By now it should be difficult to find someone who hasn’t heard about the issues surrounding the coastal congestion U.S. seaports are currently facing, and port officials don’t expect the congestion to alleviate any time soon. This has prompted a response from retailers and manufacturers, who have already begun importing products in preparation for the fall holiday season. The average time containers are waiting in the busiest port complex in the nation, located in Los Angeles and Long Beach Calif., was up to a 6 day wait for cargo to be moved by truck, and a 9 day wait for containers moving by rail.
Some retailers think they have recognized ways to alleviate some stressors, however. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. released a report recently that expected restocking in the home furnishings and electronics sectors to slow because of diminishing demand. The queue in the aforementioned Los Angeles and Long Beach ports shrank to 28 vessels recently, the lowest number since August of last year, down from 109 ships in January.
