The railways are full, the warehouses are full, and the docks are also full
Ships are waiting to enter the port
But the shortage of drivers and frames is getting worse
The traditional peak season in Europe and the United States in 2021 comes earlier than before!
Because whether it is a domestic export company, an overseas importer or a freight forwarding and logistics company, everyone knows that with congestion, delay and lack of transportation capacity, "leaving early" is the only way!
However, it seems that the congestion situation in North America is worse than before. On one side, railways, terminals and warehouses are full, and more and more container ships are blocked outside the port waiting to berth, but on the other side But there is a shortage of drivers, chassis, and even dock workers!
▲U.S. ports are again in congestion
Los Angeles and Long Beach are in congestion again, with railways, warehouses and terminals overflowing with goods!
Recently, Gene Seroka, managing director of the Port of Los Angeles, accepted an interview with the American media with a solemn face, because with the arrival of the peak season, more than 25 container ships have once again been stranded in San Pedro Bay near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, waiting to dock. moor.
▲The cargo volume hit a record, but the boss of the Port of Los Angeles is not happy!
When asked by the media what measures the Port of Los Angeles has taken to cope with the large and continuously growing cargo volume, Gene Seroka replied: The railway is already full. The warehouses are full. The port terminal is full. However, container ships are constantly coming, waiting for berthing operations. This incredible demand comes as a surprise to everyone involved in the chain!
SEROKA: “The railroads are full. The warehouses are full. Port terminals are full. Ships are coming in and waiting to get worked.
“We still have a lot of goods to come in. We were on the phone with one of the major retailers this morning and they said they're going to need another year to get their inventory to a level that they feel is appropriate.
"There are currently 23 container ships arriving at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the next two to three days. This number is quite high. Don't forget that we now have 25 ships berthed at the two ports, 17 of which are in Los Angeles .
▲A large number of container ships are waiting to berth
At the same time, the two major container rail transportation companies, Union Pacific and BNSF, were also overwhelmed by the large number of containers coming from the port, so that they had to suspend or restrict their shipments from the south. Container shipments from California to Chicago.
Union Pacific hopes the suspension will alleviate the backlog in Chicago and ultimately help resolve the backlog of containers destined for other markets.
The rail suspension applies to Union Pacific's Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Terminals served by ports such as Washington and Tacoma.
In response to the suspension of rail operations, shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said that during the suspension, cargo will be retained at the container terminal until the suspension is lifted.
Compared with rail terminals. In warehouses, the most fatal thing is the shortage of trailer drivers and dock workers!
If port congestion and railway congestion are still the pain points that everyone can easily see, then there is another more fatal impact that may be ignored by most people. That is the shortage of trailer drivers and dock workers!
▲The driver shortage exacerbates the logistics crisis
The shortage of truck drivers has become the most common serious challenge in the European and American transportation markets
American Trucks, the largest truck industry representative organization in the United States. Data from the ATA shows the industry was already short of nearly 61,000 drivers in the year before the pandemic hit.The association estimates that the driver shortage will reach 160,000 by 2028.
With the outbreak of the new crown epidemic last year, the situation has undoubtedly become increasingly stretched. The pace of truck driver recruitment has lagged far behind the pace of the market.
An American logistics company recently lamented: After the Houston Terminal was shut down, the pace of port cranes is now A truck driver picks up one container a day, There are endless queues at the port. The reason is that the terminal is short of labor and there are not enough manpower to work + There are no trucks. Frame !
▲Frames and drivers have become the most in-demand resources
In the face of congestion, shipping announcements have once again added high port congestion fees
According to One Shipping Tracking, many shipping companies, including Matson and Hapag-Lloyd, have successively announced that they will The U.S. line has added huge destination port congestion fees. Matson will increase the port congestion fee for the west U.S. port again by US$2,000 per container starting from August 5!
The latest notice of port congestion charge increase comes from Mediterranean Shipping Company. The shipping company announced that starting from August 19, it will charge an additional port congestion charge (CGS) USD800/1000/1125/1266 for goods exported to the United States and Canada. .
Moreover, starting from September 15, another wave of port congestion charges (CGS) USD2400/3000/3375/3798.
will be added. The total of the two port congestion charges will be as high as USD3200/4000/4500/5064.
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