Biden's supply chain disaster
Remember the old "Car 54" theme song?
There's a holdup in the Bronx,
Brooklyn's broken out in fights.
There's a traffic jam in Harlem
That's backed up to Jackson Heights.
There's a scout troop short a child,
Khrushchev's due at Idlewild
Car 54, Where Are You?
That should be the theme song of the Biden administration. Right now there is a backlog of cargo ships waiting to get into major American ports. The problem? No it's not climate change or the pandemic. One thing is for certain: There is a shortage of truck drivers! What caused it? The question is debatable. Might it be granting too much relief to workers? Could it be the vaccine mandates (which I originally thought was a good idea)?
"The trucking industry moves nearly 71% of all freight in the U.S. and is heavily reliant on a vast number of trained and certified drivers to keep the supply chain running, according to estimates by the Commercial Vehicle Training Association, which is the largest association of commercial truck driving schools in the country."
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/truck-drivers-shortage-2021
Solving the problem will require leadership. I doubt it will come from vice president giggles or clueless Joe. Who can solve it? Most likely it will be the marketplace: specifically trucking companies.
1.1 Million drivers needed.
For now the mantra of the Biden administration is "We didn't do it - it was there when we got here!"
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In the meantime there will be shortages and higher prices.
Where else have we seen things like this. Oh that's right. North Korea, Venezuela and many countries with a useless and failed government..
You mean regimes that put ideology first?
Can you name one that does not?
Subtract Carter, Obama and Biden from American history and you have 43 Presidents who put country first.
Not to mention the higher diesel and jet fuel prices because of bidenomics will impact on the price of transporting everything from source to storefront.
embrace the suck ....
Lol...That's a new onw!
only if your non military .
there when things suck , and most things do , all one can do since it cant be changed , is to embrace the suck.
Oh now I get it. I'm glad I asked.
Is that the Democratic Party campaign slogan for the midterms?
Fits well................
The take away from this is if they have drivers sitting , waiting and doing tire checks for hrs on end at a dispatch center , the problem is not a driver shortage ....
Do they get paid to wait?
last i knew , or did that sort of thing , it depends on the trucking company , or the contractor , and even then only after a certain amount of hrs sitting idle have passed .
usually the wait coincides with how long they can be left sitting unpaid , once that thresh hold is passed , things get moving quick .
for the most part with truckers , if the wheels are not turning , they are not earning .
I see.
For harbor rats it was 2 hours free wait time and $35 an hour thereafter. Currently there is no freetime.
The bottleneck is, and always has been the Port itself, because that's where Customs does it's job, deliberately and slowly,
finding contraband, drugs and products from forbidden sources.
Suspend CBP for a few months, empty the warehouses, let the drugs flow and maybe, just maybe the ships at sea will diminish
for a few months. /s
My wife if from LA. Grew up in the 50's and 60's with an ocean view of freighters anchored by the port, waiting their turn.
The Port is essentially land locked by other real estate limiting physical expansion.
The Biden Administration is trying to get the Unions to agree to expand their shifts to 24/7 at LA & Long Beach.
Neighborhood noise abatement rules will have to be suspended to allow more idling trucks,
and more traffic outside of existing residential and commercial restrictions.
This just happened to be published this morning.
I did say the question was debatable. Are there not 2 west coast ports involved? LA and Long Beach? Or is it one?
LA and Long Beach are actually one port it is a political distinction to call them two separate ports.
Question answered.
There is nothing political about it.
I guess my post was too long to bother reading?
and the link to the WH article about the same
Kavika Just said it's one port.
FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Efforts To Address Bottlenecks At Ports Of Los Angeles And Long Beach, Moving Goods From Ship To Shelf
All the luck, Joe!
At least try to understand what I say and the map I posted. It's physically one port but it hastwo distinct political ports because it lies in two different cities.
Not that hard to understand if you try.
It's not the union that determines operating hours at the port it's the Container lines.
I hate to keep throwing a damper on this, but where in the fuck are they going to get the labor for a 24/7 operation at every pier in the LA/LB harbor.
