order earlier, increasing their inventories, diversifying its supplier base and product mix, as well as passing on increased transportation costs to customers. 

However, despite the product and transportation inflation and dealing with less-than-ideal market conditions, Costco reported a $280 million increase in net income to $1.67 billion, year-over-year. Source: Freightwaves