All of the release delays from the brands make a lot more sense when you look at it from a logistics perspective from China. There’s currently a global shortage of shipping containers which has sent the cost of shipping cargo from Asia to the US through the roof. This is why Europe has been getting almost everything before us, it’s closer and in turn less costly to send over.
60% of global goods (according to Reuters reporting) are moved by container and China’s trade rules allow them to export three containers but import one…which is super odd and of course is causing a shortage of containers and delays.
It’s basically a bidding war out there for who want’s to pay the most to get their product to North America first. The lack of containers, increased costs and overall congestion in the import market is causing all of these problems and it looks like this won’t get any better.
One aspect of sneakers that is being affected is “in-line” sneakers which is your true GR that has no release date. These release are basically sitting overseas waiting for the right time to get shipped our way for release to smaller boutiques and such. The priority for brands is to make sure their timed release dates stay on schedule because the sell through there is going to be instant. I would avoid paying resell for any AJ1 Mid’s, Lows and generic stuff like that sells out but has no true release date. I know there is more pairs still waiting to import into North America.
I would expect delays and slow shipping times to continue for at least the next 6 months.