As infections among Southern California dockworkers rise, the Covid-19 Omicron variant is impeding efforts to clear a backlog of about 100 container ships at the nation’s busiest port complex. According to the Pacific Maritime Association, approximately 800 dockworkers—roughly one-tenth of the daily workforce at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—were unavailable for Covid-related… Continue reading Southern California Ports Struggle to Trim Cargo Backlog as Omicron Surges
Tag: supply chain disruptions
Expect More Shipping Chaos as Omicron Forces Transport Workers to Quit
From seafarers refusing to board ships to truck drivers whose concern about Covid-related border closures outweighs the lure of higher pay, the transportation industry is bracing for another year of supply-chain disruptions. As omicron infections rise and governments tighten restrictions, logistics firms around the world, from global behemoths to small businesses, are struggling to find… Continue reading Expect More Shipping Chaos as Omicron Forces Transport Workers to Quit
Supply-Chain Crisis Fuels Latest Retreat from Globalization
Nothing embodied the promise of globalization more than the humble supply chain. Thanks to the integration of production across and within borders, consumers have come to expect infinite variety, instantly available. That is now under siege. The supply-chain crisis of 2021 is fueling the retreat from globalization, much as the global financial crisis of 2008… Continue reading Supply-Chain Crisis Fuels Latest Retreat from Globalization
La Nina Arrives, Threatening to Stoke Droughts and Roil Markets
A weather-roiling La Nina appears to have emerged across the equatorial Pacific, setting the stage for worsening droughts in California and South America, frigid winters in parts of the U.S. and Japan and greater risks for the world’s already strained energy and food supplies. The phenomenon—which begins when the atmosphere reacts to a cooler patch… Continue reading La Nina Arrives, Threatening to Stoke Droughts and Roil Markets
Supply Chain Workers Warn of a ‘System Collapse’
Seafarers, truck drivers and airline workers have endured quarantines, travel restrictions and complex Covid-19 vaccination and testing requirements to keep stretched supply chains moving during the pandemic. But many are now reaching their breaking point, posing yet another threat to the badly tangled network of ports, container vessels and trucking companies that moves goods around… Continue reading Supply Chain Workers Warn of a ‘System Collapse’