In an article titled ‘US West Coast ports busy, struggling with backlog’:
Most West Coast U.S. ports have been busy since Friday, when negotiators reached a tentative settlement in a nine-month labor dispute and work slowdown.
The cargo is moving again, but long-term problems at the ports must be addressed, said transportation analyst Tom O’Brien of California State University, Long Beach.
“The fact that we have larger ships coming now, that is creating peak demand for labor and for equipment is putting a lot of pressure on our infrastructure, not only the ports, but the road network, rail capacity, distribution center and warehousing,” he said.
O’Brien said it all needs to be ramped up to meet increasing trade needs in the future.