一元店也涨价？美国供应链油尽灯枯？

Dollar Tree Inc will start selling most products for $1.25 at all its eponymous stores, in an effort to offset the impact of spiraling freight costs and other pandemic-driven challenges.

美国著名连锁一元店公司美元树公司将其旗下所有门店的多数产品的定价提高到1.25美元，意在抵消急剧上升的运输成本和其它疫情带来的影响。

The retailer said on Tuesday the new price point, which will be fully rolled out by the first quarter of 2022, would allow it to return to "its historical gross margin range" of 35% to 36% next year.

经销商在上周二称，新的定价点将在2022年的一季度完全普及到所有美元树门店。该公司的商品毛利率范围将在明年回到疫情前历史性的35%到36%。

Dollar Tree, known for selling everything from make-up to homeware at the $1 price-point, in September said it planned on adding new price points above $1 across some of its stores.

美元树因为店内不论是彩妆还是家用，所有商品定价皆为一美元而闻名。九月份，美元树就宣布将在部分门店增加超过一美元的定价点。

Rising freight costs from global supply chain disruptions have dented profits for most of Corporate America, further pressuring many retailers already grappling with higher labor and raw material costs.

由全球供应链紊乱所推高的运输费用已经折损了大多数美国公司的利润，也进一步对面临着劳力和原材料升高成本的经销商造成压力。

As we are living in china, the global supply chain crisis did not interrupt our life a lot, but it’s luring the global economy like a storm.

幸而我们生活在中国，并没有受到太多全球供应链危机的影响，但是这种危机正如风暴般破坏着全球经济。

加利福尼亚州，圣拉蒙市，康特拉科斯塔县，一家塔吉特零售店的货架上空空如也。

America seems to be running out of everything.

美国好像什么东西都短缺了。

Supply-chain bottlenecks caused record shortages of everyday products from household goods and electronics to cars, food, and raw materials.

由于供应链障碍，从家用物品到电子产品，再到汽车、食物、原材料，日用商品出现了史无前例的短缺。

For shoppers, empty shelves can be jarring, spurring panic-buying sprees. It's often the first sign people see that something may be wrong with the global supply chain. But, shortages are typically indicators of issues that have plagued the industry for months. 

空荡的货架令人焦虑，可能会引发恐慌性购物狂潮。人们的第一反应往往是：全球供应链可能出了问题。但供应短缺其实是产业长达数月遇到问题的典型指标。

"At this point, shortages are guaranteed," Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain policy at the National Retail Federation, told Insider. "... We've been warning consumers to manage their expectations for the holiday shopping season for months now. The fact of the matter is the supply chain is stretched to its limit from end-to-end."

 “现在，短缺是必然发生的。” 全国零售联合会供应链政策副主席乔纳森·戈尔德说，“几个月来，我们一直在提醒消费者管理好自己的假期消费季期望。事实是，供应链已经彻头彻尾达到极限了。”

01 疫情的重创

In 2020, coronavirus shutdowns wreaked havoc on the global supply chain. Since, lingering virus-mitigation measures continue to limit efforts to return the supply chain to pre-pandemic levels. 

2020年，新冠引起的封闭对全球供应链造成了巨大的破坏。此后，试图将供应链恢复到前疫情水平的努力一直受到持续的抗疫措施的限制。

Several industry players limited worker levels due to fears of the further spread of COVID-19 within the workplaces. In China, port terminals temporarily shuttered as a result of the country's COVID-19 zero-tolerance policy, spawning backlogs at some of the world's largest ports.

由于担心COVID-19在工作场所的进一步传播，不少业内人士限制了工人数量。中国推行COVID-19零容忍政策，导致大量港口码头暂时关闭，使世界上一些大型港口出现积压。

"From an economic perspective, it's sort of like a game of musical chairs," former US trade negotiator Harry Broadman said, pointing to efforts in the US to compete with 24/7 operations at Asian ports. "The world economy is out of sync because parts of it were forced to go offline when the pandemic started and getting all the industry players back in line at the same time is near impossible."

