International shipping problems could last into the Christmas season and beyond as coronavirus outbreaks impact the operations of key ports around the world and lasting effects of supply chain delays, the BBC reports.

A COVID outbreak in Guangdong province in China, one of the key shipping points for good overseas, may mandate a slowdown or a shutdown in operations.  Additionally, the blockage of Suez Canal is still having repercussions on the amount of cargo going through the canal, and what ships might banned from transiting the canal.

Product shortages are impacting a variety of industries, from home building to car manufacturing to computer parts.  Computer chips are in short supply, as are construction materials such as electronic board components and raw materials for things like ducts and piping.

Construction, engineering and architectural associations have been pushing for the Biden Administration to remove tariffs against foreign materials and parts needed to pick up business in the United States, a move that the Biden Administration is expected to do in the near future.

Additionally, ports are facing a cycle of jams as ships line up awaiting increased production from key manufacturing locations like China and South America.  Once that backlog is cleared, the shipping industry then has to reestablish a steady cycle to avoid a boom-and-bust cycle to ensure steady work at the ports.