Thread by @BoshartDavisAg

It’s likely that you’ve seen something come across the news or your SM feed now about the extreme congestion of container ships sitting outside of LA/Long Beach waters, waiting to berth, & you’ve probably felt the impacts of supply chain disruption at home and/or your biz. 🧵 1/

BOSSCO Trading and Boshart Trucking have been in the drayage/export shipping business for over 15 yrs, and these challenges are some of the greatest we’ve faced to date. We heard from someone at Tyson Foods who has been in logistics for 45 yrs and this is the worst he’s seen. 2/

There’s a lot of finger-pointing, but this isn’t an easy situation you can blame one party or fix with one solution. There is no silver bullet. The supply chain is not flexible.Many are at fault & will need to work together to successfully work through these challenges. 3/

Here are a few of the key issues and pressure points in our supply chain: 4/

⚓️ Americans started making many purchases as soon as the economy opened back up after intense 2020 lockdowns. This quickly emptied inventories of stores and factories, and thus began a race of imported goods from Asia to the United States in efforts to fill warehouses. 5/

As this race began, container shipping lines did all they could to get more goods to the US, such as loading empty containers to sail back to Asia (instead of loading with export goods) and adding every available vessel into the loop. 6/

Previously, US exports were the back haul to help get containers to Asia, and as rates rose significantly, shipping lines no longer needed export goods to help move containers west. They saw record profits by prioritizing imports, and they have been greedy about it since. 7/

These volumes are likely to continue until warehouses have normal inventories. 8/

🚂 Ocean Terminals/Ports: American port systems were warned of an incoming surge of imports and terminal grounds/extra warehouses all filled quickly. Containers were stacked higher and in more areas of terminals than ever before. 9/

Containers for rail couldn’t be sent because of 13+ miles of train car backups at inland destinations. Terminals are full of both loaded import containers and empty containers waiting to be loaded onto vessels or with export goods. 10/

This leaves vessels waiting outside of ports until there is enough terminal space for them to unload. That’s why you’re seeing 60+ containers sitting outside of LA/LB. Terminal appointments and their hours make it difficult for truck drivers to pick up containers. 11/

Importers have to wait for containers to be unburied, which can take weeks before its even available for them to send a trucker to pick it up. If US terminals expanded their open hours for truckers, it would help alleviate some of the congestion, 12/

but warehouses/distribution centers would need to expand their hours as well. At this time, most terminals operate 8-5 or 7-4, with a lunch and/or break closing operations, and they rarely work holidays. If they add extra gate hours or a weekend gate, it is often random. 13/

Sometimes those extra hours are last minute. Most Asian terminals operate 24/7, maybe closing for some holidays. US Longshoremen comment they are willing to operate extra hours, but their bill has to be picked up by the ocean terminal, who then charges the ocean carriers. 14/

The ocean carriers aren’t willing to pick up the extra bill for container handling without renegotiating contracts. 15/

🚛 Truck Drivers: Yes, there is a shortage of qualified truck drivers. The population of drivers is an aging population, with few new members joining the workforce. Even if they do, container drayage trucking is not an easy job when there isn’t a shipping crisis. 16/

Having more truck drivers would be a great help, but it is not the only solution. Regulation surrounding topics like clean trucks and independent contractors just add more hoops for truckers to jump through and added costs get passed on to the customer. 17/

If marine terminals are going to add extra hrs, truckers are going to need those consistent in order to plan out their week w/out going over FMCSA hours of service,& they need the warehouse/distribution centers to have enough staff/longer hours to accommodate additional loads 18/

There are more issues- namely congestion on roads, foreign companies owning our terminals and shiplines, lack of communication between shiplines and shippers, infrastructure issues nationwide, equipment shortages, increased costs of equipment, regulation, and of course COVID. 19/

Covid issues include labor shortages and outbreaks that shut down warehouses or production facilities. 20/

Container ship traffic in Western Hemisphere. 21/

Container ships in PNW (Pacific Northwest). Note squares are anchored vessels. 22/

Container ships in LA/Long Beach. Note squares are anchored vessels. 23/

That’s my #supplychain thread 💁🏼‍♀️ Complicated issue, lots of words. 24/24