Holiday stock held up in port

Paul Clinton

Diane Naumann isn’t counting on her order of plush horses for the

holiday shoppers. It’s still hung up at the Port of Long Beach,

packed away in a container stacked at a loading dock.

But all is not lost for Naumann, who owns two Toy Boat Toy Boat

Toy Boat shops in Newport Beach. Many of the “classic toys” will

still be available at her specialty shop.

“Most of the things we were expecting have come through,” Naumann

said. “We had some blockage.”

Since dockworkers returned to work on Oct. 8 for the federally

sanctioned “cooling off” period, freight ships lined up off the

coastline have been unloading their cargos.

The lockout, which halted all commercial activity at West Coast

ports for 10 days, came at a time when many retail outlets are

receiving their shipments of holiday merchandise.

Naumann said she has noticed a two- to three-week lag in her

shipments. Only this week, she received a line of high-end rocking

horses and boxes of the Musini, a Frisbee-sized music maker for

children 3 years and older.

The dockworkers and shipping companies still have not ironed out a

new labor contract, but they are working around the clock to clear

the docks of the 20-foot and 40-foot containers.

Under the provisions of the Taft-Hartley Labor Act, passed in

1947, the federal government can ask for an 80-day negotiating

session for the sides to try to avert a strike that would disrupt

international commerce long-term.

“There are a lot containers out there,” said Long Beach port

spokesman Art Wong said. “So they’re busy and congested.”

Other Newport-Mesa retailers have also experienced delays.

Managers of the Sears in South Coast Plaza were forced to put off a

special section of their store that will be set aside to sell Lands’

End clothing.

The store plans to have the clothing racks out by Monday, Manager

Mark Adamson said. The store recently completed a $6-million

renovation.

South Coast Plaza’s newest toy store, Puzzle Zoo, also had some

merchandise delayed. The shop, which opened one week ago, has only

received some of its Barbie dolls and accessories.

“Our merchandise has started trickling in again,” said owner Jay

Demircift. “We might not even receive all of our shipments.”

Demircift also said he ordered much of his merchandise early, so

he would be fully stocked for the holidays while other toy stores

might be scaling back due to the sluggish economy.

Some retail analysts have downplayed the impact of the port crisis

on gift availability.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think it will have much of an

impact,” said Tony Cherbak, a retail specialist with Deloitte &

Touche’s Costa Mesa branch. “Given how [dock workers] have been

churning through, working 24 hours a day, I can’t see it having a big

effect on the retailer.”

The two ports at Long Beach and Los Angeles saw an approximately

25% drop in cargo shipped during October after the lockout began,

Wong said.

Containers that were stuck on ships have been stacked high at

terminal loading docks, under the shadows of the behemoth loading

cranes.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or paul.clinton@latimes.com.