As holiday merchandise gets held up, discount retailers get ready

That record-breaking container ship backlog at U.S. ports is slowing everything down just in time for the holidays. For many in the consumer goods business, it’s a nightmare. For others, it looks like a big opportunity.

Think about a tinsel Christmas tree that might be sitting on a shipping container right now.

“Hopefully, that Christmas tree makes its way in a timely manner through the retailer supply chain and is on a store shelf in time for the holidays,” said Jeff Rechtzigel, a general manager at Liquidity Services.

This year, however, with ships waiting more than a week on the water and warehouse space at capacity, “sometimes, that Christmas tree may get to the store too late,” said Rechtzigel, who helps send those extra trees to discount stores, even in January.

Click to listen to the full NPR Marketplace interview>>