New year brings new all-time high for shipping’s epic traffic jam

shipping containers

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

It’s official: 96 container ships are waiting to dock at SoCal ports

container shipping

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

Ships in California logjam now stuck off Mexico, Taiwan and Japan

container shipping

The decline in ships waiting just offshore of Los Angeles/Long Beach continues to be touted as a sign that port congestion is easing — despite the fact that the true number of waiting ships has not actually declined.

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said during a press conference Tuesday while standing alongside Labor Secretary Marty Walsh: “Since we instituted a penalty for long-aging containers, the number of ships at anchor has decreased by more than 40% over a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ships-in-california-logjam-are-now-stuck-off-mexico-taiwan-and-japan

California ship pileup still piling up — but out of sight, over horizon

container ships

By one measure, the number of container ships stuck waiting offshore of Los Angeles and Long Beach has plummeted. The logjam hit a peak of 86 container ships offshore on Nov. 16, according to data from the Marine Exchange of Southern California. A week later, it was a mere 61, the lowest since early October.

Problem solved?

Far from it. The waiting container ships are still out there — more of them than ever. It’s just that more are over the horizon, where you can’t see them, thanks to the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/california-pileup-still-piling-up-but-out-of-sight-over-horizon

Clock ticks closer to midnight for overwhelmed California ports

container shipping

The flood of import containers into Southern California continues unabated — an all-time high 81 container ships were stuck offshore of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Tuesday. Waiting time at anchorage for Los Angeles is surging and is now more than double wait times in early September.

The ports are scheduled to start charging a highly controversial excess dwell-time fee on Monday, a plan that some members of the National Shippers Advisory Council called “catastrophic,” “crazy” and “out of left...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/clock-ticks-closer-to-midnight-for-overwhelmed-california-ports

Ship at anchor off California ports may have caused major oil spill

container ships

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

Record shattered: 61 container ships stuck waiting off California

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

US In Supply Chain Crisis As Massive Freighters Wait For Dock Space To Open Up

  • 21 ships were anchored off the coast of Los Angeles and Long Beach waiting to dock on Wednesday.
  • The California ports are congested and account for about one-third of US imports.
  • The delays are just the latest in a host of supply-chain issues.

According to an article published in Business Insider, a supply-chain crisis is quietly brewing off the coast of Southern California as massive freighters wait for dock space to open up.

Marine Exchange Data

California ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach...

https://mfame.guru/us-in-supply-chain-crisis-as-massive-freighters-wait-for-dock-space-to-open-up/

‘March madness’ at LA port amid ‘once in a lifetime’ surge

Los Angeles

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.”

Los Angeles port directorPort of LA’s Gene Seroka (Photo: Port of LA)

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

Demand boom on collision course with ocean transport ceiling

Suez Canal import demand

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

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