Posted on September 9, 2021
Leaders of some of the busiest U.S. ports expect congestion snarling maritime gateways to continue deep into next year, the Wall Street Journal (paywall) reports.
Ports are already swamped by record numbers of containers reaching U.S. shores during this year’s peak shipping season, and the number of vessels waiting for berth space at Southern California’s gateways recently hit a new record.
That has came as logjams stretch into warehouses and distribution networks across the country.
Port leaders, such as Mario Cordero, executive director at the Port of Long Beach, who have spoken with shipping lines and their cargo customers say the slowdown in container volumes that usually coincides with the Lunar New Year in February, when factories in China typically shut down, is unlikely to offer much relief.
“I don’t see substantial mitigation with regard to the congestion that the major container ports are experiencing,” he said. “Many people believe it’s going to continue through the summer of 2022.”
Griff Lynch, executive director of teh Georgia Ports Authority, which operates one of the nation’s largest ocean gateways at the Port of Savannah, said: “We think at least midway through 2022 of the entire 2022 could be very strong.”
Click here for the full article (paywall).
