Up to 170 cargo ships are waiting off the coast to unload.
Despite presidential assurances of 24/7 operations at the Port of Los Angeles, conditions there continue to worsen. There are around 170 ships anchored off the coast waiting to unload. This is up from 100 ships two weeks ago.
The Port of Los Angeles has decided to impose fines on carriers who take too long to offload amid labor shortages and a lack of trucks. The Port of Los Angeles stated, “The L.A. Harbor Commission voted to implement a ‘Container Excess Dwell Fee’ directed at ocean carriers in an effort to improve cargo movement on container terminals amid record volume. Program starts 11/1 with penalties to be assessed no earlier than 11/15.”
The joint container fee program will charge ocean carriers $100 per container, increasing by $100 per day per container until the cargo moves.
Business owners say large corporations are benefitting from this bottleneck, while small distributors are being pushed out of business. A Los Angeles business owner, Leon Calderon, said, “The major retailers like Amazon, Target—they’re doing their own shipping so they can get the new product in. And like me. I’m basically depending on my wholesaler to get it and they are smaller wholesalers so they can’t get in. So we don’t have the resources to compete with those big companies.”
About 40 percent of all shipping containers entering the U.S. come through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Ships anchored at the complex have well over a half-million containers on board, officials said. They hold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of toys, electronics, clothing, furniture, and appliances.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis invited ships to unload in his state while touting quick and smooth operations in Tampa as well as other ports.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For port officials as they handle the backlog of cargo vessels waiting to offload at Los Angeles and Long Beach.
- For the president and his advisors as global supply chains challenges continue due to the logjam of unloaded ships.
- For small business retailers, and their employees, who will be hurt by depleted inventories as holiday season shopping approaches.
- For consumers who will face higher prices due to the fees imposed on the unmoved cargo, increasing inflation even more.
Sources: One America News, Bloomberg News
