A large number of workers have been quarantined, and congestion at ports in the western United States has intensified...

Before Black Friday and Christmas in 2021, there has been serious container ship congestion problems in the west coast ports of the United States, and the recent new round of the COVID-19 epidemic will further aggravate this congestion.

According to foreign media reports, data from the Pacific Maritime Association showed that as of Monday local time in the Western United States, approximately 800 dock workers were unable to go to work due to the epidemic . This figure accounts for about one-tenth of the daily operations of the Port of Los Angeles /Port of Long Beach. Among the approximately 800 workers affected by the epidemic, there are those who tested positive for the new coronavirus and close contacts who need to be quarantined.

Relevant data show that by the end of November, the backlog of ships on the west coast of the United States had increased to 100. The upcoming Christmas and New Year's Eve further prompted Americans to buy more goods, and the port congestion continued to worsen.

In addition, since before Christmas, many countries around the world have successively discovered cases of infection with the new coronavirus variant Omicron, and the number of infections has increased rapidly, especially in the United States, which has almost begun to show explosive growth !

The epidemic then gradually spread to the port terminals. The CEO of Yusen Terminal at the Port of Los Angeles said that the increasing number of new coronavirus cases has exacerbated the labor shortage from Christmas to New Year's Eve , and the terminal evacuation efficiency has therefore dropped by about 20%.

The Port of Los Angeles /Port of Long Beach is a major port for the United States to receive imported goods. About 40% of the US import containers need to pass through these two ports. In the past year, American consumers have consumed a large number of daily necessities, and now they need a large amount of supplies to supplement their daily consumption during the epidemic, so the US import volume will continue to expand.

Some Asian ports may suspend operations due to the upcoming Spring Festival, which may relieve some evacuation pressure on US ports, but a maritime consulting firm based in Denmark said that congestion and supply chain shortages at US and European ports are still worsening. Congestion at US West Coast ports may continue until the end of 2022!

COVID-19

Congestion intensifies at US West Coast ports