Where Did All The Ships Off Los Angeles Go? 

Well. You missed a few things. I’m a retired Captain. PMA caused a lot of the problems because they didn’t want to pay longshoremen the higher rate to receive trucks 24/7 like all other ports in the USA. They were only processing trucks in the day shift. This created a bottleneck. APL Berth 300 LA could have been twice as big, the CEO canceled the project and got his golden parachute, because he cut $50 million from the budget. Now it will cost 2-4 times more to expand the terminal. In September of 2019 Maersk charged around $1700 for a container from China to the West Coast, in September of 2020 they charged $23,000 for the same container. Their cost did not go up that much. They made record profits. There are more factors, but I’m tired of texting on my phone.

I have hauled containers for 25 years. I am currently leased with United motor freight out of Seattle. I can attest to the shipping increase for a 40 ft can. 2019, it was $4500. Now, its roughly $20,000. A lot of this cost has been demurage. Up untill late last year, we had to pay this demurage before we could retrieve a container out of port. Then we charged the customer. Many containers had suspiciously taken trips around the world being dumped on docks in ports that were way out of the way for a typical voyage from China. Some containers had been in transit for a year. Then they finally land at terminal 18 in Seattle and they bury the container in a huge stack and refuse to dig the container out. Terminal 5 was doing this when they finally reopened after starting a 9 year renovation project. They would deny us the container even though we were there on the last free day. Then they would charge demurage even though we tried to recieve. They pushed us into a situation where we would charge outrageous standby fees as well. I can't afford to sit in a terminal for 8 hours making nothing. The whole system has become inefficient ON PURPOSE in the last two years. Do you want to deny that? Okay... whatever. But I have been doing this for allmost half of my life. I know when someone is sandbagging me on purpose. It appears to me that SSA is at the center of all of this. But it begins with the shipping lines. By the way, most shipping lines ARE NOT owned by Chinese companies. Hapag lloyd - Hamburg, Germany Maersk - Copenhagen, Denmark COSCO - Bejing, China HMM - Seoul, South Korea CMA CGM - Marseilles, France MSC - Geneva, Switzerland

CA needs to be held accountable for all those billions of dollars of items lost. It is directly CA's fault. All of the thefts of those trains that sat for years, every package you ordered from AliExpress and Wish that never arrived, every single one. The CA government must pay, out of their own pockets, for.

Several of Florida's ports reported an uptick in container traffic from ships avoiding the California's port deadlock.

Awesome real sourced information. The whole time the media blared on about how big the problem was and that LA/LB would never recover Oakland and Tacoma were barely open and could have absorbed all of the traffic. This was a problem by design from day one and the shipping companies are on record discussing their record breaking profits from strategically stalling vessels and milking the dwell fees.

I can say that the ports around Galveston are busier than I’ve ever seen. They were at capacity in 2010 and you’d notice 3 or 4 ships offshore waiting. Now there are several dozen visible at any given time.

I am a crane operator at YTI. We are very slow at the moment but things are scheduled to pick up shortly. Our biggest issue right now is moving rail cans out to the Midwest. We’re having major issues getting rail cars from the railroads. We’ve had cans sitting for months. I just unloaded 300 rail cans last night. We’ve only loaded trains 4 or 5 times over the last couple weeks. We’re just moving the containers around the yard trying to make room for them all.

I really appreciate the report. Im sitting on shipments from Malaysia to LA because the prices are so high. Im praying for some relief but as you say, the companies have had a good thing they are refusing to let go of. I have other weekly airfreight shipments and the prices are still through the roof which continues to wreck our business. My sea shipment has to move so im watching prices constantly. Thank you!

When things got backed up on the West Coast they routed the ships to ports on the East Coast. Last week there were 31 ships sitting off of Savannah. When the new port is finished the whole equation of where to route ships coming into the US is going to change.

Great overview of the current situation.Helps us common folk understand the big picture.

As an OSINT enthusiast and investor, this kind of supply chain data is truly appreciated.

An excellent blend of raw data and interpretation. Enough data so that many might draw their own conclusions and enough interpretation so that the uninitiated can begin to understand the factors at work in this very complex issue.

Here in the Midwest I've noticed a very significant uptick in the amount of shipping containers being transported via semi's on the interstate near us, as well as via railway, have lived where we are for twenty years now and the increase is mind blowing

The ships went to ports willing to unload them. Not expecting many to use L.A. in the future.

Just came across your page! The information you shared in this video is Fascinating! Straight forward, easy to understand, especially for those of us who have no knowledge of the shipping industry! Thank you!

I was recently in VA Beach for the first time and I was surprised how many container ships I saw. Again, it was my first time in the area so I can't tell you if it was more than normal but I saw over a dozen I'd guess, just chatting with people fishin' on the pier for a while. Seemed like a lot to me. The Navy was fairly busy around the Chesapeake Bay too. I hope to move up there soon, I liked it a lot.

