Congestion at the Port of Los Angeles hits a new record! Will the global shipping system face its biggest crisis?

It is learned that with the 2021 "holiday sales season" approaching, the number of container arrivals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California has risen rapidly, with an average of 17 container ships arriving in Los Angeles every three days, and the busy ports are already overwhelmed. Currently, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have extended their business hours, and the Port of San Pedro Bay will extend the time for trucks to retrieve containers. The Port of Los Angeles is an important gateway for international trade in the United States and the busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere.

The Port of Long Beach will take the first step toward a 24/7 supply chain that maximizes nighttime operations, while the Port of Los Angeles will implement an Accelerate Cargo LA pilot program that extends weekend hours to ensure gate availability meets cargo handling demand.

It is reported that the main problems facing US ports at present are cargo detention and shortage of shipping drivers. Officials of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have called on marine terminal operators to use all available boarding times, especially night boarding gates, to reduce congestion and maximize cargo throughput.

The Port of Long Beach reported handling 807,704 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, an 11.3% year-over-year increase and a 21.6% increase over August 2019. This month, the port began providing drivers with updates on traffic conditions via text messages.

In August, the Port of Los Angeles handled 954,377 TEUs, nearly breaking the previous record of 961,833 TEUs in August 2020. For the first eight months of this year, overall cargo volume was 7,273,053 TEUs, up 30% year-over-year.

According to data from the Southern California Marine Exchange, as of the morning of September 28, there were 69 container ships anchored in anchorages or drifting areas and 30 container ships anchored at port berths. Experts estimate that if port congestion continues until October, it will cause disruptions to goods worth up to $90 billion. It seems that congestion will continue before Christmas.

Dean Croke, DAT's chief analyst, said that in the week ending September 19, the volume of loads transferred from the Port of Los Angeles to the Port of Stockton, California, increased by 35%. Stockton has a large warehouse and is an important warehouse for shippers to send shipments. It is learned that the spot price of TL from Los Angeles to Stockton is as high as $4.44 per mile, compared with only $3.14 per mile a year ago, an increase of 41%, setting a new record.

Dean Croke said TL volumes from Los Angeles to Atlanta increased by 22%, Chicago by 23%, and Dallas by 24%. With the holiday sales season approaching, higher shipping costs may lead to higher prices for e-commerce products.

According to U.S. port data: Cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles in 2021 increased by 30% compared with the same period in 2020. Freightos, an online freight market, said that as congestion increased, the time it took to ship products from China to the United States increased by an average of 73 days in September, an increase of 83% from September 2019.

Editor ✎ Estella/

Statement: This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.