USA port congestion compounded by Hurricane Ida disruption

Rising pressure across US ports sees no signs of let up as the holiday season approaches, with congestion continuing to worsen and disruption caused by Hurricane Ida in New York and New Jersey. The Texas coast is also battling weather with hurricane Nicholas making landfall today, bringing heavy rain and the risk of life-threatening flooding. The hurricane has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.

The US supply chain is struggling to keep up with demand with a rise in the inbound/outbound shipment ratio on the West Coast of around 60% resulting in increasingly congested coastlines as cargo volumes hit unprecedented levels. The volume of cargo has steadily risen over the past few months and processed cargo at the Port of Long Beach has grown 32% over the same period in 2020.

This has resulted in schedule reliability dropping dramatically, leaving containers waiting at ports for over 30 days in some cases.

Shipment delays and schedule unreliability have worsened due to Hurricane Ida tearing down America's East Coast, affecting ports in New York and New Jersey meaning shipping in the region is experiencing additional severe delays.

With the holiday season approaching, and COVID protocols still in place, ports across the US are only likely to see an increase in demand and $90bn worth of goods likely to be affected by delays.

For background information on US congestion, read our USA - congestion hits new highs article.