If you look at the chart I posted on the size of my old terminal you'll see that a 24/7 operation is going to be difficult at best.
No one mentioned who is going to pay for the 3rd shift operation let alone the Sunday super time pay.
The first time that only 50 or a hundred trucks show up for a 3rd shift operation the company will close that 3rd shift down in a NY minute.
The only terminal in LB operating on a 24/7 schedule is Terminal T and the only lines calling that terminal are China Shipping and Yang Ming.
I've got a feeling who is going to pay for it. Note who announced it...............................with none of that detail....
I doubt it, the way it usually works is that the continer line that wants a 3rd shift at the terminal is the one that pays for it. This is not going to be cheap and I doubt if they will have the labor for a 24/7 operation at all terminals in both LA and LB.
Can't disagree with ya there. Isn't lack of labor part of the reason that they are so backed up now?
It's part of the problem since the pandemic as many as 20% of the longies have been out at one time with COVID or COVID symptoms. But the problems are far beyond just labor.
Kav has a very valid point , you cant just dictate or snap your fingers and get experienced , trained and certified workers out of thin air and you cant really take them from other areas that are somewhat similar and expect them to do the job like someone with real experience at that level
way i see it if things like driving a truck , or operating a crane , or following the logistics were so easy , everyone would be doing it , but thats not the case , to get that experience , training and certification takes time , something thats not in very good supply at the moment .
hell i have been driving semis off and on now for better than 25 years , and i have been called an experienced , 4 season ,all terrain/ condition driver , thing is it took me those 25 + years in its entirety , to gain the experience , you wont be able to replace me with some 21 year old fresh out of driving instruction school and freshly certed and get the same results , the experience is not there . And the same holds true for what kav is pointing out about longies and sky crane operators, the people needed with the right experience just is not there .
So whats left? pirate the existing 2 crews im reading are at 150% capacity already with moving freight and take people from there to form another shift as well as maybe some inexperienced new hires , some of which no matter what the pay will be very unhappy about having to work the grave shift, and it will be very questionable if it will increase the freight capasity being moved it could very well move that 150% down some ..
That is just great. Where are they going to find all of these drivers to take the extra loads out of the port? Also, where are they going to store the material when warehouses in the area are already at 98% capacity?
Of course that is assuming there are enough chassis to get all of the containers off the ships and prevent them from stacking up at the ports to begin with. Which there isn't.
So unless Biden can find significantly more chassis to put the containers on; local warehouse capacity to put the material in; more drivers to pull the containers from port- and turn the material out of the warehouses to their final destination; and more rail flatcars to move containers on- changing to 24/7 operations isn't going to mean anything. The ports will just be able to stack the containers faster.
By the way.
This is a two way bottleneck. Containers that need to go from the rail to the port for export are encountering the same problems. The rail is stacking them at the terminal hubs due to a lack of chassis. They ground containers from the stack as "extra" chassis come available (meaning if they have any left over from grounding an inbound train).
What is better is the rail is charging ramp storage from the time of grounding on the containers; and the steamship lines per deim on the containers- for the time they are stacked at the rail hubs. There is no getting them out until the rail grounds the container on a chassis. The rail will not cherry pick a container to a chassis from the stack. '
Try explaining that to a customer whose container is held up at the destination ramp and cannot deliver to the port.
there are a dozen military installations near by which could supply drivers, vehicles and warehouse space.
I guess it just depends on how creative one gets.
The first thing that has to be suspended are the rules about idling restrictions and night time traffic and noise regulations.
Once that is settled, the drivers will come.
I am sure the US taxpayer will love footing that bill for hauling and storing private enterprise merchandise. Or are you planning to charge this back to the companies that own the material? How much are you going to charge to dray the material to the military installation, hold the material on a per day basis, and reload the material onto a private carrier? Where are you going to find enough civilian truck drivers to get certified to enter a military installation? They are rather touchy about who can enter military installations. (I can speak from loads of experience transporting goods into and out of these facilities. Many truck drivers won't even get near a military installation, due to the continuous security patrols going on around them.)
