Marine Exchange of Southern California

America made it through Christmas without too many bare shelves, despite historic port congestion. Goods were brought in early and shoppers shopped early. Holiday sales were up 11% from 2019, pre-COVID.

Consumer fears of a holiday shortage appear to have spiked in October, then pulled back as concerns lessened. 

Google searches for the term “port congestion” were up 376% from the beginning of 2021 in the second week of October. Searches for the term “supply chain” peaked in the third week of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-year-brings-new-all-time-high-for-shippings-epic-traffic-jam

There were 40 container ships waiting for berths within 40 miles of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday. But there were also 56 container ships waiting farther out to sea, putting the actual tally at an all-time-high of 96, according to new data from the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

The Marine Exchange has just unveiled its new methodology for counting container ships waiting outside the 40-mile “in port” zone.

A new queuing system has been in place since mid-November...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/its-official-96-container-ships-waiting-to-dock-in-southern-california-ports

Coincidence? Up to 144,000 gallons of oil is estimated to have spilled from a pipeline off scenic Huntington Beach, California, and within eyesight, an armada of commercial ships are stuck waiting at anchor or drifting. As of Tuesday, 88 ships in total, including 63 container vessels.

During a press conference Tuesday, members of the response team didn’t blame one of these ships for weighing anchor, dragging the pipeline and causing it to puncture. But there was little other way to interpret...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ship-at-anchor-off-california-ports-may-have-caused-major-oil-spill

The number of container ships at anchor or drifting in San Pedro Bay off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has now blown through all previous records and is rising by the day.

There were an all-time-high 61 container ships in the queue in San Pedro Bay on Wednesday, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California. Of those, a record 21 were forced to drift because anchorages were full.

Theoretically, the numbers — already surreally high — could go a lot higher than this. While...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/record-shattered-61-container-ships-stuck-waiting-off-california

The flood of imports into the Port of Los Angeles is relentless. More records were set in March. And volumes are expected to remain at peak levels — with container ships to remain stuck at anchor — until June.

“I would describe this as the port version of March Madness,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka during a press conference on Wednesday. He described last month’s import flows as “remarkable” and a “once-in-a-lifetime event.”

Port of LA’s Gene Seroka (Photo: Port of LA)

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/march-madness-at-la-port-amid-remarkable-import-surge

U.S. containerized imports show no sign of letting up as the second quarter begins. On the contrary: Consumer demand is strengthening in the wake of fiscal stimulus and falling inventories that necessitate even more restocking.

The biggest risk to Q2 container-shipping volume is not demand for goods, it’s transport supply.

Fallout from the Suez Canal accident will constrain vessel and container-equipment availability, leading to longer delays. By the end of this quarter, shoppers in America’s...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/demand-boom-on-collision-course-with-ocean-transport-ceiling