PORTS of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the New York and New Jersey are suffering congestion because too much beat-the-tariff importing, say forwarders.
'We're seeing extreme congestion at Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York ports as a result of the influx of import volume in advance of the tariff hikes, peak season and Chinese New Year preparations,' said Silicon Valley forwarder Flexport.
'The large import volume is causing a chassis shortage and long pickup times, so you may experience some shipment delays in the next few weeks,' said Flexport in its weekly bulletin.
Flexport said it expects the backlog at the PANYNJ to take longer to clear because those terminals are not open at night or on weekends, reported American Shipper.
However, that was disputed by Dick Jones, the executive director of the Bi-State Motor Carriers at the PANYNJ, which said the port terminals are offering extended or weekend hours.
The port authority's alert system showed APMT in Elizabeth would be open from 6am to 1pm Saturday and PNCT would be open from 8am to 5pm Monday.
Mr Jones said congestion is in part the result of heavy volume and the three-day work weeks that occurred around the Christmas and New Year holidays. 'Some of that stuff is still dragging out,' he said.
Additionally, he said wait times at some terminals are two to three hours, about twice as long as normal, but he also added not all terminals are affected.
Said PANYNJ spokesman Steve Coleman: 'In the fourth quarter 2018, there was a shift of cargo in the port and APMT took on 200,000 additional containers on short notice. That additional cargo also came during the holiday period when the port was closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.
WORLD SHIPPING
'We're seeing extreme congestion at Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York ports as a result of the influx of import volume in advance of the tariff hikes, peak season and Chinese New Year preparations,' said Silicon Valley forwarder Flexport.
'The large import volume is causing a chassis shortage and long pickup times, so you may experience some shipment delays in the next few weeks,' said Flexport in its weekly bulletin.
Flexport said it expects the backlog at the PANYNJ to take longer to clear because those terminals are not open at night or on weekends, reported American Shipper.
However, that was disputed by Dick Jones, the executive director of the Bi-State Motor Carriers at the PANYNJ, which said the port terminals are offering extended or weekend hours.
The port authority's alert system showed APMT in Elizabeth would be open from 6am to 1pm Saturday and PNCT would be open from 8am to 5pm Monday.
Mr Jones said congestion is in part the result of heavy volume and the three-day work weeks that occurred around the Christmas and New Year holidays. 'Some of that stuff is still dragging out,' he said.
Additionally, he said wait times at some terminals are two to three hours, about twice as long as normal, but he also added not all terminals are affected.
Said PANYNJ spokesman Steve Coleman: 'In the fourth quarter 2018, there was a shift of cargo in the port and APMT took on 200,000 additional containers on short notice. That additional cargo also came during the holiday period when the port was closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.
WORLD SHIPPING