The California Version of The Green New Deal and an October 16, 2020, EPA Settlement With Transportation is What’s Creating The Container Shipping Backlog – Working CA Ports 24/7 Will Not Help, Here’s Why

Submitted by Dirtperson Steve

Via Conservative Treehouse

Hundreds of requests for details on the specifics of the container shipping backlog.  So, I spent 3 days calling sources, digging for details and gathering information on the substantive issue at hand.  The epicenter of the problem is not what is being outlined by financial media, corporate media and politicians who have a specific interest in distracting from the issues at hand.  This has nothing to do with COVID-19.

The issues being discussed today relate to events that happened a long time ago.  As a matter of fact, it was so predictable that Amazon, Walmart, UPS, FedEx, Samsung, The Home Depot and Target all had taken actions years ago -long before COVID- because they knew this day would come.  It was not accidental that those companies showed up at the White House to discuss the issue, because there’s now a full court press to hide it.

There is one very specific regional issue driving the problem.  Read on:

The trucking issue with California LA ports, ie the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB), is that all semi tractors have to be current with new California emissions standards.  As a consequence, that mean trucks cannot be older than 3 years if they are to pick up or deliver containers at those ports.  This issue wipes out approximately half of the fleet trucks used to move containers in/out of the port.  Operating the port 24/7 will not cure the issue, because all it does is pile up more containers that sit idle as they await a limited number of trucks to pick them up.  THIS is the central issue.

On October 16, 2020, the EPA reached a settlement agreement [DATA HERE] with California Air Resource Board (CARB) to shut down semi tractor rigs that were non-compliant with new California emission standards:

2020 SAN FRANCISCO – “Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced settlements with three interstate trucking companies imposing $417,000 in penalties for violating the California Air Resources Board’s federally enforceable Truck and Bus Regulation, Drayage Truck Regulation and Transport Refrigeration Unit Regulation.

“As trucks are one of the largest sources of air pollution in California, EPA will continue to ensure these heavy-duty vehicles have the needed pollution-control equipment and operate in compliance with the rules,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “These companies have agreed to bring their trucks into compliance and operate more cleanly in all communities they serve.”

Transportation is a primary contributor to the high levels of air pollutants in Southern California and the Central Valley. Diesel emissions from trucks are one of the state’s largest sources of fine particle pollution, or soot, which is linked to health issues including asthma, impaired lung development in children, and cardiovascular effects in adults. Many of these trucks are older models and emit high amounts of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

[…] California Truck and Bus Regulation and Drayage Truck Regulation have been essential parts of the state’s federally enforceable plan to attain cleaner air. California requires trucking companies to upgrade vehicles they own to meet specific NOx and PM performance standards and to verify compliance of vehicles they hire or dispatch. Heavy-duty diesel trucks in California must meet 2010 engine emissions standards or use diesel particulate filters to reduce the diesel particulates emissions into the atmosphere by 85% or more.  (read more)

In effect, what this 2020 determination and settlement created was an inability of half the nation’s truckers from picking up anything from the Port of LA or Port of Long Beach.  Virtually all private owner operator trucks and half of the fleet trucks that are used for moving containers across the nation were shut out.

In an effort to offset the problem, transportation companies started using compliant trucks (low emission) to take the products to the California state line, where they could be transferred to non-compliant trucks who cannot enter California.   However, the scale of the problem creates an immediate bottleneck that builds over time.  It doesn’t matter if the ports start working 24/7, they are only going to end up with even more containers waiting on a limited amount of available trucks.

Yesterday, in an effort to obfuscate and actually hide the epicenter of the issue, the White House put on a performance to provide political cover.  In a grand pantomime, Joe Biden met with the heads of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (Gene Seroka and Mario Cordero, respectively), and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

The publicized meeting and White House conference was sold as Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg showing actions they are taking to address delays and congestion across the transportation supply chain in Southern California.

As a result of the meeting, the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) announced that it will join the Port of Long Beach (POLB) in expanding to 24/7 operations. POLA will add new off-peak nighttime shifts and weekend hours, nearly doubling its hours of operation. The ILWU said its members are willing to work those extra shifts to add needed labor capacity.

