Covid and Toy Manufacturing

==== Covid PRODUCTION CHALLENGES ===

Late summer and early fall are generally our “Peak Season” for manufacturing. Due to the volume of orders and shipping congestion in preparation for the holiday season, we often see delays and longer timelines.

In addition to this, production timelines are being further affected by several major issues which are beyond our control.

1. Factory shutdowns – If several COVID-19 cases are discovered, entire cities are being shut down and everyone has to quarantine. While we are able to communicate with our production managers, there is no one allowed at the factory and no work can be done for the duration of the shutdown.

2. Port shutdowns – Similar to city-wide quarantines, Shipping Ports are being shut down due to COVID-19 outbreaks as well. This can cause major delays to any goods waiting to sail, as well as canceled bookings. It also strains neighboring ports as shippers pivot to make other arrangements to ship put their goods.

3. The state of Global Ocean freight – In addition to the strain caused by port shutdowns; increased demand, labor shortages, congestion, and container shortages caused by incidents such as the Suez canal blockage are creating massive backlogs and causing huge delays in the ocean shipping process. Shipping prices have more than doubled over the last six months or so. Where normal shipping timelines were 4-6 weeks, we are seeing shipments take closer to two months or more.

We are doing everything we can to keep projects moving forward. We are in constant contact with your production managers and logistics representatives. The situation is changing by the week, so please understand project timelines are incredibly difficult to predict during this very challenging time.

Your Project Manager will alert you as soon as any new news is available concerning your project.