Most people know by now that there is a major traffic jam at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. On October 22, there was a record 79 ships at anchor, with an estimated 500,000 containers onboard, waiting to unload their cargo at the terminals. There are many reasons for the backlog, including:
- A surge in demand for consumer goods
- Inefficient port technology
- Shortage of truck drivers and chassis
- Non 24/7 operations
But according to Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, the true bottleneck is insufficient space for all the containers.
He put together an excellent Twitter thread explaining the current state of affairs at the port. It is a must read for anybody who want to know how the traffic jam is getting worse, and more importantly, steps that the public and private sector can take to make it better.