That publicly promoted action event was a complete political farce.   No amount of extra productivity in working the docks to off-load ships will solve the issue of trucks that cannot pick up the containers and distribute them toward manufacturing or warehouses.

As I noted, the issue started becoming visible several years ago when the California Air Resource Board (CARB) announced the new environmental regulations.  Several massive multinational corporations, with specifically in-tune supply and logistics operations, immediately recognized the issue they would face if 50+ percent of the trucking fleet would be blocked from entering California ports.

Yes, years ago the private sector predicted this would happen, and they started taking actions to protect their supply chains.  What these massive corporations did to reduce their exposure to supply chain disruption was to immediately formulate plans to divert their goods to other ports.   This was a very expensive shift in supply chain and logistic efforts for these massive corporations, which includes: Amazon, Walmart, UPS, FedEx, Samsung, The Home Depot and Target.

A long time before and during the era of the Trump administration, those massive multinational corporations knew they would need to redirect their import cargo quickly to avoid the bottleneck caused by California’s new emission standards.  They began organizing new destination ports for their products and began setting up new hubs and distribution networks to avoid the predictable California port bottlenecks.

Obviously, for politically correct reasons; and in an effort to avoid the woke mob of environmentalist jackboots, the corporations didn’t publicly share any of the issues they could foresee coming – they just worked independently and quietly to avoid the issue.

However, it costs more money to move and entire supply chain for trillions of tons of goods coming.  Hence, we saw prices climbing as a  result of increased transportation costs being factored in to the new logistics.  Did you hear about massive increases in container shipment prices?  Well, THAT’S WHY.  The entire supply chain from Asia to the United States was being modified from the closest port (California) to the ports where internal transportation would not be an issue.

Ships from China and SE Asia being diverted from California into the Gulf of Mexico or East coast have to go through the Panama Canal.  It takes twice as long and costs twice as much, if not more.  Hence, massive shipping price increases:

Unfortunately, small companies and small brokers of import goods do not have the control over their part of the supply chain from Asia to the West Coast.  They don’t contract for entire cargo ships with thousands of containers.  Those wholesalers, brokers and smaller companies that feed raw material and parts supplies to manufacturing and smaller retail outlets are stuck waiting for their containers to get through the trucking issue in California.

The bottleneck at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach run by Gene Seroka and Mario Cordero is not caused by a lack of longshoremen and dock workers to off-load the vessels.  The bottleneck is caused by half of the previous trucks used to enter the ports and pick up containers not being allowed.  Factually, it doesn’t make a tinkers damn worth of difference if the port works 24/7/365.   The ports are simply running out of space.

The ports are running out of places to store containers full of goods that are getting off-loaded.   Hundreds of thousands of them are piling up.  The central issue is the inability of emission compliant heavy transportation in California to move those containers full of goods to manufacturing, warehouses  and distribution points.

This California bottleneck has been building, and building and building for years, until now it has reached a crisis point.

If you want to know how long this has been taking place, take the time to watch this video of a trans-continental shipment belonging to Amazon Inc from China.  As you watch this really good discussion, think about how long Amazon Inc. has known about the problem in order for them to have put such a massive solution into place in order to avoid California.

Yeah, this California emissions issue has been identified for years, and Amazon has been planning to avoid it for years.  WATCH:

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Ghost
Ghost

I went to SAMS in Cape Girardeau for the first time in months perhaps.

Mostly reconnaissance but bought a few items. We are playing the tp game again, i guess.

Meanwhile, that venison is looking better and better fattening up in our meadow.

Ken31
Ken31

A legitimate government would have (since the fist time since the Interstate Hwy Bill) invalidated California’s unconstitutional trucking rules with an appropriate (and therefore almost nonexistent) use of the interstate commerce clause. This is exactly what it is for.

Arthur
Arthur

California is the stick they use to beat the rest of the country.

