There are not many commonalities among computer chips, chicken wings and T-shirts, but one is that they are all becoming increasingly hard to find.

Similar to local car dealerships and restaurants, Summit County's T-shirt shops are having difficulty with supply shortages.

“It’s been a nightmare,” said Shawn Ritchie, owner of Ritchie’s Sporting Goods in Tallmadge.

Ritchie orders his products from many of the nation’s wholesale apparel companies, such as SanMar and One Stop, along with major brands like Gildan, JerZees, Adidas and Nike. All have had issues filling orders within the last six months, he said.

Action Sports Apparel in Norton has been impacted by a lack of T-shirts and hats, according to Justin Jivan, one of the shop’s employees.

The primary reason for these shortages and delays is the supply chain, which is currently at capacity, according to Jonathan Gold, vice president of the National Retail Federation’s supply chain and customs policy, and Nate Herman, senior vice president of policy for the American Apparel & Footwear Association.

“We’re seeing issues with businesses, both big and small, that are having difficulty getting products to the market,” Gold said. “It starts overseas with the foreign factories that were obviously impacted because of the COVID and have had issues getting staffed back up to be able to meet the consumer demand that we've seen.”

There are problems plaguing nearly every step of the supply chain, including the portions that take place in the U.S. These issues include getting in and out of ports in a timely manner and lack of equipment. For example, chassis, which are specially designed trailers used to transfer containers from trucks between ports, terminals and warehouses, are in short supply.

"What we're calling it is a shipping crisis," Herman said. "That shipping crisis is threatening to leave store shelves empty, which is particularly concerning for our industry as we get closer to back to school and move into the holiday season."

If what Ritchie needs is available, it often takes weeks or months to arrive. He recently received the last 13 jerseys for a local softball team — just in time for their last game of the season. Large orders for leagues now dribble in over four or five weeks rather than arriving all at once, making it increasingly difficult to keep track of which orders have been filled.

After having orders with continually shifting delivery dates, Ritchie called the manufacturers to ask about the reason for the delays and was told that U.S. customs was to blame.

“[The wholesalers] said they keep getting these dates from customs saying, ‘Okay, it looks like your stuff is going to be checked in around this date,’ but they’re not hitting the dates,” Ritchie said. “It has been a huge ripple effect.”

Michael Niezgoda, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection public affairs officer, said the agency "is essential and has remained fully staffed throughout COVID-19"

“Additionally, trade operations have not changed and is thoroughly inspected,” he said

Some of Ritchie’s customers have been irritated and assume that he’s joking when he informs them that he doesn’t know when their purchase will be shipped or arrive.

Ritchie, along with Laurie Greer, owner of T's-N-Things  in Akron, said the situation is getting worse.

This week, Greer had to purchase aquatic blue T-shirts from Nevada, making them arrive days later than she can usually get them. Soon after, she needed an extra-large, safety orange T-shirt, but couldn’t find one after looking at distributors across the country.

The situation often frustrates her more than it does the customers, but Greer still wants people to know that custom T-shirt shop owners are trying their best.

“We need a little bit of sympathy here,” she said. “We try to work with people on the colors, but there’s only so much that we can do.”

The shortages and delays will likely continue well into 2022, Gold said, and are currently being worsened by another issue.  

“We're now entering peak shipping season, which for retailers is when they bring in all their holiday merchandise for the fourth quarter, which is the holiday season, which is going to make it or break it for retailers,” Gold said. “So, a lot of companies now are trying to move up at peak season, which is going to continue to give back the congestion.”

Individuals and sports teams are not the only entities impacted by the shortage. Local organizations also are having to adjust their plans and clothing expectations.

For example, the Summit County Fair gets its T-shirts from Akron Shirt Factory in Norton, but there were some bumps in the road for those plans this year. Kathy Scheetz, owner of Akron Shirt Factory, ordered this year’s maroon shirts from JerZee, but was unable to find any shirts in XX-large. She planned to buy that size once they were in stock again, but that never happened.

The result: Those who pick up an XX-large shirt from the Summit County Fair this year will be a shade off from the other fairgoers who buy T-shirts.

In the meantime, Gold suggests retailers continue working closely with their vendors and providers while looking for alternate ports to go through. Some of the National Retail Federation’s members have started having their products shipped via airplane.

“This is really impacting everybody across the board: all industries, imports of every size and shape, even manufacturers,” Gold said. “There’s not just one piece that can fix it all, because it’s all one ball built together.”

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.