Containers stacked at the Port of Los Angeles.
Under the influence of the Epidemic, cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles fell by only 1.5% at the end of an “unstable” year last year, and the volume that fell at the beginning of 2020 not only rebounded steadily in the second half of the year but also saw a big increase in imports. Many trade agents cried out that they could not afford to eat.
Ms. Wu, who is engaged in the shoe industry agent, said that the current rise in shipping, although there is still space, but the container is very sought-after, almost all the cities in the mainland is “a cabinet” hard to find. Ms. Wu’s company is importing work shoes from Asia, she originally thought that due to the impact of the epidemic, most sites will stop operating, product sales will also decline, but did not expect to survive last April and May, sales gradually rebounded. She said, “Although some stores were temporarily closed, online sales volume rose significantly.”
In addition, Ms. Wu also observed that many merchants of Mexican descent between the epidemic instead of selling better, in the past, these wholesalers are once a month to get the goods, but then became a couple of weeks to buy, there are also businesses will be exported to Mexico. Despite the good sales of products, Ms. Wu is also very distressed, because at the end of last year, the port of Los Angeles container is full, the cargo stay increased to five days, the price has also been adjusted upward, agents engaged in ocean trade are complaining.
Ms. Wu said, “Although the cost of freight has increased a lot, we still have to buy, or else there will be no goods to send.” For many traders, to maintain operations must bear the rising freight costs, but in the epidemic to maintain the company is already not easy, now it is difficult to buy or not to buy goods. She expects the wave of freight rate to drop as soon as possible, the container can restore the balance of supply and demand, otherwise many small and medium-sized agents will not be able to continue to pay the high cost of freight.
Because the current global distribution of containers is seriously uneven, Asian manufacturers are shouting lack of containers, while Los Angeles, Long Beach and other port areas are filled with containers. In the case of a large increase in imports, the waiting Time for cargo to enter the warehouse is extended, and the average truck loading and unloading operation time has become longer.
The surge in cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles is in stark contrast to last spring, when the global economy fell into recession under the impact of the epidemic and cargo volumes fell sharply. The Port of Los Angeles Authority noted that since last August, monthly cargo volumes have averaged nearly 930,000 20-foot equivalent containers, with imports from Asia moving to a record high.
Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said cargo volumes at the port increased 50 percent in the second half of 2020 compared with the first half of the year and 22 percent from last November, reflecting a significant rebound in business and a change in consumer shopping habits. And he expects demand to continue to increase at the Port of Los Angeles, with increased port cargo volumes continuing for several more months.
Textainer, the world’s largest container leasing company, said, “It will be difficult to restore balance to the container supply and demand situation until mid-February.” Triton, the second-largest container leasing company, on the other hand, expects trade activity to continue to increase and that demand will likely remain strong through the Chinese New Year.
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