Some of the nation’s largest ports, retailers, shippers, and transportation companies announced new policies to combat port congestion and ease backlogs that have been building up in the ramp up to the holiday shopping season.
The Port of Los Angeles is expanding to 24/7 operations. The port is adding off-peak night time shifts and weekend hours after a negotiation with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The neighboring Port of Long Beach has been operating at near 24/7 operations since mid-September. These two ports process about 40 percent of cargo coming into the U.S. annually.
UPS is expanding its 24/7 operational stance and will enhance its data sharing with ports, which could allow it to move up to 20 percent more containers from the ports.
FedEx is expanding night time hour usage and changing its trucking and rail use to increase the volume of containers it will move. The company projects it could double its cargo volume capacity by doing so.
These efforts, along with announcements from Walmart, Samsung, The Home Depot, and Target will extend through the rest of 2021 and are projected to move an additional 3,500 containers per week.
