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当事情在世界海洋港口顺利运行时，公司会按时将货物赶出大门，承运人遵守他们的交付承诺，买家以可预测的可靠的方式获取物品。
In most cases, a single supply chain disruption, weather event or geopolitical problem has minimal impact on these smooth-running transportation networks. However, when you add a global pandemic, mandatory business shutdowns and a labor shortage to the mix, a “perfect storm” takes over and throws the entire supply chain for a loop.
That’s exactly what’s happening right now with ocean shipping, where port congestion and a persistent container shortage are just two of the high-level issues that suppliers, carriers, logistics providers and customers are all dealing with right now. “The congestion results from the world’s supply chain continuing to play catch up after initial pandemic-driven lockdowns,”SGB Media报告。
“Demand for imports remains elevated as money diverted from vacations, movies and dining out is heading toward furniture, appliances, exercise equipment, bicycles and other home goods,”SGBcontinues. “A shortage of dock workers amid coronavirus outbreak threats further complicate port operations.”
是什么导致港口拥塞？
According to希腊运输新闻，当船只到达港口时，发生港口拥堵，但由于已经充分的端口容量，无法加载或卸载。船可以排队等候，然后轮到他们在港口上占据一席之地，也可以在附近的港口通话。尽管该过程通常顺利进行，但在过去的几个月中，大流行和其他情况破坏了原本良好的计划。
例如，当大流行主导的锁定破坏了全球贸易时，集装箱运输联盟的响应是在某些路线上削减服务或取消（“空白”）港口呼叫的回应。该出版物报道：“这打扰了容器的需求和可用性平衡。”
Then, a sudden spike in container volumes emerged as companies rushed to meet the higher demand following the reopening of economies post-lockdowns. Meeting that demand wasn’t easy for ports that are “generally characterized by fixed capacity which cannot be changed/modified to meet the short-term requirements,”希腊运输新闻指出。
该出版物继续说：“随着海事产业在全球贸易中起着核心作用，集装箱运输联盟在市场份额中占主导地位，并且港口在海洋供应链中起着至关重要的作用，托运人承担着大部分的成本负担。”“集装箱运输线将延迟成本传递给了托运人，通过向货运率添加拥堵附加费，而港口和运输者则以较高的兴就费用和存储成本的形式通过成本。
Taking Steps to Solve the Problem
港口拥堵expected to last well into the summer peak shipping season, at least for some areas of the U.S., the rush is on the solve the problem both for the short- and long-term.American Shipper,for example, details how Port Houston is positioning itself as a “viable option for handling more containerized imports from Asia, thanks to congestion woes for importers on the West and East coasts.”
American Shippersays Yeti, an Austin-based cooler and drinkware manufacturer, is currently testing Port Houston as an alternative to the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach or Port of New York/New Jersey for importing its shipments from Asia. “We’re seeing some elongated wait times coming through the ports in the process of shipments,” the company’s CEO said. To mitigate wait times and supply chain risks, Yeti is cross-docking its shipments, using different shipping lanes, and leveraging faster shipping lanes out of Southeast Asia to cut down on the transport time,American Shipper报告。
In Georgia, the Port of Savannah is adding new capacity in hopes of reducing congestion.
According toJOC，佐治亚州港口管理局（GPA）将在2021年底之前增加650,000 TEU，增加20％的TEU，增长20％，以应对量的减速，以处理量的潮流。
击倒舱口
Looking ahead,运输主题港口领导人，行业专家和政府官员越来越担心世界上最大的港口将在接下来的六个月内保持“极度拥挤”。他们归咎于东南亚工厂的大量产品，由于19日，由于Covid-19，一部分Longshoremen正在退出工作，以及全国仓库空间（尤其是港口附近）的短缺，以加剧该问题。
“无论是DRAY卡车司机还是长岸工人，还是供应链中的所有其他工人，劳动力本身都受到了压力。他们都被鞭打了，”运输经济学家保罗·宾厄姆（Paul Bingham）告诉TT。“对操作和社会疏远的限制持续了多长时间？那可能有一段时间。”
