Biden talks to Walmart, UPS, Target, other CEOs on supply issues
 

[November 10, 2021]  By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Tuesday with the chief executives of Walmart Inc, United Parcel Service Inc, FedEx Corp and Target Corp to discuss speeding up deliveries and lowering prices for consumers.

Biden took to Twitter to say he understood the concerns about the supply chain gridlocks and the potential impact on Americans as they brace for the holiday season. He said he had talked to the executives and they were confident people will be able to get the items they want in the upcoming weeks.

"You're going to be able to get to the store, get to the outlets you're looking for, get the products you need, the gifts you want. That's what we've been working on," Biden said in the roughly 90-second video posted on Twitter.

Biden, facing political pressure over rising U.S. prices, has been organizing an effort to clear transportation bottlenecks, ease semiconductor shortages and pass a spending bill that officials hope will ease long-term inflation.

"Target CEO Brian Cornell shared that we are ready to deliver a great shopping experience for guests this holiday season," the company said in a statement, adding its inventory levels are well above last year's and that it is processing more containers at night.

The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment about their conversations with the president.

Concerns about labor and goods shortages have grown ahead of the U.S. holiday season, when travel and gift buying normally create jobs for workers and profits for retailers.

President Joe Biden gestures as he delivers remarks after late-night passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill to repair the nation's airports, roads and bridges, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. November 6, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Last month, one senior White House official told Reuters that "there will be things that people can't get," come Christmastime.

Experts have also said the problems, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic closing factories and putting people out of work globally, were unlikely to be solved quickly.

The shortages have helped lift consumer prices by 5.4% over the 12 months through September, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Due to inflation, most workers' real hourly wages sagged 0.8% over the same time frame.

Administration officials said on Tuesday they were working to quickly put to work some of the provisions in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that Congress approved last week to clear backlogs at U.S. ports that have kept some goods from store shelves.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)

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