Port squeeze threatens US retailers' holiday stocking plans

Port squeeze threatens US retailers' holiday stocking plans


By Nandita Bose and Lisa Baertlein

CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:53pm EDT

(Reuters) - A shortage of transportation equipment and possible labor disruptions at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex, the nation's busiest, is delaying shipping containers for up to three weeks, threatening timely delivery to retailers for the holiday season.

The problem stems from a shortage of trucking equipment, called chassis, but the National Retail Federation in a statement said protracted labor negotiations were an issue, too. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union declined comment on whether talks were having an effect.

Most retailers acknowledged the delays at the key ports for shipments from Asia, but said they did not anticipate product shortages during the holidays. Even so, any delay can derail a finely calibrated just-in-time inventory control system, making it costlier for retailers to put merchandise on the shelves.

"It's a domino effect," said Nate Herman, vice president of international trade at the American Apparel and Footwear Association. "When there is an interruption, things degenerate quickly."

DISPUTE ABOUT CAUSES

Outside the gates of Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport on busy days, trucks stand in mile-long queues, even as stacks of unmoved containers wait for pickup at a complex that handles 40 percent of U.S. container cargo. The Port of New York and New Jersey is also affected, but to a lesser extent.

Val Noronha, president of Digital Geographic Research Corp, said the company's GPS tracking data showed a third of trucks took more than two hours to enter and leave the port, compared to about one fifth taking that long in June of 2010.

Geoffrey Hanna, vice president of textile importer Henry W. Peabody & Co., said some truckers have refused to go to the ports because of long wait times. It took his firm more than two weeks to get a recent shipment out, Hanna said.

Full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014...ping-holidays-exclusive-idUSKCN0ID0AU20141025