Post by FUSION on Nov 22, 2014 13:39:25 GMT -5
If there's trouble in Tacoma, could it spread to Ports of LA and Long Beach?
"This is a bold-face lie," the ILWU responded in its own statement, pointing out that the two sides have disagreed for decades on what "normal operations" look like, so agreeing to maintain them would be difficult.
“Congestion at key ports is the result of three factors – some of which is from employer mismanagement, according to industry experts,” said ILWU spokesperson Craig Merrilees, who pointed out challenges including a shortage of truck drivers, truck chassis, and rail car capacity to haul cargo away from the docks.
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are battling cargo backlogs and delays for at least the first two reasons, but no port official would say the labor force is slowing down. The shipping companies used to manage the supply of chassis - the flatbed carriers that attach cargo to trucks - but they recently turned those operations over to private leasing companies. The transition has been "bumpy," according to a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles.
The Ports of LA and Long Beach handle 70 percent of West Coast cargo and are adjusting to the calls of much larger container ships. When cargo containers are unloaded and a chassis isn't there waiting to carry it away, the containers are stacked on docks, adding to the backlog.
"If the work slowdowns spread to Southern California, the impact could be devastating," writes Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor of the Journal of Commerce.
The congestion comes at the tail end of peak shipping season, when retailers are moving goods into place for holiday shopping. Nick Vyas, director of the Center for Global Supply Chain Management at USC said a lot of holiday goods have already moved through the ports, but if a store chain discovers that it needs to order more of a certain product to meet growing demand, it could face problems.
"These adjustments require a last minute push," Vyas told KPCC. "By having congestion at the ports, it pretty much impedes their ability to react to those market sensitive data."
www.scpr.org/blogs/economy/2014/11/04/17515/if-there-s-trouble-in-tacoma-could-it-spread-to-po/