On October 13th, 2021, the Port of Los Angeles announced that it will begin operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The additional increase in port productivity comes just weeks after the Port of Long Beach moved to the same 24/7 system.
During a briefing at the White House, U.S. President Biden described the importance of this systematic change, explaining how most leading countries around the globe have already been operating at this capacity, and how today, 40% of the country’s container imports come through these two essential West Coast ports. The President also stated that the rest of the nation would be moving toward a 24/7 system and that this was the first key step to achieving this plan.
This change has brought on roughly 60 additional operating hours per week at the Port of LA, including the less-crowded hours at night and during the weekend, which are essential for improving the movement of goods.
For this change to be fully effective, President Biden called on the private sector to step up.
“Strengthening our supply chains will continue to be my team’s focus. If federal support is needed, I will direct all appropriate action. And if the private sector doesn’t step up, we’re going to call them out and ask them to act. Because our goal is not only to get through this immediate bottleneck, but to address the longstanding weaknesses in our transportation supply chain that this pandemic has exposed.” -President Joseph R. Biden.
For the most recent information on the state of national ports and supply chains, read our latest Freight Talk Blog.
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