Transportation delays persist, HIDA says
By HME News Staff
Updated 10:16 AM CDT, Mon April 11, 2022
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Delays dropped from 37 to 27 days in December 2021, but transportation times are still 440% longer than they were before the pandemic, according to research released by the Health Industry Distributors Association.
Specifically, the volume of medical supply containers awaiting delivery has increased 13% in the last months, HIDA reports.
“The issue isn’t going away,” said Matthew J. Rowan, president and CEO. “Despite the end of the holiday shopping season, transportation delays persist for critical medical supply. The health care supply chain should remain top of mind for policymakers.”
As West Coast ports remain congested, the volume of medical supply containers at East Coast ports has skyrocketed. Ports in New York and Charleston are seeing the greatest increases in volume at 124% and 84%, respectively, according to HIDA.
Sixty one percent of medical distributors say they haven’t seen appreciable improvement in delays and 21% say they’ve worsened, the association reports.
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