What’s interesting to me here is the landside issues section. Rail remains challenged. LA Port can’t get enough trains in to pick up containers. There are now 33000 containers waiting for pickup by rail. Over 20000 have been there 9 days or more. Rail has to step up and provide more equipment to get these containers out.
Congestion on the sea side is practically gone. There are fewer than 15 ships waiting right now. It seems the major congestion in the US has shifted to the East Coast.
Klaipeda is in Lithuania, the only substantial port in that country. Geographically it is well-positioned for the maritime industry of the Baltic Sea. A map is instructive.
Lithuania is close to Russia on the east, and Sweden on the west, and also on routes to Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Norway. There are many opportunities for trade over the sea here.
The conference planned by Klaipeda is connected with Norway, one of the most important locations for maritime innovation.
I’m planning to attend online. I will be listening especially for green innovations and plans to meet European sustainability and ESG goals for the maritime industry.
The Baltic States area has become more important due to the war in the Crimea. Lithuania blocks access to the Russian port of Kaliningrad, which is in an island of Russian territory separated from the main body of Russia. Recently permission was granted to allow transport across Lithuania to Russia, despite the sanctions on Russian shipping. Lithuania is an EU country.
One of the big hassles in container shipping right now is the unfair treatment of drayage drivers. They are often forced to wait because of inadequate capacity at ports. And this is directly traceable to the advent of large ships, which take longer to unload and which result in large numbers of empty containers cluttering up ports. When there are too many containers, the port operations are delayed and cannot be efficient, so often the terminals close their doors to returning containers. They are usually empty.
Then we compound it with the fact that it’s not that useful for the ocean carrier to pick them up for return to an exporting location. It’s almost easier to build a new one in China, say for the next load. Also, an empty container takes up a slot on the ship that could be used for paying cargo. Remember that ocean routes are closed loops with pickups and deliveries along the way. Each stop presents a new version of a loading problem to be solved.
The FMC will look at whether the ocean carriers need to reimburse other supply chain participants for any delays suffered when they can’t return the containers on time. And the carriers have to be more diligent about picking up empties. That’s something the FMC should be able to influence. The carriers will squeal. But they have to start cleaning up their leftovers.
Supply Chain and Logistics 