As October begins, the global shipping delays and situation remain essentially unchanged from previous weeks. Officials from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have said that as many as half a million containers could be waiting to be unloaded. This continues to put pressure on the supply chain as consumers face hikes in prices across many products. According to an article from Insider, cargo ships could end up waiting up to four weeks before they can dock on the west coast of the US.
However, the problem cannot be solely pinned on the ports, as labor shortages in warehouses and truck companies also add to the crisis. Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, Gene Seroka has commented, “We need more workers on the job. We probably need expanded hours to match up with the work that’s being done in other segments of the supply chain.” All of this together is sparking fear that there might be a shortage of goods and empty shelves for the upcoming holiday season.
Regarding the price of shipping containers, this week saw another break as the Drewry World Container Index noted that the price for a 40 foot container decreased slightly, 0.2%, compared to the previous week. However, the price this week still remains 291.8% higher than the same week in 2020. Specific routes saw bigger drops in price, as rates for Shanghai to Los Angeles fell 2% and Los Angeles to Shanghai 1%. Other routes saw rates slightly increase, for example, Shanghai to Rotterdam increased 1%. Overall, Drewry expects that the prices will remain steady once again for the coming week.