I thought this Forbes article pointed out the problems well, and there are many problems:
Problems persist in the global supply chain, and they may get worse before they get better.
www.forbes.com
There is a lack of containers. The would shipped a lot of containers to Africa during COVID with items like masks, they haven't come back because it is more profitable to make runs to Europe/North America. Overall usage is up worldwide, we just don't have enough containers.
There is a shortage of ships. The ships we use are double or triple the size of ships from 2000. This puts more pressure on ports that aren't sized to handle that much. The port of LA is actually 50% more productive today than pre-COVID.
Truck drivers are in short supply, the point we seem to cover well but there aren't enough people to move goods when it gets here.
Rail is backed up, they laid off a lot in 2020 and removed a lot of locomotives from service. People aren't coming back to those jobs. Chicago is a major chokepoint.
And of course, warehouses are full.
The worst port congestion worldwide? Hong Kong and Shanghai. LA is actually 4th behind Singapore.
Even the Suez Canal blockage from months ago has played a role. A lot of traffic was backed up and that added pressure to the chain that the chain has never caught up from:
A series of unfortunate events - most of which happened thousands of kilometres away - will mean less choice and higher prices in Irish shops this Christmas, writes Adam Maguire.
www.rte.ie
It is a global phenomenon. Japan reports problems, China, the UK, the EU. Russia doesn't have enough workers for its rail moving product from China to Europe:
Explosive growth in sea shipping costs is prompting Chinese manufacturers to send more goods to Europe by rail across Russia, but the growth in demand is creating bottlenecks and straining network capacity.
www.reuters.com
So here are some crazy ideas:
Some states are looking to the National Guard for emergency school bus drivers. We should consider that for trucking in the short term. Maybe look at adding an hour a day to what truck drivers are allowed to drive for the duration of this problem. The infrastructure bill needs to include a plan to upgrade ports once this is over, as container ships get so much larger our ports need to be able to grow to accommodate them. Another long-term solution, enhanced education benefits for truck driving school. Maybe if it was free this shortage that has been decades in the making can be improved. Use navy ships, if possible, to get containers back from Africa. Maybe create a locomotive/railcar graveyard in the desert. These things would be kept in serviceable condition and able to be brought back into service in the event of an emergency.
www.foxnews.com
