California's Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in San Pedro Bay - which move about 40 percent of shipped cargo entering the U.S. - are ranked among the worst in the world, falling behind third-world countries such as Kenya and Ghana.
The Los Angeles port ranked 328 of the 351 ports listed in the World Bank and IHS Markit’s 2020 Container Port Performance Index.
Its grade was worse than the port in Lome, Togo, which is among the world’s poorest countries. Long Beach’s port faired even worse, landing at the 333rd spot a few places behind Kenya’s Mombasa port.
Both ports slide below the ranking of the Ghana's Tema port, listed in the 261st spot.
The poor rankings come as massive backlogs continue to disrupt the supply chain ahead of the holidays and threaten to continue the logjam into the 2022, and thousands of freight containers sit idly on more than 100 vessels that simply don't have anywhere to unload.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said Thursday he is considering sending in the National Guard to alleviate supply chain issues and drive trucks at backed-up ports, blaming the crisis on labor shortages and COVID.
The rankings were published before the ongoing supply chain chaos, which is likely to push their ratings even lower.
The analysis of data through June 30, 2020, is based on total port hours per ship call, meaning the amount of time passed between a ship’s arrival and departure from the berth.
California’s San Pedro Bay ports were North America’s lowest-performing sites, according to the study.
California's ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach, are among the worst-ranked globally, the World Bank and IHS Markit’s 2020 Container Port Performance Index found
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are North America’s lowest-performing sites, as well as some of the worst-ranked globally, according to the study
Tulroch Mooney, associate director of maritime and trade at ISH Markit, said inefficient ports have a direct impact on a country’s supplies.
‘During the COVID-19 pandemic we saw port delays causing shortages of essential goods and higher prices,’ Mooney said in a statement.
‘Over the longer term such bottlenecks can mean slower economic growth, higher costs for importers and exporters and even resulting in less employment.’
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are currently the source of a massive ship backlog that’s crippling the nation’s supply chain, driving up prices and leaving crews queuing for weeks waiting to unload cargo.
‘It is not at all typical,’ Peter Tirschwell, vice president of maritime and trade at IHS Markit, told DailyMail.com on Thursday.
‘Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the first ships going to anchor off of LA-Long Beach, but prior instances were much shorter and involved fewer ships.’
California's San Pedro Bay ports were North America's lowest-performing sites, including the Los Angeles berth (pictured on October 20, 2021)
Elsewhere in the U.S., Philadelphia was the nation’s best ranking port at the 83rd spot, while the Port of Virginia placed 85.
The New York and New Jersey Port Authority trailed behind in the 89th spot.
The port's department director, Sam Ruda, said during a board meeting Thursday that his team has effectively managed record container volumes because of investments in previously completed projects.
The port’s waterway infrastructure was recently enhanced by deepening navigation channels to 50 feet, raising the Bayonne Bridge and deepening the berths, Ruda said.
‘Without these projects in our rear-view mirror, our port would be seeing a backlog of vessels,’ he said.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, port stakeholders have been meeting on a regular basis to flag issues early, Ruda said.
‘Extended gate hours – including Saturdays and working through holidays – has been the practice of the Port of New York and New Jersey for well over a year,’ he said.
‘I would note too that
