A new report completed by the World Bank and IHS Markit recently revealed that California’s Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are among the world’s least efficient ports, ranking at 328 and 333 out of 351 container ports worldwide. These two ports handle more ocean cargo than any of the other ports in the United States, which could continue to spell trouble as the holiday season ramps up.
Analysts have already warned the government, businesses, and consumers about potential problems this holiday shopping season because of the supply chain issues the country (and the world) currently face. The White House has already tried to enact measures to help with the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, as these ports are already clogged and have a backlog of about 400 cargo waiting to be unloaded.
Only four ports in the United States were ranked in the top 100 — ports in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Analysts have warned that if these supply chain issues are not quickly ironed out before consumers start their holiday shopping, then many shelves may not be as full as desired. Inventories of highly desired products will likely be low. Already, consumers are shopping for the holidays early so that they can successfully get the items they want, rather than be left without them.
Businesses are also attempting to work around these global supply chain issues. However, there is only so much that can be done. While big corporations like Walmart have the means to invest in their own airline carriers, many businesses around the nation cannot.
The supply chain has had severe problems for a while now, as ports in the United States could not handle the surge in consumer demand that caused the purchases of imported goods to skyrocket. The supply chain in the United States could not handle this sudden surge in the middle of the pandemic — and now, deliveries of goods are still delayed for many.
Therefore, this low ranking of two of the biggest and busiest ports in the United States is eye-opening. On Monday, there was a new record of 100 ships waiting to unload outside the ports in California. Already, consumer demand has caused more goods to be sent to the U.S. — and already, it appears that this has caused another clog in the ports.
The United States is currently the world’s biggest consumer. About $2.5 trillion worth of imported goods are imported in just one year in the United States.
If these supply chain problems continue into the holiday season, consumers won’t only have low inventories to choose from. It is also expected that these problems could result in the price of goods rising. Already, goods have risen in price for a variety of reasons, such as these supply chain issues, as well as because of inflation. The price of shipping containers has become high in the last few months — and this could then result in the price of goods also rising.
