According to the White House, the Port of Los Angeles will begin processing ships 24 hours a day.
Shipping industry chaos is currently causing shortages of products and skyrocketing prices.
Currently, ships are stranded off the California coast and waiting for their turn at port.
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According to the White House, the Port of Los Angeles will begin processing ships 24 hours a days, seven days per week, to ease a huge backlog.
In a press release, the White House stated that the port would be adding weekend and off-peak shifts to its schedule. It stated that the new hours would nearly double the hours cargo can be moved.
Shipping industry is in chaos right now, with Southern California ports particularly hard hit. Nearly 500,000 shipping containers and 12 million metric tonnes of goods were awaiting arrival at the Port of Los Angeles.
According to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, Tuesday saw 80 ships anchoring or drifting in the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Long Beach. There were also 64 ships at berths. According to Kip Louttit (executive director of the Exchange), "The average number of container ships at an anchor is between zero-one." Insider was told by Louttit in July.
According to the White House, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (which represents port workers) had agreed for its members, to work longer hours.
CNBC reported that President Joe Biden will host a virtual meeting Wednesday on supply-chain chaos. Participants include executives from UPS, FedEx and Walmart as well as Teamsters and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Together, the Ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach account for 40% of all US shipping containers as well as 30% of all US exports. The Port of Long Beach changed to 24 hour operations in September. Its executive director stated that the industry was "in crisis mode".
The problem is caused by multiple factors, including an increase in goods demand, labor shortages at ports and COVID-19-related port closures.
The shipping crisis, which is being exacerbated by a shortage of truck drivers, is causing havoc in the supply chain. This has led to delays and price rises that have adverse effects on everything from chicken wings to computer chips and freezers.
