Los Angeles Port to operate 24 hours a day amid supply chain congestion
The measure announced by the White House seeks to reduce cargo bottlenecks that led to shortages of goods and increased costs
President Joe Biden announced that the port of Los Angeles will begin to operate 24/7 as does the port of Long Beach, California. Both ports are responsible for about 40% of all imports into the United States.
The operation seeks to end the problems in the supply chain that caused shortages of goods and increases in product costs, which hamper economic recovery after the pandemic. The main ports in Europe and Asia have been operating this way for years.
“Today I’m announcing that the Port of LA will begin operating around the clock 24/7 to make sure Americans can get the goods they need. My Administration is working around the clock to move more goods faster and strengthen the resiliency of our supply chains,” Biden tweeted Wednesday morning.
According to the White House, the port of LA might nearly double cargo transfer hours, with crews working overnight. The extra shifts will be taken by International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Today, dozens of ships are lined up to dock, with wait times reaching three weeks. Thousands of containers are stuck at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Major shippers and retailers have agreed to speed up operations to clear cargo out of the ports and free up more space on the docks. The goal is to process and unload 3,500 extra containers during the night each week.
