Oakland International Container Terminal management shut down its operations at the Port of Oakland on Wednesday, and other marine terminals except OICT have closed truck access, bringing the port to a virtual standstill. Trucking operators in Oakland, Calif., are bracing for a weeklong strike by truckers. This week, truckers halted operations at the third-busiest container port in the West, adding new disruptions to an already strained U.S. supply chain. And the congestion in the eastern United States and the interruption of inland transportation between the United States and China continue…
Striking truckers at Port of Oakland say they’re ready to continue blockade for months if concerns over AB5 aren’t addressed
Truckers have blocked vehicles from entering the Port of Oakland’s container terminal in what is believed to be the largest truck driver protest to date. In fact, on the second day of the strike, there was a long queue of vehicles outside the TRAPAC terminal, the OICT gate had been closed throughout the day, and the three marine terminals of the Port of Auckland had closed the truck channels, which actually stopped almost all business (except for a small amount of business). Protest California’s AB5 bill.
The law would impose tighter restrictions on drivers classified as employees, as opposed to independent contractors, and an estimated 70,000 truck drivers who do not want to be employees or part of a union would be subject to the bill. Because this means truckers will lose the freedom to operate independently, making it more difficult to make a living.
The Oakland protests, which were originally intended to last several days, began on Monday, but as time went on the protests grew in size and became more destructive. Port officials had said on Tuesday they expected the protests to end on Wednesday, while executives at the region’s trucking companies said protesters appeared ready to extend the strike into a week-long strike. Gary Shergill, one of the protest organizers, told the Wall Street Journal that “the strikes could continue for weeks or months.”
Trucks queued outside Auckland’s port after it was closed due to protests and strikes. Truckers gathered at the Port of Oakland and blocked multiple terminal gates.
Port of Oakland truckers have effectively shut down freight operations at the port. There is no immediate word on when the protests will end, but they are exacerbating supply chain problems that have led to ship jams at the port and a build-up of cargo at the docks. Inflation soared. The protests come amid a busy import season for toy manufacturers and other industries, as retailers stock up for the fall holidays and back-to-school.
The Port of Oakland is the main import gateway and agricultural export center in the United States. More than 2,100 trucks pass through the terminal every day, importing a wide range of goods, including wine and meat from Australia, as well as furniture, clothing, and electronic products from China, Japan, and South Korea.
Before the epidemic, there was no congestion at the port and ships rarely had to wait for berths at the port. The strike has exacerbated port congestion amid a surge in port container throughput during the epidemic, with port officials saying 15 container ships are waiting to berth.
The LA/LB terminal in the western United States is also having a hard time. The biggest problem now is that the railway waiting time is about 11 days. The congestion of railway transportation has caused the port to ship out import containers more slowly. At the beginning of July, there were approximately 9,000/more than 28,000 containers at the Port of Long Beach/Port of Los Angeles respectively stranded for more than 9 days, and there were 11,000/approximately 17,000 containers at the railway terminal waiting to be loaded. Trucking containers account for nearly 40% of all long-term detention containers at the port. Due to the accumulation of rail containers, the Port of Los Angeles is currently at 90% land capacity, and any delays in truck pickup will only exacerbate traffic congestion.
In addition, waiting ships were also crowded outside East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. In early July, there were 20 container ships waiting for berths in the Gulf of Mexico/New York and New Jersey coasts. According to June statistics, the average waiting time before ships enter the port is 4.5 days, and the detention time of import containers at New York and New Jersey terminals has been delayed to 8-14 days.
It is reported that Amazon’s FTW1 warehouse (Texas) in the United States is still suffering from severe inland trailer congestion. Currently, truck drivers must wait in line for at least 6 hours to be assigned to an empty dock while unloading For palletized and floor loaded containers, it will take at least 4 hours. In addition, it is worth noting that the Amazon LAX9 warehouse in the West is closed until Friday, and the delivery time will also be affected.
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