This explains why there's still a lot of truck traffic along I45 from Houston TX. I knew it would pick up because of the back log of California ports. But once it cleared I was surprised it's still busy.

1st time watching, I'm impressed your content is well studied and delivery of information in layman's terms is much appreciated. Currently with so many videos about shortages in stores this information can give a person a bit of insight as to what the future may hold. Thank you kindly, Sincerely, Sandra

great update , thank you for a detailed look into the world of shipping :)

Great video. Explains the long trains I’ve seen on my cross country road trip this year.

I fly off the coast of Savannah a lot. Hundreds of ships parked miles offshore waiting their turn to unload.

This is my first video of yours, and what a great introduction! RU-vid comes through once again with the high quality niche content :D

Highly informative report. Super! Thank you!

Love seeing those maps. Great detail and insight.

I used to drive Semi trucks to the docks in the south and east coast. I hated dealing with the longshoreman. It cost me time and money waiting on them to either load or unload me. I know they make good money but they don’t care if you get loaded or not. You have to follow their orders to the “T” or you just sit. It is my prayer they get better. Layer

Sal, very interesting video. I’m just n the trucking business. Most of the spot market trucking companies are crying 😢 that the big/high rates have dropped. They say “Rate Crash”. I see the rates just returning to normal. The truck freight rates are actually higher then pre-COVID rates.

Thanks for the update, very timely.

This channel has interesting content AND alot of interesting comments. Very insightful and professional material posted. Subbed

Nice job Sal. I subscribed. Keep us posted in a couple months - I'm wondering if the ship wait times indicate a dropoff in consumer demand (ie. recession) vs. port switching. Also great analysis of freight rates. They are still high....

Carrying a lot of last years purchases, thus reducing this years purchases to offset the inventory due to delayed unloading/receiving by customers/buyers. It will probably take another year for it level back out as the cycle trys to resume to pre-2021 levels, but the strength of the economy will determine the to what % of the 2020 it will return to. I appreciate the information; not something I would have been able to assemble and report on...thank you!!!

Great update. Get well soon!

Nice explanation of graphs and actual conditions.

I drove from Atlanta to Savannah in early June. There came a point where the highway was dominated by trucks hauling containers. And about that same point either side of the highway was a string of projects breaking ground on massive warehouse space. Every business person in Savannah I talked to had their own story of how dominating the change is in the region. To my eye, it was coordinated and efficient. All appearances were that they were leveling up without crushing the local culture.

Mexico has built a new Panama Canal connecting ship cargo on Pacific Port with railraod to Atlantic Port in Southern Mexico. This will provide Mexico and shipping options for moving from East and West Coast of U.S.A and Mexico at cheaper and faster routes.

Great info. Thanks, Sal.

GREAT INFORMATION! Thanks for your EFFORT.

FYI on Marine traffic you can use the top icon on the left to filter out all the vessels you don't want on the map. Makes for a cleaner looking chart.

Another good lesson in global shipping and economics Sal.

Good info... explains alot about why we are having such long turn around times.

Great information as always.

There are lot of issues with the whole port system. Most of the trucks nation wide all not California approved. The port terminals are old to small and not effecient. From the driver side it's not worth the time so companies will pay by the hour to get entry level drivers to work. A customer wants a container brought to his dock so he has the driver take back an empty container back to the terminal then the driver may wait several hours in line to be told, (1) we're not taking that type of container today since we have no room or (2) the loaded container is buried in a stack too deep and the driver wi) have to come back so he is sent back out to the street. Sometimes customers are waiting for months because their freight is in a container that is in the bottom of a stack. And as containers come off that stack more containers get put back on it. Add to the customers misery he has no product to sell and he is charged daily storage fee for no fault of his own. Supply chain issues that we all pay for!

Cali emission restrictions on diesel trucks, 60% of the trucks in the US can’t enter Cali, and many drivers don’t want to go there either. There moving to other ports, good for them.

Thanks Sal. I hope you feel better soon 😀

Great video. Thanks.

Global Dream II was slated to carry 9,000 passengers and was built by German-Hong Kong shipbuilding firm MV Werften to the tune of nearly $1.4 billion, may become world’s largest cruise liner scrapped before it ever had the chance to take its maiden voyage.

WOW Y'all MISSED IT He said shippers creating artificial shortages to keep shipping rates up to Covid highs (800%)

Fascinating valuable information!

Good stuff. I learned a lot. Thank you

Lot of ships have been diverting as well a lot of the smaller vessels that enter the port of LA Long Beach are diverting toward San Diego and Port Hueneme the two brake bulk ports that sit on each end of LA county

Great video. Comment about the chart for container ships waiting at the port or away from the port: Since there is an increase in the size of the ships, it would be better to show the number of containers and not the number of ships.

