Record Number of Container Ships Waiting Off Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles: Executive

Ships await to enter the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Oct. 14, 2021. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The United States’ largest container port now has a record backlog of ships and containers, according to Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

“We have about two weeks’ worth of work sitting at anchor right now,” Seroka told CNN, adding that port workers are currently trying to prioritize the cargo that needs to move from the port as soon as possible.

Some 200,000 shipping containers remain on ships off the coast, he added.

“There’s product that needs to get out there in super-fast speed,” he said. “Think about the toys, the other Christmas product, and parts and components for factories.”

His comment comes just days after President Joe Biden announced that the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have committed to 24/7 shifts to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks ahead of the Christmas shopping season. The White House also said it secured agreements with UPS, Walmart, and FedEx to increase the number of shifts.

“We had 25 percent of all cargo on our dock sitting here for 13 days or longer [and] that’s been cut in just about half over the last week,” Seroka said.

Ships await to be offloaded in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Jan. 12, 2021. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Phillip Sanfield, director of media relations for the port, noted that although the Port of Los Angeles now operates on a 24/7 schedule, its terminals remain closed between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. The terminals are privately owned and operated.

“Currently there seems to be no cargo owners who are looking to use the 3 am. to 8 a.m. window,” he told CNN. “Terminals don’t want to be open if there is no interest in using the gates. We’re not yet seeing demand by cargo owners to come get their cargo during the overnight hours.”

“The Port of LA is ready now. We have plenty of longshore workers. The issue is truckers and more importantly, cargo to be picked up,” he added. “We’re working with importers, terminals, etc. to get a demand for that window. There’s no one single lever to pull.”

Meanwhile, Danielle Inman, a spokesperson for the National Retail Foundation, told Politifact that Assembly Bill 5—which critics have said triggered a wave of owner-operator truckers and trucking fleets to stop doing business in California—may be part of the issue why there’s a shipping backlog at the ports. However, she stressed it’s not the only reason.

“The overwhelming increase in volume, lack of available equipment such as chassis, empty container return policies, lack of available warehouse space are all contributing to the ongoing congestion issues at the ports,” Inman told the website.