Posted on 04/15/2021 8:20:39 PM PDT by Mariner
A supply-chain crisis is quietly brewing off the coast of Southern California as massive freighters wait for dock space to open up.
California ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach account for about one-third of US imports. These ports operate as a primary source of imports from China and have been heavily congested for months.
On Wednesday, 21 ships were anchored off the coast waiting for a spot to open up to unload at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, according to data from the Marine Exchange of Southern California.
The Southern California ports are facing more congestion than ever, Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, told Insider.
"The normal number of container ships at anchor is between zero and one," Louttit said.
Some of the container ships have been waiting off the shore for weeks. One of the vessels has been at berth since April 3. Of the ships waiting to dock, half of them are what Marine Exchange calls "mega-container ships" or ships with the carrying capacity of 10,000 TEUs.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Yep. ILWU taking a cue from the CA teacher's union.
People don’t see the point in working when the government is handing out free money.
Best to be prepared because nobody knows what it is that is going to cause supply chain disruptions and when it’s going to happen.
Buy American. ...whats the problem?
Nah, it's easier and it takes up less room in the back yaard to just bury the in-laws and be done with them.
Gene Seroka, a Port of Los Angeles executive, warned the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners in February that high import levels caused by increased spending during the pandemic were driving port congestion.The demand isn't just for offshore items.
My wife works for a domestic company that manufactures lawn care items---they've been on mandatory overtime for over a year. Their normal 40-hr weeks are now 60 hours. With no letup in sight.
The economy is acting like the weather; while one area suffers, another area is booming.
My Kabul hotel was attacked by terrorists. I spent the night at the US Embassy in a hootch. The 20-foot container had all that was needed: shower, toilet, sink at at one end; bed, microwave, fridge, table, TV, etc in the rest. Even had a heater/AC unit and wifi. Told my wife I was at “Embassy Suites.” Great for in-laws!
Make it here. End globalism. Tariffs now.
Tariffs will end the globalist BS real quick. Make it here...
Not buying imported products save US dollars and hurts THEIR workers and economy not ours. Every dollar not spent on this imported junk is a dollar saved and hopefully spent here in the USA.
Harley parts also. Was at the posts counter for a battery. Back ordered. In
I’m 41st in line for one. Parts guys says they can’t get anything.
Harley parts imported!
Crying shame
Many icons of Americanism are imported now. Daisy Red Rider BB guns are made in China for crying out loud.
“Those containers could be turned into in-law units in peoples back yards.”
Here’s an idea for the Biden administration: think of how many refugees could be containerized and put on those ships.
Once here, the containers of refugees could be easily transported throughout the country.
Fixed it.
“throughout the [country] world.”
True but we want them soooooo bad.
My employer manufactures nearly all of our products in the US. The exceptions are some ancillary items and a handful that are made by a sister company in Europe.
However, many of the raw materials are only available from overseas mines and quarries. Supply chain managers are really earning their pay now.
Forget the boats, look at the port, then look at this:
I just bet the Chinese would be willing to step right back in and clear up our little supply problem. Capone could not have done slicker reminder of why paying protection money is necessary.
I don’t think they’re waiting to dock so much as not being allowed to dock. There is a whole naval fleet off Long Beach right now. People were taking videos of it from their cars on PCH. Warships as far as they eye can see.
Meanwhile they have no qualms about padlocking American entrepreneurs, main street, restaurants - the drivers of economic activity. Surely economic activity suffered from the lock downs as GDP cratered some 35% last year. It gained 30% but when you do that math 30% increase is not the same as 30% decrease. We're still in the hole.
6 months, spotty. 1 year out, assuming no more lockdowns, things should even out on the supply side but there will be a lot of harm for people in the interim. And yes, inflation on just about everything. Maybe some high end merchants can absorb some of the cost and maybe, just maybe, in some categories there will be opportunity for new entrants to come in willing to work on smaller margins than the leaders in the categories today.
One thing that article didn't mention is that the port workers unions, the checkers etc, are doing the same thing the teachers are doing - exploiting the pandemic to extract concessions. They are working at half capacity, keeping social distance etc and demanding concessions before full 100% resumption of work to resume.
Thank you for that reply. Inflation in terms of prices is already happening at the grocery store. More upsetting though is the smaller packaging of goods along with poorer quality. Both paper towels and Kleenex have changed slightly in the last 2 months. It’s understandable that companies are trying to keep cost to consumers down. It started during Obama’s era, and is roaring back thanks to the feckless spending by government. Only Trump would have seen the wisdom of loaning that money to producers here in the US. What a great idea you have there.
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