The backlog of ships waiting to enter California’s two largest ports has hit a fresh record as labor shortages continue to roil the global supply chain and threaten holiday gift-giving.
As of Monday, 100 vessels of all kinds were at anchor or in a holding area waiting to enter the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, topping the previous record of 97 vessels set on Sept. 19, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, which operates the Vessel Traffic Service for those two ports.
“For comparison, ‘normal’ total vessels at anchor, pre-COVID backup, was 17 vessels at anchor with zero in holding areas since 2004, when there were half a dozen,” Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, said in a note.
The two ports — which account for about one-third of all US imports — have not had to keep ships in holding areas since 2004 when a railroad issue caused a backlog, Louttit noted, adding that 44 ships were in such zones as of Monday.
Of the total 100 ships waiting to enter the ports, 70 are massive container ships carrying hundreds of thousands of units of goods that are in increasingly scarce supply as American shoppers continue to scour stores, according to the MXSO.
Sefa Degirmenci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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