November brought another month of record-breaking volumes, with the Port of Long Beach handling 382,677 inbound TEUs, marking a substantial 30.5% increase year over year. Despite this surge, a notable shortage of chassis and a scarcity of drayage providers have led to containers accumulating at the port, exacerbating congestion issues significantly.

This bottleneck at the port has precipitated extended delays in vessels berthing and resulted in escalating demurrage fees. Over recent months, the average dwell time for containers has notably increased from three and a half days to a week. As of December 8th, the congestion had intensified with 47 vessels waiting at anchor offshore and 27 berthed, an extraordinary scenario even by the standards of the busiest U.S. ports.

The Holiday Season may be drawing to a close, yet the port continues to face unrelenting volumes and elevated ocean freight rates, trends that are anticipated to persist well beyond the Chinese New Year in mid-February. This ongoing situation underscores the critical challenges facing port management and logistics operations, which are now essential focal points for stakeholders seeking to mitigate impacts and streamline the flow of goods in these congested nodes of global trade.

In light of these challenges, Global Logistical Connections offers robust solutions tailored to the current port congestion and logistics inefficiencies. GLC’s comprehensive suite of services, including our advanced Freight Forwarding, Customs Brokerage, and Warehousing & Distribution capabilities, are designed to address and alleviate the bottlenecks at busy ports. Leveraging our strategic position adjacent to the largest ports, GLC employs cutting-edge technology and a highly coordinated logistics network to enhance the flow of goods, reduce dwell times, and manage the increased demands effectively. Our expertise and facilities are instrumental in providing expedited services and ensuring compliance, thereby supporting our clients through these challenging times and maintaining the efficiency of their supply chains.