President Joe Biden gave a positive take on supply-chain worries with just days left before Christmas, saying gifts are being delivered and store shelves are stocked.
The much-predicted crisis didn't happen, Biden said as he convened a meeting of his supply chain task force. Packages are moving, he said, referring to his administration's actions he said it took amid warnings about a crisis around the holidays. The president has met with retailers including Walmart WMT and Best Buy BBY to get assurances that supply-chain problems are easing, as the White House has taken steps to speed up handling of containers.
While he touted progress, Biden did not declare supply-chain problems fully resolved - a view echoed by one of the meeting participants, FedEx FDX, Chief Executive Fred Smith.
Smith said that supply chain issues are not all solved. There is a lot of effort underway to solve these problems, and we are optimistic that people will have a good peak season and most of Santa Claus'products will be delivered to consumers. Supply-chain worries are still felt by businesses and consumers. Nine of 10 retailers anticipate that revenue will be affected by supply-chain issues for at least the next six months, according to a survey conducted by Sapio Research on behalf of Coupa Software Inc. COUP, See: Supply-chain issues to bedevil retailers through 2022, according to the survey.
The president rolled out a series of new measures to combat the epidemic, including free COVID tests on Tuesday.
This is a critical moment, Biden says while rolling out free, at-home COVID tests as omicron spreads, this is a critical moment.
Republicans are eyeing next year s midterm elections, but they have assailed Biden and his fellow Democrats over historically high inflation and supply-chain issues.