A record number of container ships are currently stuck waiting outside the ports of Los Angeles due to a massive backup caused by a sudden surge in American buying just in time for the holiday season.
The port complex of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which moves 40 percent of containers in the United States, currently has 62 cargo ships waiting to enter the port to unload cargo, the Guardian reported.
The backup at the country's busiest port complex was brought on by a combination of it being peak shipping period due to the upcoming holiday season and a pandemic-induced buying boom, coupled with a labor shortage that has overwhelmed the port workforce, port officials say.
The ports serve as the entry point for a third of imports to the US, and are the main import point for goods coming from China
The port complex of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which moves 40 percent of containers in the US currently has 62 cargo ships waiting to enter the port
'The Americans' buying strength is so strong and epic that we can't absorb all this cargo into the domestic supply chain,' Gene Seroka, the port of LA director, told the Guardian.
The 62 container ships waiting to dock include 42 container ships physically at anchor and 20 in drift areas, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, which tracks ship traffic in the area.
The West Coast ports have faced traffic since August, when a then record-breaking 44 container ships were stuck off the coast due to similar disruptions.
The traffic-jam at the ports, which serves as the main entry point for goods coming from China, has even directly impacted the prices for artificial Christmas trees.
Balsam Hill, an artificial tree company based in California, is selling its four-and-a-half-foot tall Grand Canyon Cedar Tree for $499 this
