According to a new counting method, the number of container ships bound for the busiest US port complex has increased to close to 100, emphasizing the scale of the economy-stifling bottleneck that the Biden administration is attempting to break.
According to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, the backup outside the adjacent ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, now includes 96 container carriers, up from 86 on Nov. 16, when a new queuing system went into effect and dozens of arriving ships stayed outside the official area to be counted. Late Friday, the amended measure was announced, which now includes eastbound vessels further out in the Pacific.
The fresh data reveal that the most visible sign of the US’s overburdened supply networks is still months away from being cleared, just when it appeared the bottleneck was reducing (the previous official tally was 41 ships in the queue as of Thursday). According to the Wabtec Port Optimizer in Los Angeles, the average ship wait time was 20.8 days as of Friday, over a week longer than a month ago.
The new method of counting ships destined for LA-Long Beach separates them into two groups: 40 vessels anchored in defined areas plus those “loitering” within 40 miles of the ports, and another 56 vessels outside that perimeter, many of which have slowed their speed on the two-week journey from Asia. As a result, the line has grown in both length and number of ships.
There isn’t much hope in sight. Importers in the United States often place January orders well in advance to replace inventory before Chinese factories and ports slow down for the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins in early February next year.
The White House has focused its efforts on collaborating with the logistics industry to move the empty and full containers that have piled up near port terminals, encouraging truckers and longshoremen to work longer hours and supporting incentives for timely pickup of goods that have been sitting for days or weeks.
