The average delay in shipments
In October 2013, it took seven days for an import container of Sharp consumer electronics to go from the Port of Los Angeles to Memphis by rail; it took twice that long in October this year.
Similarly, a container of Sharp electronics that took an average of 3.7 days to transport from a Los Angeles terminal to a local destination in Southern California in October 2013 took a week in October this year.
The average delay in shipments through the Port of Los Angeles is running anywhere from four to nine days. “We look to return to Los Angeles, but ultimately, we must regard this as a liability to our customers,” said Jeff Katz, director of logistics and trade compliance at Sharp Electronics. “We can’t just sit by and wait for the congestion issues to be solved.”
Sharp was one of three beneficial cargo owners at the JOC Group’s Port Performance Conference North America who presented a litany of woes caused by port congestion in both East and West Coast ports in the last year.
The JIMLAR Footwear Division of Global Brands, which imported 300 containers containing 1.7 million pairs of shoes through the Port of New York and New Jersey last winter, suffered unprecedented delays because of terminal congestion, chassis shortages, labor issues and severe weather. “All of these resulted in late deliveries of our customers’ orders,” said Gregory Pusak, JIMLAR’s logistics director.