Toy Maker In Colorado Describes Supply Chain Issues As 'Just Crazy'

DENVER (CBS4) - A pileup of issues are hitting most companies as their supply chain problems continue to build. Many Colorado companies are facing problems getting their products into the state without big delays, while paying exorbitant costs to get their goods.

"We haven't shipped any containers, really, in the last 30 days from China. It's just crazy," said Ed O'Brien, the president of B4Adventure. "We have product that has probably been manufactured sitting in a factory for three months. It hasn't shipped yet and we can't find a container to put it on."

The delays in getting products from the factories in China to the company's headquarters in Denver has thrown off the entire retail calendar. The company specializes in outdoor activity toys for kids. Large play structures that usually peak in sales in the spring didn't arrive until June. Toys expected to be big hits during Christmas still haven't arrived. Usually, next spring's products would already be on their way.

"We have this treehouse we designed and launched last year. We've only got 125 units in this year. It should be 2,000 units. That beautiful new tree house, we can't even get any inventory."

O'Brien is having a rare Halloween sale to try and offload inventory and get the company cash. The increased shipping costs weren't built into the orders that were completed months ago.

"We are missing orders and missing retail placement," he said.

The only option moving forward is to raise prices for next year.