California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Wednesday aiming to relieve congested ports throughout the state. The order comes after cargo backlogs in Los Angeles reached a record high on Tuesday.
Governor Newsom's executive order will direct state authorities to locate state-owned properties with space that could be utilized as short-term cargo storage, in addition to ad-hoc routes to relieve semi-truck traffic in ports. The order also calls on agencies to consider longer-term solutions to be considered by the governor in 2022.
"California's ports are critical to our local, state and national economies and the state is taking action to support goods movement in the face of global disruptions," Newsom said. "My administration will continue to work with federal, state, labor and industry partners on innovative solutions to tackle immediate challenges while also bringing our distribution processes into the 21st century."
The growing dysfunction in California is best illustrated by the port of Los Angeles, which is rapidly running out of storage space as stacks of shipping containers reach their peaks. Out at sea, dozens of cargo vessels loiter, sometimes for days at a time, waiting to unload. On land, lanes packed with semis inch along, attempting to navigate the clogged arteries of the overloaded port.
Growing supply chain disruption has affected most industries in the U.S., sending the trade deficit to record highs and prompting shortages of everything from food products to Halloween decorations. Triggered by delayed shipments amid the pandemic, disruptions have only been exacerbated by congested ports and surging demand as the holiday season approaches.
Supply chain disruptions have caused everything from surges in prices of consumer goods to causing a critical gas shortage in the United Kingdom. Like California, the U.K. government took emergency steps to relieve the crisis immediately but faces a much more complicated task in applying a long-term solution.