Thanks for bringing awareness.

Finally a Chanel I can use. I'm a container truck driver. I own my own truck you sir are as of this moment the most important you tube chanell on my list. Congrats and thank you

Speaking of strikes, rail workers are done with the final cool off period on 9-16, it is possible they could strike at that time. Unions most effected are the engineer and conductors' unions

They went to other ports. We have seen a lot of containers get rebooked through Seattle and Vancouver that were originally booked for LA

Very helpful information! Get well.

Good information. Thank you

I cut way back on my Amazon orders, that's why!

you also see a shift away from California due to the regulations and constraints on truckers . California has cut its on throat with their excessive regulations on trucking companies .

Thanks for sharing. Very informative.

Very unique channel. For investors trying to understand the macro environment. Thanks friend. Thumbs up and I did subscribe.

Just found your channel and subbed. I am always interested in logistics. Watching from Cebu City, Philippines which has one of the largest ship freight terminals in the Philippines. Mostly single-axle trucks hauling containers and little axle weighing or road weigh scales here.

Excellent overview and explanation. I appreciate the pointers to actual information sites so we can look for ourselves. It is good to see the movement out of CA ports to others. Thankfully we have these options, in spite of the doomsday stories we were reading a year ago in the press. Fear sells, apparently.

Appreciate all the info Sal. Do other principal US ports operate a similar operations dashboard like LA? I tried looking up something similar for Norfolk, however wasn't able to find anything. Thanks again.

With all the news in the past month better yet just the past week, I think episode 81 was excellent. It also helps to have comments from subscribers. I guess some of them should really appreciate the content since it is free for most of us.

I found it interesting that the container stats for LA only included empty containers leaving on ship, and loaded containers leaving on truck or occasionally rail. I guess we don't have enough export products any more to even be worth making a graph about. As for freight rates bottoming, remember two years of inflation that have occurred for various reasons other than just freight rates increasing. Realistically the rates will at most settle to something about twice the $1344, just to account for inflation. It may settle higher than that, since as you mention, the freight carriers don't want to give up on high rates.

This is awesome. I’m a port driver

Excellent work

Great Show..... Tim

Well analyzed and explained. Should be working for the department of transportation. Excellent PR. If only the news would get stories that were this analytical and this technical then they wouldn't be looked at as speculative news

A RR can be slower, but the amount of freight that can be moved is tremendous. That cannot be analyzed until the individual cars have reached intermodal trucking rail yards such as Selkirk, Mechanicville, Or Jacksonville FL on the east coast for example. And similar destinations throughout the greater 48. Then from there to LTL freight carriers such as Roadway/Yellow, R&L etc. And then whole truckload carriers. My mind is drawing a Blank, so no disrespect to ABF etc. There's one LTL freight carrier that has done a complete 180 since 2000. Old Dominion. A complete trainwreck in 2000. Since then however, they have really rebuilt themselves on reducing shipping damaged freight. Reducing lost freight. Dock theft. In addition to that they also slowly looked at missed LTL freight pick ups by themselves as well as other carriers. So, from point of shipping the freight is inspected to ensure that the freight starting point; the shipper, the freight is damaged free. Next the freight is loaded in such a way to limit any transfer damage. Any shipper to terminal damage. This is through better use of freight lock technology. And when possible, having a trailer with similar sized freight. This is difficult do to the nature of pedal routes. Larger shippers have been trained in loading the trailers for drop and hook pick ups. From there a quality over quantity trailer strip, breakdown, staging and outbound trailer loading process. Yes, time is money, however clean undamaged freight delivery is also money. More money according to Old Dominion Freight Lines. Reducing the number of times freight is handled decreases the opportunity for freight to be lost or damaged in the first place. And finally pay and benefits. A better paid employee is a better trained employee. A better paid employee looks at their source of and amount of their paycheck. Which decreases motivation to steal. Or to use damaged freight. Add in a high customer service attitude and you get drivers from other carriers who take notice. And they talk. So, I encourage all carriers to copy them. Anyway I know companies like New Penn do these things as well. One other thing. The number one thing that destroyed union carriers was the casual list. This destroyed many drivers caring for the companies or the freight. Sorry guys. Fact. Also reducing pay and benefits for future employees while fattening up older employees also played a major role. Once the complete circle is made via Railroads you have a better way to analyze. Just my thoughts. I do appreciate you explaining the 3rd quarter freight being moved up to the first quarter. That helped explain some things.

Awesome information

thanks for good information...

