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We started seeing Christmas goods arrive on our shores back in June of this year.

Now normally, that arrival would take place end of August beginning of September and run

through about the first week of November.

Welcome to the Baron Streetwise Podcast, I'm Jack Howe, and the voice you just heard

is Gene Siroka, he's the executive director of the port of Los Angeles.

You've no doubt heard about the massive backup of ships waiting to unload their containers

of merchandise headed for American shoppers.

It's become a symbol of supply chain mayhem.

I hear people mention the port when they want to explain shortages of refrigerators or

video game consoles, they say, have you heard about the ships?

And some say, persistent shortages and all those ships could mean that Christmas shopping

will be a disaster, with half empty shelves and huge price spikes.

I made some calls and did some digging on the subject.

The outlook is decidedly more upbeat than that, not quite jolly, but moderately

mirthful, trending toward Mary.

Listening in as our audio producer, Jackson, hi, Jackson, have you seen the 1987 logistics

movie, Plains, Trains and Automobiles, it's a must see for supply chain managers, there's

the famous two pillows illustration of how one mishap and a linked transportation system

can lead to all sorts of uncomfortable downstream consequences.

Steve Martin plays a marketing executive, Neil Page, trying to get home for Thanksgiving,

and John Candy plays a kindhearted but annoying, shower curtain ring salesman, Del Griffith.

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