California ports ranked among worst in the world – lagging behind third world countries
California’s ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in San Pedro Bay – which move about 40 percent of the cargo shipped entering the United States – are ranked among the worst in the world, behind third world countries such as Kenya and Ghana.
The Port of Los Angeles ranked 328 out of 351 ports listed in the 2020 World Bank and IHS Markit Container Ports Performance Index.
Its rating was worse than that of the port of Lomé, Togo, which is among the poorest countries in the world. The port of Long Beach did even worse, landing in 333rd place a few spots behind the port of Mombasa in Kenya.
The two ports slide under the ranking of the Ghanaian port of Tema, ranked in 261st place.
The poor classifications come as massive backlogs continue to disrupt the supply chain ahead of the holidays and threaten to continue the deadlock until 2022, and thousands of cargo containers sit idle on more than 100 ships that have failed. simply nowhere to unload.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said on Thursday he plans to send the National Guard to ease supply chain issues and drive trucks to safeguarded ports, blaming the crisis on labor shortages and COVID.
The rankings were released before the current supply chain chaos, which should push their ratings even lower.
Data analysis up to June 30, 2020 is based on the total number of port hours per ship call, i.e. the time between the arrival of a ship and its departure from the dock. .
The California ports of San Pedro Bay were the worst performing sites in North America, according to the study.
California’s ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach, are among the lowest ranked in the world, according to the 2020 World Bank and IHS Markit Container Ports Performance Index.
Tulroch Mooney, associate director of shipping and trade at ISH Markit, said inefficient ports have a direct impact on a country’s supplies.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen delays at ports causing shortages of essentials and higher prices,” Mooney said in a statement.
“In the longer term, such bottlenecks can mean slower economic growth, higher costs for importers and exporters and even lead to fewer jobs.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are currently behind a massive backlog of ships that is crippling the country’s supply chain, pushing up prices and leaving crews in line for weeks waiting to unload cargo.
“It’s not typical at all,” Peter Tirschwell, vice president of shipping and commerce at IHS Markit, told DailyMail.com on Thursday.
“Yesterday was the first anniversary of the first ships to anchor off LA-Long Beach, but the previous cases were much shorter and involved fewer ships.”
The California ports of San Pedro Bay were the worst performing sites in North America, including the Los Angeles berth (photo from October 20, 2021)
Elsewhere in the United States, Philadelphia was the nation’s best port in 83rd place, while the Port of Virginia ranked 85.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is in 89th place.
Port department manager Sam Ruda told a board meeting on Thursday that his team had effectively managed record volumes of containers through investments in already completed projects.
The port’s waterway infrastructure has recently been improved by deepening the navigation canals to 50 feet, raising the Bayonne Bridge and deepening the berths, Ruda said.
“Without these projects in our rearview mirror, our port would see a backlog of ships,” he said.
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, port stakeholders have met regularly to report issues at the earliest, Ruda said.
“Extended gate hours – including Saturdays and holidays – have been a practice at the Port of New York and New Jersey for over a year,” he said.
“I would also note that local labor rules at the Port of New York and New Jersey already apply 24/7 for vessel operations at berth.
“This is not a new development. This is standard operating practice at the Port of New York and New Jersey. ‘
A single container ship was docked in the East Coast port Thursday, where the average crew waits less than an hour and a half to unload.
The Port of Los Angeles ranked 328 out of 351 ports listed in the 2020 World Bank and IHS Markit Container Ports Performance Index, behind Lomé, the port of Togo (pictured)
More records were broken in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Wednesday when 167 ships were moored there and 50 ships were waiting in a “waiting area”
Port of Los Angeles spokesman Phillip Sanfield dismissed the global report, calling the port “very efficient”
Meanwhile, the 167 ships docked at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Wednesday broke a record set on September 19, when 161 ships were docked there, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.
The latest figure included a record 103 container ships.
Port of Los Angeles spokesman Phillip Sanfield objected to the suggestion that the port was among the worst in the world.
“There were dozens of different measures. We’ve been ranked among the best in others, ”Sanfield told DailyMail.com.
“The Port of LA is a very efficient port. We have hauled record loads here and we have the best skidder workforce in the world.
“We’re using big data here at the port level to the port optimizer, so I have no idea how they count the results and beg to differ with that.”
But in Los Angeles and Long Beach, authorities are struggling to keep up with the unprecedented number of ships as supply chain disruptions worsen ahead of the holidays.
Meanwhile, buyers are feeling the ripple effects of slow shipments and congested ports.
The White House warned U.S. shoppers last week that they would not be able to secure key items such as popular children’s toys for Christmas due to backlogs in the supply chain, and stores across the country is already becoming more and more sterile.
Many Chinese-made products – such as toys, clothing, household appliances and more – are stranded in factories there or in containers aboard offshore freighters awaiting their turn to dock.
Biden struck a deal Oct. 13 with unions and business leaders from Walmart, FedEx, UPS and others to expand port operations in a bid to reduce supply chain bottlenecks that drive up consumer prices and empty store shelves.
Target, Home Depot, Walmart and Samsung have pledged to increase overnight production to more than 3,500 shipping containers per week.
Under the new agreement, the Port of Los Angeles will join the Port of Long Beach to extend operating hours to alleviate some of the supply chain bottlenecks plaguing consumers ahead of the holiday season.
But some trucking executives have said longer hours won’t solve the problem, as massive empty container congestion monopolizes creating a logistics nightmare.
Massive congestion of empty trailers creates logistical nightmare for truck drivers
To pick up a new order at the port, trucks must first return their previously used container to steamers – but with limited space, freight operators refuse to accept empty containers.
‘What we see in [Long Beach and L.A.] is really a productivity issue, not necessarily a lack of drivers, ”Schrap told DailyMail.com.
“It is a function of our inability to bring empty containers back to the port to remove heavy loads from the docks.”
As haulage companies are offering six-figure wages and $ 15,000 connection bonuses while struggling to attract the 80,000 new drivers needed to ease the crisis, it’s not that simple.
Industry experts have said more drivers will not reduce the backlog at California ports, where a fiasco of empty shipping containers is preventing trucks from transporting products to consumers.
Empty containers not only take up space – they also prevent truckers from releasing their chassis, equipment needed to haul loads on modular trailers for delivery.
“It’s extremely inefficient,” Schrap said.
“We mainly move containers for the operational needs of the steamboat lines and are not compensated for it.”