Biden holds roundtable with top retailers, manufacturers on supply chains

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Biden holds roundtable with top retailers, manufacturers on supply chains

President Biden held a roundtable with the leaders of some of the nation's largest retailers and manufacturers on Monday to discuss supply chains as part of the White House's effort to assure Americans that the products they seek will be available during the holiday season.

The attendees at the White House included Best Buy CEO Corie Barry, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, Samsung CEO KS Choi and Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch attended virtually.

Biden said early estimates show Black Friday shopping and Small Business Saturday sales appear to be way up from last year, and he asked how the federal government could continue to partner with the major companies to keep shelves stocked so American consumers can get what they need. Food Lion President Meg Ham said the supply chain of the grocery chain is strong and robust, and we have ample product inside of our stores. Ham praised the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure package Biden signed a few weeks ago.

Walmart's McMillon told the gathering, "We think we're going to have a really good holiday season, because the world's largest retailer's inventory levels are up more than 10%." He said that while we're concerned about the supply chain, we have more inventory than we did a year ago, and we have the inventory that we need to support the business. McMillon said that the port and transit delays are improving and he credited the Biden administration's actions for what he said was a 51% improvement in the flow of the retailer's products at southern California ports over the past four weeks.

The meeting was held as several industries warned consumers that there will be shortages of some products during the holidays due to delays in obtaining raw materials and transit issues.

Biden was due to give a speech on the topic of supply chains after the meeting, but the White House abruptly cancelled the event just minutes before he was expected to take the podium.