美国前贸易谈判代表哈里·布罗德曼说，"从经济学角度来看，这有点像一场抢椅子游戏。"他指出美国在努力与亚洲港口的全天候运营竞争。"世界经济已经不同步了，因为当疫情开始时，有些'玩家'被迫下线，让所有的行业参与者在同一时间恢复正常是几乎不可能的。"

02 飙升的需求

Demand grew so rapidly in the past two years that it's equivalent to about 50 million new Americans joining the economy, Gold said.

戈尔德说，过去两年，需求增长迅速，相当于约5000万新美国人加入经济。

拥堵的费利克斯托港。

"All parts of the supply chain, most of which are built on 'lean' principles (no slack, little redundancy, from truck drivers to inventory in warehouses), were not prepared for this increase," Tony Pelli, Practice Director of Security & Resilience at BSI, said. 

BSI安全与恢复部实践总监Tony Pelli说：“供应链的大部分是建立在'精益生产'原则之上的（从卡车司机到库存之间几乎没有冗余），所以，整个供应链根本没有为这种增长做好准备。

精益生产：一种企业管理方式，基本思想是“只在需要的时候，按需要的量，生产所需的产品”。“追求零库存”是其中一条原则，要求追求无库存生产，或使库存达到极小的生产系统。

 03 劳动力供不应求

Ports, warehouses, and trucking companies are processing more goods than ever while combatting a series of crushing shortages, including workers, equipment, and space.

Most notably, the national labor shortage has left warehouse companies scrambling for employees and key US ports working with limited manpower.

港口、仓库和卡车运输公司目前处理着比以往更大的物流量，同时也面临着工人、设备、空间等方面的严重短缺。最值得注意的是，面对全国劳动力短缺，仓储公司竞相争夺有限的人力资源和美国关键港口。

Two of the largest US ports saw a 30% increase in the amount of goods going through them while processing the cargo with 28% fewer workers. In July, the US Labor Department reported that the warehouse industry had a record 490,000 job openings. Meanwhile, the trucking industry has a shortage of over 80,000 drivers.

美国最大的两个港口的货物流通数量增加了30%，但处理货物的工人数量减少了28%。今年7月，美国劳工部报告称，仓储行业有49万个职位空缺记录。与此同时，卡车运输行业至少存在八万名司机缺口。

While the record backlog at Southern California ports represents the most eye-grabbing aspect of the supply-chain crisis, every leg of the industry is in chaos, RBC analyst Mike Tran said. Last week, Moody Analytics warned there will be "dark clouds ahead" for the supply chain.

加拿大皇家银行分析师米克特兰说：如果南加州港的积压订单是供应链危机中最引人注目的地方，那这个行业的每个环节都是一片混乱。上周，穆迪分析公司警告，供应链将面临“头顶一片乌云”的境况。

The only near-term solution would be a cut back on consumer spending, though the prospect seems unlikely.

唯一的短期解决方案将是削减消费者支出，但这种方式前景并不可观。

Experts predict the disruptions will continue well into 2023, despite efforts from the government to mitigate the issue.

专家预测，尽管政府正在努力缓解这一问题，但供应链问题仍将持续到2023年。

eponymous: An eponymous hero or heroine is the character in a play or book whose name is the title of that play or book. (戏剧、书中男女主角)与作品同名的

例：In 1908, Jeanne founded her eponymous couture house for daughter Marguerite.

1908年，珍妮为她的女儿玛格·丽特建立了与她同名的服装设计室。

freight: goods that are transported by ships, planes, trains or lorries/trucks; the system of transporting goods in this way （海运、空运或陆运的）货物；货运

例：France derives 16% of revenue from air freight.

法国国家税收的16%来自于航空货运。

bottlenecks: A bottleneck is a situation that stops a process or activity from progressing. 瓶颈

例：He pushed everyone full speed ahead until production hit a bottleneck. 

他敦促每个人全速前进，直到生产遇到瓶颈。

jarring: making or causing a harsh and irritating sound.不和谐的；刺耳的

例：In the context of this chapter, Dore's comments strike a jarring note. 

在本章的语境中，多尔的评论显得刺耳。

out of sync: discordant; incompatible.不同步的，不兼容的

例：Normally, when demand and supply are out of sync, you either increase the supply, or you adjust the price mechanism.

通常当供需失调时，要么加大供给，要么调整价格机制。