Domestic Port Delays Have Improved, Says Costco CFO

Costco’s e-commerce sales increased 8.4% year over year in its fiscal Q4 ended Aug. 28, said Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti on an earnings call Thursday. “The largest e-com merchandise department in dollars, what we call majors, which includes everything from computers to appliances to TVs to audio, was up in the high-single digits,” he said. Costco has had “minor improvement in a few areas” in recent inflationary trends, said Galanti. “Pressures from higher commodity prices, higher wages and higher transportation costs and supply chain disruptions -- they’re still present, but we are seeing just a little light at the end of the tunnel.” Supply chain disruptions have “improved a little,” he said. Costco no longer is experiencing “any big capacity issues or container shortages,” he said. “Domestically, port delays have improved.” The rail strike “was thankfully averted, [but] in anticipation of a strike, there were some rail ramp closures and delays in restarting that,” he said. “But the view from our buyers is that this should be eliminated for the most part toward the end of this week.”