President Joe Biden today is convening a meeting of U.S. officials and private sector companies, including FedEx, to talk about ongoing efforts to address supply chain disruptions, Reuters reported. Biden created a task force in June to address the issue, and the White House argues it has made "significant progress to alleviate bottlenecks that are rooted in the global pandemic." Last month, Walmart Inc. Chief Executive Doug McMillon said a decision to extend port hours was having a positive impact on the flow of goods. Still, supply chain issues continue to affect many U.S. industries. Reuters reported this week that candy makers, like retailers and farmers, have been slammed during COVID-19 with high commodity prices, labor shortages, and transportation and supply chain snarls, preventing them from fully cashing in on the holiday season. Much of the shipping crunch resulted from the pandemic. Home-bound Americans with unspent travel and entertainment dollars and government stimulus checks splurged on everything from food and refrigerators to toys and exercise equipment. The demand for imports overwhelmed supply chains. Biden, who is wrestling with U.S. inflation that recently hit a 31-year high, has taken measures to try to break such logjams, including unclogging ports and expanding trucker hours. Today's meeting will include the secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and Transportation as well as National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Port Envoy John Porcari.
