Opinion: Supply chain issues will impact your holiday shopping. Companies like mine will have fewer products and higher prices

Editor’s Note: Thomas Harman is the founder and CEO of Balsam Hill, a retailer of home décor products with a focus on high-end artificial Christmas trees. For businesses like mine that depend on an efficient supply chain to help deliver products to our customers, importing goods right now is a bit like trying to catch an Uber or Lyft at the stadium right after a big football game: You may have to wait a long time to get a ride, you pay surge pricing rates, your ride gets stuck in traffic, and you have to pay for the extra time it took to reach your destination. As a result, Americans can expect more product shortages, higher prices and the closing of stores that can’t secure enough inventory to stay in business unless supply chain congestion abates. Earlier this month, President Biden announced that his administration was working with supply chain operators to help ease congestion at the ports, but previously all of the federal government’s actions had been focused on long-term solutions: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg had met with affected industry groups, Congress had held hearings, and the Biden administration had convened a working group to study the problem and make recommendations in early 2022. The czar must facilitate communication and cooperation among supply chain stakeholders, such as rail lines, trucking companies, ports and inland transportation hubs.