Incredible traffic jams at two of the largest trading ports in the United States

It is a somewhat peculiar traffic jam that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been facing for several days. As the BBC and The Guardian explain, dozens of container ships are waiting offshore to unload their cargo. Sunday September 19, 73 cargo ships, a record, were “stranded” in this way at sea. Wednesday September 22, 62 boats were still concerned. This figure is unlikely to drop in two of the major US commercial ports, which concentrate nearly 40% of container imports and 30% of exports and represent the main gateway to Asia, especially China.

Several factors can explain this incredible situation in Southern California. With the Covid-19, delivery delays have been accumulated, while orders for imported products have intensified in recent weeks to cope with shortages (toys, wood, pet food) and with the approach of Christmas and New Year. The port of Long Beach is expected to handle more than 9 million containers this year: an absolute record in the port’s 110-year history. There is also a lack of drivers and trucks to pick up the goods, which further lengthens the already long delays and causes significant “traffic jams” at sea.

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“We continue to monitor a multitude of variables; disruption continues at every node in the supply chain, ”Port of Los Angeles chief Gene Seroka told the BBC. Ports announced this week that they will be expanding their cargo pickup hours, with Long Beach experimenting with a 24/7 pilot program in response to the historic increase in cargoes. Ships have also been diverted to nearby ports, which themselves are struggling to keep up. The situation is not likely to improve in the coming months: in August, US port bosses told the Wall Street Journal that they expected these bottlenecks to last until the summer. 2022.

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