Frank
Frank

But, that would divert time and effort from the REALLY important stuff – like Wickard v Filburn……

falconflight
falconflight

My wife and I have repeatedly questioned how Covid could be responsible, but had no information to explain it one way or the other. Absolutely enraging.

brian
brian

The ‘news’ is making a big deal of the LA ports as if the world centers around LA. The commiefornia epa regs etc do not have an affect outside of the state. Nor would the regs have anything to do with the rail movement of containers out of the dockside yards and into interior staging yards etc.

Its a complex problem with many factors that a few people can control and/or manipulate and bring about a controlled decline such as we see today. The ports from Prince Rupert down to LA on the west coast and ports on the east coast are all experiencing log jams. Our canukistan problems differ in that the rail support is geared mainly towards exports and not container delivery to major centers, unlike the US.

The ‘west’ has become dependent on offshore goods, having sacrificed most of its manufacturing offshore to maximize profits. Then the just-in-time mindset came into the corporate world to eliminate warehousing but created a vulnerability in the supply chain services. Infrastructure, road and rail struggles to keep up and when back logged presents other problems which gain the attention of politicals who then go about exacerbating the problems even more.

This manufactured crisis is going to go ballistic in numerous ways. The lawsuits alone from, whos responsible to pay the dunnage, or abandoned cargo and unmet contract obligations, are gonna be massive and will give lawyers lifetime jobs. The resulting retail loses will ripple all the way back to the manufacturers and affect supplies for likely years when manufacturers shut down because no orders are coming in. You can have the best products in the world but if you can neither get the supplies to build it or get your product to a market, then you have nothing.

Trumps policies on building american and giving incentives to companies to relocate back into the country, were the right policies. If people buy products MADE nationally then not only would people have more jobs, but better products, not supply issues would not be an issue, for starters.

GDP, usually gruntled
GDP, usually gruntled

I work at POLA and agree with Brian’s assessment and add a couple of items.

One issue I haven’t heard mention of is reefers (refrigerated containers). Container ships have capacity for a certain number of reefers to be plugged in while aboard. There may be only a few hundred plug-ins available on a ship that carries thousands of containers. This can be augmented at times by dedicated power producing containers (genset in a container that can supply power for a dozen or so reefers) but they have to be refueled and maintained at sea which adds complexity to the process.
The terminals themselves have only a relatively few plug-ins available while the can is on the dock waiting to be picked up by outside truckers or put on rails. This too can be augmented by the portable gensets that reefers use while on the road but there’s a limit to how many can be accommodated this way.
So the limited ability to handle reefers is a bottleneck I haven’t heard the msm report on.

Another issue is manpower restraints. ILWU is all-powerful on the waterfront. The contract with PMA (Pacific Maritime Association- the “employer” representing all the terminals) specifies that certain “high skill” positions (crane operators and a few others) always be paid at the top rate regardless of what job they pick up from the hiring hall. Lets say the average level of traffic requires 500 crane operators be available for dispatch. If the current surge in traffic drives that number to 800 and 300 more junior guys are upgraded to crane operator then they will keep that classification even after the surge is over and the average requirement goes back to 500. The PMA doesn’t want to be saddled with a bunch of top rated operators after the surge declines so there’s been a lot of head butting between ILWU and PMA about manning.

A large percentage of containers leave the ports on rails. The “dwell time” (length of time a can is on the dock waiting to be loaded onto a rail car) has increased from about 5 days to around 12 (last report I heard). This isn’t because the terminal can’t load the can, it’s because the rail cars aren’t being moved by the railroad. Bottlenecks occur throughout the logistics chain, not just at the ports.

Just-in-time supply schemes and off-shoring a huge amount of our manufacturing capacity has been a huge part of this whole mess and solving those issues is way beyond the ability of the current crop of miscreants in the WH and Congress.

Things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

80% Fraud
80% Fraud

As a manufacturing engineer, and machinist since 1978, I watched as our enemy toured our plants, after they bought the patents since about 1980, they(China) started buying our debt in the 1990’s, what a coincidence.

Also worked as a I.E. for 1.5 years doing time studies in a union shop, cutting the process time up to 75% after programming the machine tools, the union had no choice, eliminated 7 jobs, all the union jobs I eliminated were promoted to foreman’s. I know all about the evil of unions.

