An estimated 500,000 shipping containers continue to sit, waiting to be unloaded from cargo ships at ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
The shipping gridlock could be responsible for an increase in prices on consumer goods as demand rises and supply lessens. Both ports set new records for the number of ships positioned offshore waiting to make deliveries, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Companies blame the most recent wave of coronavirus infections due to the Delta variant. A shortage of truck drivers nationwide has also contributed to the backlog. Frustrated truckers who desperately want to work blame the port’s disorganization, calling for it to speed up times and employ more hands to help offload containers.
Costco Wholesale Corp. chartered three ocean vessels last month to help transport goods from China to the U.S., warning customers of potential shortages and bringing back limitations on quantities per purchase. Even toilet paper faced a shortage.
While some blame import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, Flexport chief economist Phil Levy told CBS2 undoing those fees would not solve the problem entirely.
“Lifting tariffs clearly won’t undue all the lines at LA–Long Beach,” Levy explained. “But what it would do is make life easier for groups that have had a very hard time recently.”
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