Interview: Ryan Petersen, founder and CEO of Flexport

R.P.: At one point this October, there were over 500,000 shipping containers on ships waiting out at sea, with an estimated $30 - $50 billion worth of merchandise in them. Much of it did not get into warehouses and shops in time for the holiday shopping season. If businesses who have imported all this merchandise don’t get it in time, much of it goes unsold during their busiest season. That means huge write offs and losses