You can remove operating obstacles; but unless you are willing to suspend HOS laws there aren't nearly enough drivers to handle running 24/7.
I'm going to have to point out the nearly impossible situation that using military drivers and warehouses.
First off the military drivers will need to be certified for haz/mat load, tank containers etc. Those require an endorsement on their CDL.
Next off are the military warehouses equipped to handle that type of volume? I doubt it, they would have to have integrated computer systems with the actual warehouse/owner of the cargo. Also, online systems for cargo management once it's in the warehouse and probably the biggest question is who is going to pay for it?
Oh, what about the refer containers, do the bases have plug-ins for the refers? Doubtful
There are a number of military bases within 50 miles of the ports and none of them are equipped to handle this.
You are absolutely correct on all accounts.
I am sure there are military drivers that are hazmat and tanker certified; but how many exactly?
I was only thinking of general merchandise being stored at military installations in my post 4.2.3. I didn't figure the US government would want to touch any of the special needs materials like foods and medical supplies that need to be refrigerated; hazardous materials; and tankers.
Do you run into the same problems with drivers not wanting to go into (or around) military installations that I do? Most don't even want to risk the background check that is done; much the less obeying the strict rules for delivering. And these are good drivers that I wouldn't hesitate to send anywhere else.
Yes, it's the last place that they want to go. It's like going to a grocery warehouse, no driver will accept a load to a grocery warehouse.
You added more legit points, thanks.
It is good to talk to someone that goes through the same things I do on a daily basis.
I don't really blame Biden for the bottleneck. We were heading this way before Covid 19- the pandemic just exasperated the problem. This isn't the same thing as restaurants, hospitals, and other service industries. Just throwing more people at the problem will not solve it.
Even if they manage to somehow remove the bottleneck at the ports; and the UP/BNSF in LA; all they will be doing is moving the bottleneck further down to Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and any other major rail hub. Where lack of personnel, chassis, room to ground all of the containers, and drivers to deliver and turn them are already tight.
I wish I could give an easy solution to this; but it is system wide. Fixing one problem will lead to others further down the line.
issue with using military as drivers is military certification to drive is a lot different than federal or state regulated certified drivers , not the same type of animal at all and done under entirely different conditions .
Why use bases ? use empty industrial lots that have been idled or vacant . that would still leave the problem of logistics of keeping track of what is where and how and who is going to get it out of there .
relaxing local laws or regulations , might or might not help , quiet hrs are not much of a deterence now nor is really idling regs .
hours of service regs were relaxed last year for the most part for the pandemic , but those can still come back to bite a driver .
it was brought up how some refuse loads because of its destination , changing any or all of the above likely will not entice a driver to go where they dont want to go , so i wouldnt hold my breath thinking those changes will bring drivers flocking , if there is no equipment or change in the general locales and the wait times sitting waiting havent changed ..
I don't anymore since I retired a few years back but I keep up with all the current operations and still act as an expert witness for some of the lines. I'm also in contact with many of top management of the various lines/RR and truckers. It's had to get out of your blood after all those years.
Here is a good view of the size and capability of our pier in the port of LA.
Terminal Guide
Fenix Marine Services is on Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles. It was previously known as Global Gateway South (GGS). It is one of the largest in North America, spanning nearly 300 acres. Our team achieves well over a million lifts annually (about 2 million TEUs), thanks to our state-of-the-art command center and our commitment to flawless execution.
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containers are going cheap up here in wyoming , son in law bought 2 a year or so ago because there was no transport back for them once used full sized containers , 8 grand , he uses them for his business storage .
We have this company down here that buys them and does all kind of cool things. Check it out.
Using military would work but you also run into the problem of authorization.
Because of budget cuts, the vehicles aren't up to that "military grade" everybody blathers on about. You would be surprised how many vehicles on a given installation / day are deemed unsafe for operation.
The warehouse space isn't as available as many think. What may appear as a warehouse may, in reality be used for something else (i.e. training facilities)
I have thought of getting one of the shorties , and burying it on the property for use a s a root cellar , thing here is the water table and annual percip. Still thinking on it though .
