What should we do if the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are blocked? Another major port in West America calls shipping companies: come, we are not congested here!

Recently, major ports such as the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in the United States have continued to face a series of problems such as port congestion and container backlog, and there is no sign of improvement, which has aggravated the crisis in the US supply chain.

China Shipping Gazette reported that in order to ease congestion, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have resorted to "strange tricks"-charging shipping companies with surcharges for imported containers stranded in the ports.

Regardless of the effect of this move, it is certain that it will further intensify the contradiction between the port and the shipping company.

Unlike the continuous congestion in the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Port of Oakland, another major container port in the West US, has not been affected by the congestion. Officials at the Port of Oakland called on shipping companies to ship more cargo to the Port of Oakland to ease the deadlock in the US supply chain.

Bryan Brandes, Director of Maritime Affairs of the Port of Oakland, said at a press conference held a few days ago: "There is no congestion in the Port of Oakland. We are ready and look forward to more business."

According to the latest statistics from the Port of Oakland, there has been no ship backlog in the port since August this year. Bryan Brandes said that the terminal currently has a lot of space to handle cargo.

Data show that in September this year, a total of 54 ships called at the Port of Oakland, which is the lowest monthly number of ships called at the port since 2015. Also in September, the import volume of the Port of Oakland fell by 13% year-on-year, while the export volume fell by 18%.

Bryan Brandes believes that if the production capacity of the Port of Oakland can be utilized, the current US supply chain crisis can be alleviated and economic development can be promoted.

John Lee, the president of a shipping logistics company in the Oakland area, also said that shipping companies have neglected the cargo handling capacity of the Port of Oakland. They attach too much importance to the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. This is a matter of habit.

He analyzed: “The Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach are too important. Even if the waiting time is long, most shipping companies will not jump into the port. Once the ship has completed the loading and unloading operations, it will return immediately to remove the empty container as soon as possible. Shipping back to Asia, so the shipping company doesn’t want to spend time transshipping cargo and picking up empty containers at the Port of Oakland."

In this regard, some insiders analyzed that the shipping industry regards "speed" as a key word. If the Port of Oakland can prove that its operations are more efficient, it will be possible to usher in more business. Once a shipping company has confidence in the Port of Oakland, other shipping companies will follow suit.

The latest news is that a trans-Pacific route of ONE will resume calling at the Port of Oakland in November.

Will the Port of Oakland become a "secret weapon" to solve the congestion problem at the West Coast of the United States? Wait and see.