LONG BEACH, Calif. (BRAIN) — Suppliers who get bicycles and accessories through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are keeping a close eye on an ongoing dispute between short-haul trucking companies and truck drivers as shipping companies raise prices.
Ongoing delays could affect deliveries throughout the industry's supply chain since Long Beach and Los Angeles are the primary ports of delivery for goods shipped from Asia. The long-simmering clash over whether drivers should be paid as full-time employees as opposed to their current status as contractors has sharply escalated container costs and is delaying shipments from Asia.
Scarbrough, an international logistics and freight forwarding service, sent out a bulletin to its clients last Friday notifying them that container loads were getting hit with new port congestion fees—$800 per 20-foot container; $1,000 for a 40-foot container and $1,266 for larger containers due to delays.
In addition, carriers are implementing an additional $100 fee per 40-foot container on carrier-to-door deliveries. And suppliers will see a general rate increase take effect as of Dec. 15 for shipments from Asia, Scarbrough said in its bulletin.
"The West Coast port congestion situation ... is only getting worse and continues to have a trickle effect on supply chains across the globe including driving up air cargo prices," the company said in its bulletin. "Although there still hasn't been a complete lockout or shutdown as anticipated, there are talks that a shutdown is still likely to occur before Thanksgiving," the company warned.
Wayne D. Gray, KHS's vice president, said he was also notified by Evergreen Logistics, a major Asian shipper, that it was adding about $1,000 to his freight costs because of the dispute. Currently, depending upon quantity, port of origin and delivery schedules, a typical 40-foot container charge ranges from $1,800 to $2,000 before the port congestion fee is levied.
About a dozen ships have been idling outside the harbor waiting their turn to unload. Delays at the Long Beach facility have forced Gray to add a full week to KHS's schedule for inbound freight, he said. A recent fire near the port in late summer also led dockworkers to misplace a KHS container, he added. It took three weeks to locate it.
In July, dockworkers honored a brief strike by truck drivers that shut down four terminals at the two ports, but they were ordered back to work by arbitrators who said it was a violation of their contract. Intermittent picketing and job actions have been ongoing at the ports for months.
