Tens Of Thousands Of Shipping Containers Are Stuck Off The Coast Of Southern California

Tens Of Thousands Of Shipping Containers Are Stuck Off The Coast Of Southern California -

Ports Operate Below Capacity, Combatting A Crushing Shortages Of Workers, Equipment, And Time

Grace Kay     Mon, September 27,

Key US ports in Southern California are facing near-record backlogs of cargo ships.

The Port of Long Beach has moved to increase operating hours, which may not be enough to fix the issue. Shortages of workers and equipment, and a lack of coordination across the transportation industry have created a ripple effect.

The largest port in the U.S. faces a near-record backlog of cargo ships, and there's no end in sight.

Los Angeles and Long Beach ports had 62 cargo ships waiting to dock and unload as of Friday - a stark contrast to an average of one to zero ships before the pandemic. Today, ships at the port can wait for as long as three weeks, Port LA data shows.

Despite the historic backup, the ports are only operating at 60% to 70% capacity, Uffe Ostergaard, president of the North America region for German ship operator Hapag Lloyd told The Wall Street Journal.

"That's a huge operational disadvantage," Ostergaard said, pointing to the fact that the two ports are closed for several hours most days, as well as on Sundays - making it more difficult to keep pace with the ports in Asia and Europe that are sending the goods on a 24/7 schedule.

A container ship docked at Mombasa port, Kenya, with loading cranes in view. 

A container ship docked next to cranes at the port of Mombasa, Kenya, in October 2019. Baz Ratner/Reuters

Last week, the Port of Long Beach moved to increase their hours of operation to 24-hours on Monday through Thursday. The Port of Los Angeles did not follow suit, choosing instead to maintain its existing hours.

The traditional routine at the ports includes two shifts for longshore workers: 8 a. to 4 pm and 6 pm to 3 am. The ports are closed on Sundays. Overnight shifts and Saturdays are more expensive and rarely used, The Journal reported.

Longer hours may not be enough.

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