Posted on December 14, 2021
A recent WSJ article by Paul Berger, excerpted below, shows how the logistics pileup is continuing unabated, as bottlenecks can’t cope with a 21% increase in imports. And ocean transit times have doubled under “slow-teaming.”
Excerpt begins
Under the new system, ships are placed on a wait list once they leave their last port of call, often in China. That gives captains an estimated date for a berth and allows them to slow their journey to the U.S.
The system has hidden from view a big part of the armada of cargo ships waiting to unload. But the backup at the biggest gateway for U.S. container imports remains as large as ever, with the lineup of vessels now stretching across the Pacific, signaling that big volumes of cargo are still heading for port terminals, warehouses and transportation networks that have been swamped by the imports.
The Biden administration and maritime officials have sought to reduce the backlog with measures that included an attempt to extend the hours truckers pick up boxes. The measures have had limited impact, in part because of shortages of workers, trucking equipment and the sheer volume of boxes flowing into and out of the ports.
A month ago, a then-record 86 container ships waited at anchor or in special drift areas within 40 miles of the port complex. By this week, the number of ships waiting for a berth in the area had fallen to 30, according to the Marine Exchange, while another 66 ships were moving toward the port at reduced speeds, known in the industry as slow-steaming, or were waiting outside a new safety zone.
Some ships now take 22 to 24 days to complete a voyage from Asia that used to take 10 to 14 days.
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