It’s a perfectly messy storm. A global pandemic, retail sales at an all-time high and ports in the country processing more goods than ever before.”On one level that’s very encouraging. It means that you see a fairly strong economic rebound going on,” said Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg. On the other hand, it’s leading to frustrations and bottlenecks in America’s ports. It’s one reason why Buttigieg says the Biden administration is working to increase efficiency at ports. “We’ve been engaging everybody from the railroads to the truckers to the ports find ways to reduce some of those backlogs and keep goods moving smoothly,” Buttigieg said.Forty percent of the country’s operations go through two ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach. One short-term solution suggested has been 24/7 operations at those ports. “We got sweeper ships now going around, picking up some of the empty containers that are getting in the way and causing it to take longer for the new ships to get there,” Buttigieg said.He says his office is working to make sure someone is there to move the shipments once they get on land. “We’re working with states around the country, my department is, on the trucking side, to make sure that we’re making it easier to get a commercial drivers’ license without compromising on standards but getting out some of the red tape that has stood in the way,” Buttigieg said.The transportation secretary says another short-term solution to correcting bottlenecks includes encouraging more 18 to 21-year-olds to begin careers in truck driving.Up against the rush of the holiday season, the clock is running out before you see these strategies completely fix the problem for our everyday consumer needs.Reports show a 29% drop in cargo sitting unloaded for nine days or more. Buttigieg says the new infrastructure package includes almost 50 billion dollars for ports and airports to strengthen supply chains.
It’s a perfectly messy storm. A global pandemic, retail sales at an all-time high and ports in the country processing more goods than ever before.
“On one level that’s very encouraging. It means that you see a fairly strong economic rebound going on,” said Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg.
On the other hand, it’s leading to frustrations and bottlenecks in America’s ports. It’s one reason why Buttigieg says the Biden administration is working to increase efficiency at ports.
“We’ve been engaging everybody from the railroads to the truckers to the ports find ways to reduce some of those backlogs and keep goods moving smoothly,” Buttigieg said.
Forty percent of the country’s operations go through two ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach. One short-term solution suggested has been 24/7 operations at those ports.
“We got sweeper ships now going around, picking up some of the empty containers that are getting in the way and causing it to take longer for the new ships to get there,” Buttigieg said.
He says his office is working to make sure someone is there to move the shipments once they get on land.
“We’re working with states around the country, my department is, on the trucking side, to make sure that we’re making it easier to get a commercial drivers’ license without compromising on standards but getting out some of the red tape that has stood in the way,” Buttigieg said.
The transportation secretary says another short-term solution to correcting bottlenecks includes encouraging more 18 to 21-year-olds to begin careers in truck driving.
Up against the rush of the holiday season, the clock is running out before you see these strategies completely fix the problem for our everyday consumer needs.
Reports show a 29% drop in cargo sitting unloaded for nine days or more.
Buttigieg says the new infrastructure package includes almost 50 billion dollars for ports and airports to strengthen supply chains.