Yet a lot of government employees are union, and lets go Brandon wants more of the evil, evil is as evil does.

Yeah we are all screwed.

I can see how the reefers are screwed if no more gas engines are aloud like generators, new CA law, this shit is 100% being done on purpose.

Bilgeman
Bilgeman

From the seaman’s end and specifically for SoCal ports:

California has gotten so ridiculous that they require containerships to shut down their onboard generators and go on shore power while at the dock.
Generally, a ship’s gennys are NOT usually the main Very Large slow speed diesels that are for propulsion. Typically they are smaller medium speed diesels,(about the size of a locomotive’s engine).

It takes at least an hour to connect shore power cables safely and to parallel the ship’s bus to the shore power supply. Another half hour to disconnect this all safely. We are talking likely 480VAC three phase power of 800-1200 amp capacity…REALLY BIG and REALLY HEAVY.

All this for an average stay under the cranes of 24-36 hours…

Ginger
Ginger

GDP and others:
Thanks for that comment about reefers. It is something that I had not even thought about.
I would suppose this also concerns refrigerated meats going out of the country.

brian
brian

The reefer issues are one of many as they are time sensitive as well. Temperatures are recorded during transit and if temps dip below a threshold the transporter can be liable for the cargo, should the receiver reject the cargo.

This is a WEF part to bring about as much chaos and introduce as much suffering as possible. Destroy the middle class and western society that once was and replace it with unelected overlords for which us peons are not a part of but are subject to.

Solution, imo, is to start building what you need or is in need, locally. Buy from local, national suppliers only, and only from offshore until a product locally can be had. Back to basics…

Bilgeman
Bilgeman

The chance of the reefer compressor failing at sea is directly proportional to how high in the stack the can is.

I once had a can with 40k pounds of chilled beef out of Houston shit the bed on me 3 days out from Rotterdam.

Setpoint in the box was 40′ F, outside air temp was 40’F. If it had only clonged one stinkin’ day later, I could have “bottled” the can…but NOOOOOO!

So there I was on scaffolding three cans up approaching the Channel with winds of 25 knots sustained, gusting to 40 knots, wearing every bit of nylon I owned. Streamers of snot out of my nose down to my waist. Had a chain fall hooked to another chain fall to swing the dead soldier out and hoist the new soldier in.
My Chief Engineer is loafing down on deck sucking on a bottomless mug of hot coffee and having a grand old time “supervisoring” my efforts and cracking wise on my wretched ass.

Replace the heart, and then hoist the vacuum pump with extension cord up to pull a vacuum, check for leaks and evacuate the moisture and nitrogen and whatever else was in there…the vacuum pump had shit the bed, too.

Okay…FUCK THIS!
I may have vented some refrigerant off the high pressure service valve to makee box coldee, but I got the can back to setpoint, and some Euro got to eat his Texas Steakhouse Fort Worth Sirloin or whatever. I don’t know for sure…maybe they sold it for dog food.

Boxships SUCK!

Ginger
Ginger

I thought Robert Louis Stevenson was dead but find out now he is writing comments on TBP.

Bilgeman
Bilgeman

More like William S. Burroughs without all the Gay stuff.

Stucky

Next time put the entire article in the title section. Then I wouldn’t have to click on “continue reading”
🤪

This situation is an entirely Manufactured Crisis by Dementia* and Gruesome Newsom (and/or whoever controls them).

Their lame assed bizzare attempt to tie this in with Covid — especially you UNvaxxed bastards — tells you all you need to know regarding ‘why’

Red River D
Red River D

Yessir. Bring the country to its KNEES.

You’s wanna EAT? Roll up your sleeves. You’s want home heating oil? Roll up your sleeves. You’s want ELECTRICITY???

Ha ha ha. PAY UP SUCKKAZZ.

And roll up your sleeves.

Also, turn in your guns.

But at least America just resolved its obesity epidemic!!!

80% Fraud
80% Fraud

yes BEING done on purpose, now what?

