Dozens of cargo ships anchored off the coasts of Los Angeles and New York face shocking wait times of up to four weeks and railyards and trucking routes are hopelessly clogged due to the lack of manpower to unload goods - with an expert warning that the government needs to intervene or face spiraling inflation and unemployment.
The backlog of billions of dollars of toys, clothing, electronics, vehicles, and furniture comes as the demand for consumer goods hit its highest point in history as consumers stay home instead of spending money on travel and entertainment.
Supply chains have lagged far behind consumer demand due to a lack of manpower at American ports and the restrictions that came with the COVID-19 outbreak early last year. These constraints, which include social distancing and mandatory quarantines, have severely limited the number and ability of port workers to do their jobs.
'Global infrastructure was not designed to handle goods at such a rate,' a logistics expert, who asked not to be named, told DailyMail.com.
'Supply chains are the artery who feeds our entire ecosystem. The government needs to intervene to stop this crisis immediately, or face increased inflation and unemployment, and economic breakdown - or face an end to global trade.'
The traffic-jams at ports on the California and Atlantic coasts have reached alarming heights in the past 18 months, and the buildup of cargo along the coasts is hindering the US' supply-chain system of railways and trucking routes
Ports in Los Angeles (pictured) and Long Beach - two of the most popular shipping destinations in the US - are currently housing vessels that have been left anchored for four weeks, waiting for workers to unload their cargo, filled with billions of dollars of toys, clothing, electronics, vehicles, and furniture
The ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach along the Californian coast saw as many as 73 vessels waiting to unload earlier in September, and 66 container ships this week alone
The traffic-jams at ports on the California and Atlantic coasts have reached crisis levels in the past 18 months, and they've only gotten even worse since July.
In Chicago, one of the country's largest railyards - the size of 500 football fields - was at one point backed up for 25 miles.
Footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows the scale of the problem on the seas with more than a dozen cargo ships and oil tankers anchored outside New York's harbor, waiting to unload their goods.
Ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach - two of the most popular shipping destinations in the US - are currently housing vessels that have been left anchored for four weeks.
The ports saw as many as 73 vessels waiting to unload earlier in September, and 66 container ships this week, according to Marine Exchange of Southern California data cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Aerial images for DailyMail.com, shot on Wednesday, show rows of giant cargo ships waiting to unload in the Atlantic.
Aerial images for DailyMail.com, shot on Wednesday, show rows of giant cargo ships waiting to unload in the Atlantic, with many being forced to wait weeks due to intense bottlenecks at docks in New York and New Jersey
Ports in Los Angeles are expected to process a record 10.8 million containers this year alone, leaving workers scratching their heads on how to get them to consumers in a timely manner
Trucks sit idling for hours waiting to load containers out of ports across the US coasts, like those pictured here parked outside Port Jersey Terminal
But as goods continue to fail to reach the marketplace, New York and New Jersey's import volumes continue to climb and are up a startling 28 percent since the start of 2021, according to PIERS, the leading provider of import and export data in the world.
At the same time, the ports in LA are expected to process a record 10.8 million containers this year alone, leaving workers struggling to get them to consumers.
Twenty members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union died of COVID-19 during the pandemic and it has been forced to enlist a slew of new workers to help keep pace with demand.
'Our members are tired,' Mike Podue, president of ILWU Local 63 told The Washington Post. 'Our members are feeling the pain of these COVID deaths.
'We're lucky there hasn't been a major accident.'
As goods continue to fail to reach the marketplace, sitting stacked in cargo boxes along the Atlantic Coast, New York and New Jersey's import volumes continue to climb - and are up a startling 28 percent since the start of 2021
With demand increasing at such a rate, ports are not able to handle the stream of goods coming in, especially with reduced manpower, and all the while, cargo continues to pile up
Pandemic-related hurdles and delays have caused a subsequent surge in prices of products shipped from overseas and shipping container prices to soar, leaving the commercial pipeline that brings $1 trillion worth of products from Asia to the US hopelessly snarled.
With demand increasing at such a rate, ports are not able to handle the stream of goods coming in, especially with reduced manpower.
The bottlenecks at the ocean ports have also
