While the cargo ship caught in the Suez Canal captured international attention last week, another significant shipping drama continued to unfold— this one, off our own shores in Southern California.

Dozens of ships are anchored off the coast of Los Angeles and Long Beach, part of a bottleneck that has been ballooning since late last year. Ships are waiting an average of 7.9 days for berth space. Combined, the ports handle more than a third of container imports for the U.S., and the delays don’t stop once the ships are docked. In January, over 25% of imported containers at LA and Long Beach had to wait more than five days for handling. In June 2020, by contrast, 2% waited that long.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the bottleneck at the ports and what it means for the local economy. If you have questions, comment below or give us a call at 866-893-5722.

Guests:

Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach; he tweets @MarioCorderoLB

Capt. Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, a ninety-year-old non-profit which operates the vessel traffic service for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

Jessica Alvarenga, manager of government affairs at the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA), trade association that represents terminal operators and ocean carriers operating in the West Coast on regulatory issues