Groups warn of supply chain system collapse, as California ports face record backlogs (Update: Florida to the Rescue)

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Just the News

The International Chamber of Shipping, a coalition of truck drivers, seafarers, and airline workers, recently warned heads of state at the United Nations General Assembly that if restrictive COVID policies don't change and freedom of movement isn't restored to transportation workers, a supply-chain collapse is imminent

 

Industry leaders representing some 65 million transport workers asked the United Nations and heads of government to "take meaningful and swift action to resolve the crisis now." 

"Global supply chains are beginning to buckle as two years' worth of strain on transport workers take their toll," they wrote in an open letter signed by the International Air Transport Association, the International Road Transport Union  and the International Transport Workers' Federation. 

"All transport sectors are also seeing a shortage of workers, and expect more to leave as a result of the poor treatment millions have faced during the pandemic, putting the supply chain under greater threat," they argue in the letter released Wednesday.

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Backlogged Cargo Ships Off New York, California Coasts Face 4-Week Wait

Beyond the Southern border, another looming crisis for the Biden administration is the backlogged container ships anchored off the coasts of California and New York that now have to wait up to 4 weeks to unload their shipments.

“Dozens of cargo ships anchored off the coasts of Los Angeles and New York face shocking wait times of up to four weeks and railyards and trucking routes are hopelessly clogged due to the lack of manpower to unload goods,” reported the Daily Mail.

Due to the pandemic, American consumer demands have never been higher, with people spending less money on travel and entertainment and more on toys, clothing, electronics, and a whole range of goods. However, due to lack of manpower in conjunction with intense coronavirus restrictions, American ports have simply been unable to unload the shipments in a timely manner.

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California Ports, Key to U.S. Supply Chain, Among World's Least Efficient

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Southern California's Los Angeles and Long Beach ports handle the most ocean cargo of any ports in the United States, but are some of the least efficient in the world, according to a ranking by the World Bank and IHS Markit.

In a review of 351 container ports around the globe, Los Angeles was ranked 328, behind Tanzania's Dar es Salaam and Alaska's Dutch Harbor. The adjacent port of Long Beach came in even lower, at 333, behind Turkey's Nemrut Bay and Kenya's Mombasa, the groups said in their inaugural Container Port Performance Index published in May.

The total number of ships waiting to unload outside the two adjacent ports hit a new all-time record of 100 on Monday. Americans' purchases of imported goods have jumped to levels the U.S. supply chain infrastructure can't handle, causing delivery delays and snarls.

Top port honors went to Japan's Yokohama and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on the ranking. Finishing out the top five were Chiwan, part of Shenzhen's port in Guangdong Province; South China's Guangzhou port; and Taiwan's Kaoshiung port.

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Florida's Ports Function as World's Remain Clogged