Persistent troubles in the shipping industry are making toy-makers and retailers concerned about whether there will be a sufficient supply of toys this holiday season.

While Christmas is still months away, 95.5 WSB Consumer Expert Clark Howard expects Santa may have a tough time getting some of those favorite toys this year—and the pandemic is to blame.

“Factories that have had to shut down their lines because of big outbreaks of COVID overseas,” Clark explains.

The disruption is even worse than last year, when many ports were closed, say toy industry executives. This year, Clark explains, bottlenecks at seaports are to blame: “Then shipping goods from overseas has led to big bottlenecks at the ports as goods come in to the United States; at the railyards, for the trucking and all the rest.”

>>Listen to 95.5 WSB anchor Sabrina Cupit’s full on-air report, with Clark Howard, below.

Some toys are expected to experience months-long delays before hitting store shelves.

Clark says that concerned parents might want to begin shopping earlier than usual—and budget a little more. “We are not going to have as wide a selection of Christmas items, including toys, as we’ve had in the past,” he adds.

In other toy-related news, Macy’s has confirmed its partnership with Toys R Us.

Representatives with the department store chain say they plan to bring a wide array of toys, games and gadgets to more than 400 of its locations next year.

The whimsical new inventory launched online exclusively at Macys.com/toysrus and Toysrus.com this month, USA Today reported.

>>Read more here.

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