Los Angeles Port operation is in a bottleneck! Cargo delays continue

It is learned that according to foreign media reports, before the peak season, the operation of the Los Angeles Port has fallen into a bottleneck, resulting in delays and shortages of large-scale cargo. The main reason for the port bottleneck is not the accumulation of cargo, but unused truck gates and regional labor shortages.

According to Gene Seroka, director of the Port of Los Angeles, 53 percent of truck gates are idle during normal operating hours. Truckers tend to arrive in the middle of the day, and activity is low at other times of the day.

Matt Schrap, CEO of the American Trucking Association, said that because many distribution centers do not operate 24 hours a day, truck drivers choose to enter the warehouse during peak hours, which causes them to concentrate on delivering goods to the port during a certain period of time.

It is understood that if the problem of opening truck gates at the Port of Los Angeles is solved, it means that the amount of cargo entering and leaving can be doubled simply by increasing the number of truck gates.

In addition, port terminal staffing is also one of the reasons for inefficiency. At night, the Port of Los Angeles often has fewer staff and reduced cargo handling capacity, causing many truck drivers to worry about encountering port gate hours when loading or unloading.

But according to Gene Seroka, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents employers, are working on a new labor contract that could expand or create consistent curfews. In the future, the issue could be resolved.

It is reported that in addition to the bottleneck at the port, the storage space in the United States is also facing a shortage. The warehouse vacancy rate in Southern California is less than 0.5%, and the lack of availability of warehouses in Riverside County and San Bernardino County is particularly serious.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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