DI SRUPTI ON I N GLOBA L SUPPLY CHA I N A S A RESULT OF QUEUI NG I N M A JOR US PORTS
Since the pandemic began to wane, Americans have been on an extraordinary buying spree resulting in an unprecedented cargo surge at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle 40 percent of all cargo containers entering the nation. These two ports handle the bulk of cargo coming from China. It is a similar story on the East Coast, with congestion reported in Savannah and Miami. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, it was unusual for more than one to wait to dock at the ports, but now, the queue of ships stacked high with brightly-colored containers reached a record of 73 anchored container ships on September 19 and is still increasing. The ports?longtime inability to match the round-the-clock demand and purchases of consumers has resulted in
shortages of everything in the country, from raw materials to finished goods. Consumer prices are rising as a result. This concerning situation is not surprising, since the world?s logistics and shipping industry struggles to return to pre-pandemic norms. Businesses have also reopened, and surging demand for imports has led to massive delays on the supply side. Although consumers in the U.S. have not fully resumed their previous spending on restaurants and travel, they continue to splurge on physical goods, ranging from appliances and home exercise equipment to sweatpants and toys. Private firms are not left out. As employees have resumed work in their physical offices, there is a big demand for office equipment including computers, printers, and servers, with
many of them are now stuck in various vessels lining the ports. Unfortunately, combined with the issues faced at the ports, the U.S. is also facing a shortage of warehouse space and truck drivers. This is because shifting to 24/7 operation will require enormous coordination between the publicly operated ports and private sector groups, including large retailers and freight companies. To ease the congestion at the western hemisphere?s largest port complex, the White House has appointed John Porcari as port envoy to the Biden-Harris administration?s Supply Chain Task Force. In response, the two Californian ports have decided to expand the hours during which trucks can collect and return containers, and some ships are being diverted to other points of entry.
39 The Diaspora - African Magazine | Jan 2022
