No Magic Solution

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The Plymouth candy company Maud Borup has been around for more than 100 years.  Christine Lantinen purchased the company in 2005, when it had $100,000 in sales.  Today, sales at the privately-held company are up to $45 million.

Besides a worker shortage, Maud Borup is experiencing – as many importers and exporters are – higher shipping costs.

In August 2020, the cost to ship a standard 40-foot shipping container was approximately $4,300, she said. One year later Lantinen said that figure exploded to $30,000. She predicts the costs of goods could be 35 to 40 percent higher a year from now, largely driven by the worker shortage.

The problem is there is no magic solution.

“The world supply chains were simply not built to handle a near shutdown by early COVID followed by the rapid restart and the robust consumer demand that followed,” said Chris O’Brien, chief commercial officer of Eden Prairie-based C.H. Robinson, a global logistics firm.

Read on to to appreciate that workforce shortages are unattainable for business owners.