A veteran shipping executive says U.S. West Coast port problems are structural and “will not go away” and that as a result beneficial cargo owners should add three weeks to trans-Pacific import lead times to accommodate what will become chronic congestion at the largest U.S. container gateway.
Dan Gardner, a longtime executive with third-party logistics firms and now president of consulting firm Trade Facilitators Inc., said it can’t be assumed that once the current impasse between West Coast dockworkers and employers is resolved and a full labor force returns to the docks, there will likely not be enough productivity enhancements in a new contract to make a meaningful dent in the demands of mega-ships calling in Southern California.
“Simply stated, it takes a lot longer to off-load a 14,000 TEU vessel than it does an 8,000 TEU ship, and they consume a lot more space, cranes, chassis, trucks, drivers and on-dock/near-dock rail capacity when they finally do get a berth,” he said in article sent by email to JOC.com.
