Posted on: Saturday, November 20, 2004
West Coast ship jam eases, but cargo slow
By Alex Veiga
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A ship logjam that caused protracted freight backups at the nation's largest port complex has been cleared, officials said yesterday, but the timely flow of cargo remains hampered by delays in moving cargo out of jammed port terminals.
AP library photo • October 2004 Yesterday, seven ships were anchored outside the ports. In recent months, around 40 ships were typically stationed offshore waiting to enter, because it typically would take a week or more to load and unload berthed ships. This week, ship turnaround times haven't exceeded five days.
"It has cleared out considerably," Smith said.
The addition of more dockworkers to service the ships combined with shipping lines diverting vessels to other West Coast ports has helped break the cargo ship logjam, Smith said.
The peak holiday shipping period also has begun drawing to a close, adding to the decline in ship traffic.
"The Christmas rush has dissipated a little bit," Smith said.
The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the port marine terminal operators, hailed the break in the harbor delays, declaring that holiday goods would not be delayed further because of port congestion.
But Patty Senecal, vice president of the Rancho Dominguez-based harbor trucking and warehouse company Transport Express Inc., said the port terminals remain jammed waystations for 20- and 40-foot-long steel containers stacked four or five at a time.
"The ships may be gone, but the congestion is not gone," said Senecal, whose company hires truckers to ferry goods from the ports to their final destination.
"The problem is now on the docks, at the gates," she added. "Now the challenge is on my side; every day we're dealing with endless congestion and delays."
Trucking firms like Transport Express have complained that delays at the terminals have hurt drivers, who often must wait for hours before they can pick up their cargo, and blown delivery deadlines.
PMA president and chief executive Jim McKenna acknowledged that congestion at the port terminals could result in some cargo delays.
"There's a potential for that," he said. "I'd like to think that the facilities are up to the challenge."
Improvements need to be made to the railway system that feeds into the port to ease the cargo logjam on the ground, McKenna said.
Plans to expand next year the hours trucks can pick up cargo at the terminals also should help, he said.
In all, 3,500 temporary workers were hired in recent weeks to help battle the logjam, McKenna said.
The ports likely will experience another harbor backup after Thanksgiving Day, because of workers taking the holiday off. McKenna speculated that any delays would be handled within a couple of days.
The number of cargo ships forced to remain anchored outside the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has declined about 85 percent over the past week, said John T. Smith, who monitors ship movements at the ports for the Marine Exchange.
Cargo is piled several containers high at both Long Beach and Los Angeles harbors, slowing its movement despite better ship flow.