Red River D
Red River D

Figure out why. Then figure out what it means.

Then you’ll know what to do.

Saxons Wrath
Saxons Wrath

Who are you not allowed to criticize???
And its always the same (((tribe))).
Every.
Single.
Time.

Mygirl...maybe

Every bit of this is a controlled demolition. The Greenies and Progressives have been pushing this for years, destroy fossil fuels, go greeeen. This has been shrieked from the rooftops for years and Trump put a temporary stop but he’s gone, so long and now the leftists have full rein and are pushing their agendas as fast as they can. Doesn’t matter what reality says, these people sincerely believe they can push their agenda and manipulate reality to conform to their desires. We all know where this is headed, and I have adopted the attitude of leaving them to destroy themselves. Those who support the insanity will have to suffer just like those who promote the insanity and that may take awhile. In the meantime I have popcorn and a comfy chair.

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brian
brian

Theres a heavy competition for the most evil person. Fauci, gates, bezo, brin, shwab, are just a few that come to mind

PainesGhost
PainesGhost

Nadless, Shchifforbrains, Piglosi, Schoooomer, Romney, and then there are the Governors…….

PainesGhost
PainesGhost

And I see that some leftist troll gave you a downvote for speaking the truth……

overthecliff
overthecliff

This situation is going to require the most radical government action. Imagine how messed up the supply chain will be when Cho Bi Den puts the Army in charge. Wimmens,trannies and queers driving trucks and operating cranes and trains. Should be a sight to behold.

Ghost
Ghost

How long before the arrests begin for “refusing orders.”

Anonymous
Anonymous

Cut a deal with Mexico. Annex, or lease the strip of land between Tijuana to Yuma, AZ. Tell CA to pound sand. I am sure Mexico would love it, and puts lots of their folks to work. Same for AZ.

80% Fraud
80% Fraud

yep new port, 3 times larger, but naaaa, just cut the generators off, attacking us again, none stop attacks against the American people. and we stand by!

JAFO
JAFO
Robin Banks
Robin Banks

Aesop is quite impressed with himself. Don’t forget this piece of “analysis” https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2020/06/yeah-about-that-hoax-pandemic.html

Bart Simpsonson
Bart Simpsonson

Commiefornia, once again fucking up us US as the first-wave of this $hitstorm of utiopian ideas. I used to say, “California, once again beating the rest of the world to tomorrow. Meaning that every bull$hit idea, trend, fad, notion STARTS in the Golden State, and then spreads like a virus/wildfire across first America and then the world itself.

Bart Simpsonson
Bart Simpsonson

Demand Made In USA the answer……..

Yahsure
Yahsure

Years ago there was talk of a new port in Mexico with a train line going up through Texas to Kansas City. I don’t know what happened with this plan. So the problems with Ca. were realized a long time ago.

TN Patriot
TN Patriot

Sue and settle is a long time tactic of far leftist groups. They pick a friendly district court and file a suit against some regulation or another. They then negotiate with federal bureaucrats, who are their friends, and “reach” an out-of-court settlement that is quite beneficial to the activist group, with the federal government agreeing to pay their costs of litigation. It is just another scam being run on the Amerikan people.

brian
brian

Its called forum shopping. These commies know who the commie judges are and seek to get their ‘cases’ before them, think 9th circuit

Conrad Siegfried
Conrad Siegfried

I would rather move to Russia than California. Much better quality of life.

very old white guy
very old white guy

Government destroying the country one mandate at a time.

Kayjay50
Kayjay50

Awesome article not only offering an explanation for the back log but filling us in how certain companies had the money and for thought to make port adjustments ahead of time. I feel sorry for the smaller companies that can’t hire a full container ship. At this point they are at the mercy of these stupid California environmental laws about the trucks allowed to cross their states boarder. So putting on more workers or giving them extra overtime will not change the backlog but the union officials will spread the money around. The American will continue to be lied to by their government. How shocking. BTW from looking at all the comments its obvious that most people didn’t bother to read the article, and just wrote about items never even mentioned but are part of their personal agenda.

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