West Coast Container Congestion Again in 2014

(10/27/2014) And this time the problem is not easy to solve. Unlike the past importing container congestion in the LA-LB ports were caused by labor strike, this year, the container congestion in the west coast is due to shortage in equipment (chassis) and carrier capacity. So, some of U.S. retailers that rely on holiday shopping to turn profit may get hurt this time. A freight consulting company, flegenheimer.com,  concludes several factors (and they look hard to solve):

• Import surge explains terminal congestion, capacity shortages in both rail and drayage trucking sectors. 
• Since most carriers no longer provide chassis, trucker has to make arrangements for their own chassis pick up and wait in line. 
• Raildroad delays in providing railcars and equipment; thus, containers that cannot leave as scheduled create further congestion. 
• ILWU goes on vacation and lesser experienced dock workers are assigned, it affects productivity. 
• Some terminals require appointment of 24 hours prior to pick up.

The equipment shortage will take a long time to solve. 

2011 Traffic Congestion Cost - 2012 Report

(2/5/2013) This research is done by Texas A&M University. They do this traffic congestion survey every year, and each year it gets worst. Based on 2011's survey data, the US congestion cost is $121 billions. To the trucking industry, it costs them $27 for their wasted time and fuel. Since the US federal and local government did such a poor job for providing good public transportation or diverting people's driving, the worsened traffic cost will only come back to haunt everybody (from the upstream suppliers to the end consumers).  If you are interested in the full report, this is Texas A&M's webpage.

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