Although the Biden administration last week announced that Port of Los Angeles will transition to 24 7 operations to help alleviate supply chain bottlenecks, the port executive director, Gene Seroka, said a timeline for when that schedule change will actually take effect remains unclear.
It s not a single lever we can pull today to open all the gates, but what we re doing is trying to squeeze every minute, every hour of efficiency out of this port complex that we can, sharing information, building on those strong decades-long relationships and with the strength of the federal government behind this, Seroka said during a media briefing Thursday. The work here will be fast. It has to be but it is bringing everyone together. There is no timeline when suddenly we will wake up and everything will be 24 7. The Port of Long Beach and the neighboring Port of Los Angeles account for approximately 40% of the nation's imports, according to the White House. Over 125,000 companies export cargo from Los Angeles every year through the port of Los Angeles, while another 75,000 companies import via its facilities. Meanwhile, approximately 18,000 truck drivers are registered to do business at the port.
The Port of Los Angeles has averaged more than 900,000 container units for the past 14 consecutive months. As of Thursday the port processed more than 8.1 million units for the year, up 26.4% over the previous year, amid a surge in consumer demand.
Ships averaged 12 days anchored offshore before docking at the port. White House Port Envoy John Porcari noted at the briefing that meetings to resolve existing barriers affecting operation at 24 7 port of Los Angeles will begin on Friday and that reducing backlogs will require cooperation among multiple private sector players within the supply chain.
This is not flipping a light switch, he added.
The Port of Los Angeles will double the number of hours cargo is passed from containers to trucks, and expect to unload 3,500 more containers each night during the night. The members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union will work extra shifts, the White House said.
As well, companies including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Samsung, FedEx and UPS have committed to help speed up the process of clearing cargo from the port to prevent congestion.