That one always sticks in my mind ...
After 26 years in the military, the term "military grade" doesn't mean a damn thing to me. Just a catch phrase by manufacturers to lie to customers.
Well payroll wise it doesn't matter where they serve, the border or the Ports or guarding their own bases.
and the military bases are taxpayer owned.
Not saying it would be doable, but Biden can make it an "emergency" and call out troops.
If it's such an emergency, any rules can be suspended.
I doubt that when Katrina hit, anyone was checking CDLs for certs for many months.
My BIL built his lake cabin in northern MN using 4 45' hi cube 9'6'' high 8' 6'' wide.
Three on the bottom one on top that is all bedrooms for visitors and kids with a bath room and 1 and half bath down. Materbed room and guest bath.
Nice. I almost got a job with Boxman but their business slowed so they didn't need another project manager half way through the interview process. ( and actually, it turns, out they did and nepotism was the name of the game and one of the owner's nephews got the promotion LOL)
Quite aware, lol. Often for inane reasons.
Hell my first assigned base house was on Treasure Island CA and wrecked in the Oakland earthquake.
The porch fell away and you cold see through the kitchen floor, lol.
They sent us to Hamilton AFB as a last resort even though they had no homes "available". ( wink, wink )
Hsg office said "nothing" was available but gave us an address to check out. (and the keys )
They said the house was uninhabitable because the hardwood floors needed to be refinished ( per the rules )
and they were waiting for approval on new low VOC water based floor stain. ( for months and months)
We signed a doc promising to install wall to wall remnants from the Exchange.
They signed a doc stating the conditions of the floors throughout.
Gotta love red tape
Now you guys want the government to fuck about in private business, or is this just another blame Biden article? Other than get various private enterprises together in one room, what can the Biden Admin do? Do you want them to throw more money on this fire? Have more meetings? Should we limit government intrusion into the business sector to this issue or should we just take things over like China and Russia?
Maybe it isn't his fault, but unless he can fix it, he gets some of the blame.
Why not? Biden and the Democrats haven't hesitated to fuck about in private businesses to this point. Why should the supply bottleneck at the ports be any different?
And that's why, right or wrong, they'll own this too.
It's a lot different once someone has to govern and has a record to defend.
Perhaps you missed TX Governor Abbott's edicts to private businesses this week?
Business is in the middle now between Biden's edicts and Abbott's. Especially, Dallas based Southwest Airlines.
It's amazing how fast he embraced Socialism.
Do they supersede Biden's Covid 19 mandate to businesses? Last I heard federal government trumped state government.
Abbott has been rightly blasted to his interference by all sides. The same cannot be said for Biden and the Democrats.
But your what-a-boutism is duly noted.
It's the latter.
This article is about as uninformed as one can. Yes, there is a huge harbor haulers shortage, there is a shortage of empty containers, there is a shortage of chassis, there is a shortage of space at inland depots, there is a shortage longshoreman due to COVID. There is a shortage of rail double stack cars to move the containers. There is a shortage of rail power to move the trains. Warehouses are at capacity and using containers as their warehouse which ties up both a container and a chassis.
On top of this is the record amount of containers coming into the US.
Then you missed this:
The question is debatable.
You may want to rethink the "uninformed" comment.
I don't need to rethink anything about this. I spent 45 years in this industry from a longshoreman to senior management in the Containership end of it.
I'm certified by the state of CA. WN, OR. TX. FL and SC as an expert witness in maritime law and transportation.
I'm licensed to practice before the FMC.
So, yes this debatable article is uniformed.
I disagree.
It was an internet hoax. One of many.
Sorry you cannot see that.
You wish..
The point of the article, isn't about cause. It's about the cure. A cure that Biden needs. Again, he may have nothing to do with this, but with inflation already here, it will just add to his headaches.
So, just another bitch about Biden seed. Good to know.
You can disagree all you want but you cannot dispute any of my comments because you simply don't have the knowledge and will not research the cause and effect of the current situation which is worldwide not just the Ports of LA/LB
I'm not interesting in disputing them. There could be many causes. I'm not sure you are trying to make a point about cause, but whatever it is, you had your say.
