Disclosure! Port of Los Angeles’s Status Quo Questions President Joe Biden’s 24/7 Port Operations Pledge

Most countries are confronted with the supply-chain crisis, and the port congestion even causes more disruption to this chaos.

For example, Apple announced that it might trim its iPhone 13 production targets as a result of chip shortage. In order to smooth the flow of commodities through the whole economy, President Joe Biden pledged to alleviate the logjam at U.S. ports by keeping them operating 24/7.

Although the administration officials consider that the “90-day sprint” is enough to deal with this bottleneck, it has been highly argued whether the overloaded supply-chain can be relieved.

In my opinion, there are two main highlights we should be acquainted with. 

1. The truck driver shortage

According to U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS (BLS), the employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 47,000 in September. From the month-over-month growth’s perspective, you can tell that less people aspire to the trucking industry as drivers, maybe because of less than desirable working conditions. This will influence the flow of goods due to the lack of truck drivers.

2.The ongoing queuing problem of container ships

Based on The Port of Los Angeles’s official website, it disclosed not only the POLA Vessels at Anchor but also POLA Vessels at Berth. On October 15th 2021, there were still 29 ships at anchor awaiting berthing. In addition, average days at Anchor and Berth for vessels already departed are more than 15 days.

To sum up, stacks of containers still pile up on the dock, and container ships keep delivering tons of goods from all over the world to U.S.. In light of the holiday season about to kick off, it’s more important that these goods can be shipped in time. We will keep following up the newest port status for you.

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