USDOT: Nation seeing signs of progress in supply chain as historic level of goods flow in – TheTrucker.com – The Trucker

WASHINGTON Despite challenges in recent months, there are some positive signs that the nations supply chain is becoming a bit less stressed, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Transportations (USDOT) Supply Chain Indicators Tracker.

The tracker is part of President Bidens Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen stressed supply chains, as historic levels of goods coming into the U.S., aging infrastructure, the pandemic and geopolitical disruptions continue to cause bottlenecks, congestion and challenges in global markets, a USDOT news release stated.

The total number of container ships waiting for berths at U.S. ports has dropped by 47% since peaking in early February, even as containerized imports increased sharply in March for most U.S. ports, according to the USDOT.

The Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York/New Jersey, collectively the top three for container volume to the U.S., imported 260,000 more containers in March versus February a 12% increase and the all-time highest month for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Overall, U.S. ports imported nearly a half-percent more in the first quarter of 2022 than during the first three months of last year.

Early indications are this strength continued in April, as the Port of Los Angeles announced last week it estimates the port had its second-best April on record.

And real retail inventories excluding autos are at their highest levels in history and more than 8% above pre-pandemic levels.

We remain focused on ensuring U.S. exporters are able to get their goods to market, the news release stated. Our attention continues to be on maintaining lower levels of long-dwelling containers at ports, particularly empty ones that could be re-loaded with U.S. products that are ready for export.

USDOT officials said they are also closely monitoring what they call precarious situations abroad, including in China, where lockdowns could potentially reduce imports and affect our supply chains.

The State Department is providing the Biden administration updates from China and the Commerce Department is closely monitoring impacts to companies and American consumers, according to the USDOT.

Despite the lockdown, the Port of Shanghai remains open and the latest data show that exports from major Chinese ports were down only slightly in April compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, factory shutdowns and trucking delays in China could impact the U.S. supply chain, especially for autos and consumer electronics.

Finally, the task force recognizes industry is paying attention to the West Coast labor negotiations, which are expected to begin this week.

Both parties have recently expressed optimism about getting a deal as West Coast longshore worker union president Willie Adams has said, Weve been doing this over 85 years, and we will sit down, we will get an agreement.

TRACKER BACKGROUND

Over the course of the past year, as part of the presidents Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the USDOT and the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture have been part of an administration-wide effort to improve the flow of goods, make the countrys supply chains more resilient and lower prices for Americans, according to the Biden administration.

Freight and logistics supply chains are largely operated by the private sector.

To support greater transparency about the state of the nations transportation supply chains, last fall, the Task Force released a dashboard tracking real-time challenges and progress across four key metrics.

USDOT is continuing to track those four metrics and others to help depict a more complete picture of the current logistics and transportation state-of-play.

USDOTs Transportation Supply Chain Indicators Tracker provides updates on key supply chain data including measures and indicators of intermodal throughput such as volumes of U.S. imports and exports, transportation labor numbers, the number of container ships anchored and loitering near U.S. ports, and more.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

SHIPS AND CONTAINERS

WORKFORCE

RAIL

NON-TRANSPORTATION SUPPLY CHAIN INDICATORS

The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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USDOT: Nation seeing signs of progress in supply chain as historic level of goods flow in - TheTrucker.com - The Trucker