Port of Oakland. Photo from the Sacramento Bee
Most news reports have been focusing on the contract dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association. … As easy as it is for many to blame the labor dispute for the current woes, the roots of port congestion go much deeper.
The rapid emergence of megaships unhinged the ocean side of maritime supply chains from the land-side infrastructure. Just as the Panamanians saw their bid to accommodate the largest of ships was thwarted by the shift to even bigger ships, ports that had been built to efficiently handle vessels carrying 5,000 to 8,000 containers would be swamped by vessels that carried more containers, took up more berth space and necessitated larger cranes.
Compounding the impact of larger ships at California’s ports were other moves by the shipping lines. One involved how the containers were loaded onto ships at Asian ports. Before, containers were sorted by final destination and then stowed aboard ships. Now, loading has become more random, in effect shifting the responsibility for sorting containers to congested U.S. ports.
Solving that problem will more than likely require major alterations in port infrastructure and to the transportation systems serving the ports. It will also necessitate an unprecedented level of cooperation between public and private stakeholders with varying agendas, conflicting interests and little history of harmonious relations.