I think kavika is "fleshing out " existing article with circumstances that are very valid factors that are affecting the supply chain, one can not just snap ones fingers and produce the needed equipment such as the containers or chassises , existing infrastucture is also a factor , where to store the merch as well.
we havent even disscussed the politics of union , vs non union , different schedules , or local conditions at pick up or drop off.
to understand it all one has to view it all as it happens together .
You can't dispute them with any actual/real supportive links or personal experience. Yes, I've had my say and it shows that your article is at best uniformed BS.
The latest from the Biden administration is that they are recommending a third shift for the aforementioned port facilities.
Great, who is going to man the ports? Who is going to pay for the 3rd shirt? If they find answers to these problems how many truck drivers are going to show up and where are they going to deliver the containers in the middle of the night?
The problem isn't just LA/LB it's all west coast ports and almost every port in the world.
So what else is new?
I went back through your comments looking where you posted this same comment to JR and his hundreds of "bitching" seeds about Trump, but, surprisingly s/, I could find it.
If you did post it, could you show us where?
Thanks.
And there will be a lot more over the next 3 years. Don't think I or any of us as a group will be able to equal the number of bitch pieces about Trump. Hell, their still going on daily.
that can help , but at a cost of needed preventative maint , that can not be avoided .
Im just glad i am at the tail end of driving and getting ready to hang it up , not my circus , not my monkeys as they say.
If we can somehow convince the President these tanker ships are full of minor children that smell good, I am sure he will solve this supply chain dilemma.
It sounds a little wacky but Joe thinks outside the box to solve our problems.
And preferably illegal.
Eh, I don't get it. If the ports are full, if warehouses are full, all the 'stuff' is there.
Actually all the 'stuff isn't here. There is a tremendous shortage of containers in China and many other countries and some of the exporters are waiting up to 6 to 8 weeks to secure an empty container. Everything and I mean everything is well behind schedule.
So it is all a shortage of containers?
I just don't get how all the sudden there is this shortage. Why? How come now?
Not all of it, Ender but that contributes a great deal to the current back up.
It started in 2020 when ships were coming in from the FE and unloading and not picking up empties to return to the FE because of the pandemic. Of course that build up the numbers of empties in the US which in turn flooded the port, rail yards, warehoues etc.
Actually, it's still happening the ships returning to the FE from the US are leaving empties on the docks so they can get out of town quicker.
Everyone in the shipping industry could see this coming and warned everyone but few listened.
So a company is leaving empty containers and causing a backup.
And no one is blaming this company?
They had to leave many of them during the 2020 because many countries did not want anything from the US into their country.
No one is blaming the shipping companies because they had no control over the pandemic rules, simple as that.
It not as simple as many want to make it. That ship loads in as many as 4 FE ports and deliveries to 2 to 3 US ports. It comes into LA/LB, unloads load, pick ups empties and heads to Oakland where the same process takes place and then on to Seattle rinse and repeat and they head back to the FE.
And yes in some cases they are leaving some empties on the dock here, like airlines they have a schedule to meet and it's as tight as airlines.
Eh, none of it makes any sense to me.
I will leave it to the pros...Haha
i think part of it was the fact there were no standardized and accepted agreed on method to sanitize said containers per covid restrictions at the time , but that is a 2 way street as well, look at how those "murder hornets" got to this country ...but that would add to cost as well in both layover time and man power expended .
Places that build stuff to fill up containers can't build containers?
Generally no since it's a totally different manufacturing process
It’s estimated that 2021 production could reach over 4.5 million TEUs, more than double the annual totals in the prior two years and almost 30% above the record set in 2018. The global container equipment fleet could increase 8% year on year.
In addition, the building of chassis must also keep pace with the number of containers being built.
Every week usually on Monday or Tuesday Norfolk Southern regularly runs a long bare table train of empty intermodal cars north through Virginia to balance empty intermodal cars. Also, some regular northbound intermodal trains have long blocks of empties