Nice video Sal, but you forgot one of the other biggest factors which is inflation burst. If you look at retail many of the larger players have stated that they have over invested in inventory, and that's also a major reduction in purchasing volume (which leads to reductions in cargo shipped). Further, remember the order book should be starting to come on line in the next quarter or two... With that being said, if there is a labor disruption (either in rail or port operations), this will cripple the vessel costs already falling. Right now, my best guesses are putting us somewhere around a $2500/F rate from CBP to USWC within 6-12 months at the current time... That leveling will stabilize the market due to higher inflationary concerns. I believe this will cause one more round of M&A by the carriers trying to cope with the downsized volumes and increased operating expenses. But hey, that's just my 2¢

This reminds me of 1983 while working in the gulf oil industry. When I got to the gulf in 1982 the pipe yards were stacked 😳 30 to 40 ft high. Just before I was laid off in 1983 I noticed the pipe yards were empty. This looks somewhat similar. Go figure.

Great channel and very interesting. I used to be CFO of the biggest independent shipping agency in Europe and this channel would have been very useful and informative

I’m always working at TraPac but it’s interesting NYK has been idle quite a bit during the last year or two. Room for 3 vessels there. Interesting channel! Subbed

The data seems to show that everything is getting better compared to last year, however my vendors seem to have less inventory than ever over the past month or so..

We’re in a recession. Demand for goods has plummeted. Inventories at large retailers are at record highs. Hence lower shipping traffic.

Wow, pretty spot on. Good job, you got a new subscriber, crane operator seattle washington

I work for the railroad, and things have been a little slow pertaining to stack trains. Also, IMF is having worker shortages for obvious reasons. It's beyond time to strike. The carrier's are making record profits, however.

Containers sat off shore for at least 4 months in 2021. So stores now have containers of goods for last Christmas

Outstanding video.

You're great to do this

I have a noob question, who benefits most from the ports being opened or closed in la longbeach and how do we fix it?

Newsom is behind a lot of the supply chain crisis. AB5 took 70,000 independent truckers off the road. Also, new emission standards for trucks built before 2010 off the road, so less trucks to move for the ports and drayage.

Thank you for this pertinent information, will in Florida

Thank you!

Great analytics and observations, Sal. Thanks! In a somewhat related matter, look at what has happened at BBBY (CFO recently committed suicide). If you look under the hood, they reported this past summer that they were awash in a huge inventory overstock - as in hundreds of millions of $'s worth - that was and still is creating a huge drag on earnings. What's more, they way overpaid for this garbage. Like lots of other retailers they panicked in 2021 and hugely increased merchandise orders like crazy as Biden was sending out stimi checks like crazy. They way overpaid the shippers to ensure deliveries, etc. In other words, they burned cash like there was no tomorrow. Fast forward to now - they find out consumers are pulling in their horns somewhat - still spending but not so much on all this garbage that BBBY has - how many different bed skirts or vegetable slicers or toilet seat cozies do we need, right, so it's sitting in warehouses and they're closing stores and their executives are jumping out windows. A lot of that inventory will end up in TJ Max and other discount/Dollar type stores and, guess what, BBBY will take huge write-offs....further hitting earnings. Also, bottom line, they and others like them are being much more cautious in their procurement departments.

Funny how the freight rates skyrocketed Jan 20, 2021 after being such a flat line for years, only to go up when Brandon started signing all those EOs on day one.

Very interesting, thanks!

Thank you, for the Facts instead of the Scare Tactical video. Absolutely appreciate this fact-based info.

Container traffic in the south east US has only increased since 2020. It was already busy. I travel around SC and encounter heavy tractor trailer traffic on all the major highways. I26 in and out of Charleston SC proves it. Perhaps the ships all went east?

Thanks, is there anything detectable metric for on-shoring manufacturing yet? It’s pretty clear from your analysis we have massive freight imports and any relief on the west coast is due to labor disruption concerns and changing delivery ports. Is there a meaningful way of classifying imported freight to see what im hearing about de-globalization looks like?

You are welcome Sal.

Wow! What a good channel

Some of this may also be do to California shooting it self in the foot with zealous regulations regarding truck traffic. They require new trucks to enter the terminal. They are doing away with contract drivers. Fuel prices are high in Ca. So this makes moving containers in to and out of long beach more expensive with a much smaller pool of trucks available. Not to mention they likely really pissed drivers off who couldn't get loaded or unloaded in a reasonable time leading to drivers not being willing to come back and deal with the California hassle.

Hey Sal! I am a college student looking to do a mapping project about this story. I am planning on using ArcGIS story maps, and I'm hoping to understand more about some of the inefficiencies and shortcomings that were exposed and exacerbated by covid. Do you have any specific books or articles you recommend for a shipping container newbie!!!! thanks so much, anything is useful :)

Now I don't need to watch the news to find out if the global economy is is slowing down I'll just watch your channel and watch the supply chain, Import/ exports. really ,thank you this is very interesting I've never seen this on national news but this is Is fascinating way to monitor usa based economic reality . Imports / exports show us reality.

Thank you. Greetings from Iran.

This video was very interesting - thank you for doing this for free - you could easily put this behind a paywall etc