After fresh data on Wednesday showed inflation rising at its fastest annual pace in three decades, President Joe Biden vowed to "tackle" the problem "head-on" and assured Americans that companies are working 'round the clock to ease supply chain issues so that shelves will be stocked for the holidays.
"Yesterday, I spoke the with CEOs, personally spoke with the CEOs of the major retailers Walmart, Target, and the leading freight movers FedEx and UPS. They assured me that the shelves will be stocked this holiday because they signed on to 24/7 as well. They signed on to 24/7 and they're getting their containers off the ports quicker than ever before."
Speaking at the Port of Baltimore, Biden said his just-passed $1 trillion infrastructure bill would help unclog the nation's ports.
Port congestion has been a major source of supply shortfalls, which have driven up prices.
The Labor Department reported that U.S. consumer prices accelerated 6.2% in the last 12 months, marking the largest year-on-year jump since November 1990.
The Biden administration has worked with the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to move goods around the clock, and new plans were announced Monday to relieve congestion at the Port of Savannah.
The White House said improvements at the Baltimore port, which can accommodate some of the largest container ships in the world, have helped alleviate congestion at other East Coast ports.
