U.S. ports face record backlog ahead of holiday shopping

U.S. ports face record backlog ahead of holiday shopping

A rising quantity of shipments are caught at sea as a result of of provide chain points, resulting in rising concern that holiday shipments might not arrive in time. Container ships are crowding ports from New York to Los Angeles, the place 250,000 containers are floating off the coast ready to be unloaded. 

“There’s no room to put this cargo. Our docks are full. People need to come and pick up their cargo,” stated Gene Seroka, government director of the Port of Los Angeles. “Only half the truck drivers registered to do business here visit us at least once a week. We need more drivers on the job.” 

However trucker George Anaya stated the port wants to maneuver quicker. Anaya had an appointment at 7 p.m. to choose up a load however wasn’t capable of depart the terminal till 2 a.m. Earlier than this yr, he stated he may decide up about 20 masses every week. It is now dropped to about six, he stated. 

The Port of Los Angeles already prolonged its hours however is not open across the clock like ports in different components of the world. President Biden has stated he’d prefer to see the ports working 24 hours a day.

“You’ve got so many nodes of the supply chain that have to get on the same schedule. If we can get the warehouses to open around the clock, that would be important to us,” Seroka stated. 

The delays are affecting enterprise homeowners like The Recreation Chest toy retailer proprietor Maryam al-Hammami, who stated nearly all of the toys she has in inventory are already on retailer cabinets. “I don’t have anything to replace it with,” she stated. 

About 40% of al-Hammami’s enterprise will depend on holiday shopping. “It’s tough as a consumer because I’m also going to celebrate Christmas and it’s tough as a business owner,” she stated. 

Bigger corporations, together with Walmart, have chartered whole ships to ship items to much less congested ports. The great price makes it out of attain for small companies. 

Source link

Stock futures are slightly higher after investors' debt ceiling concerns dwindle Previous post Stock futures are slightly higher after investors’ debt ceiling concerns dwindle
10 Recent Economic Headlines and What They Mean for Your Money Next post 10 Recent Economic Headlines and What They Mean for Your Money