As Shanghai reopens, California ports prepare for cargo surge
Reuters
Published Jun 02, 2022 19:29
Updated Jun 02, 2022 20:10
By Lisa Baertlein and Tom Polansek
(Reuters) - California port leaders expect imports to rise as Shanghai, home to the world's busiest seaport, emerges from a two-month COVID-19 lockdown.
The question is whether that release of pent-up goods will again swamp West Coast ports that have recently emerged from the pandemic's massive cargo wave, they and other experts said.
The Port of Shanghai was open during the city's shutdown, but cargo flows still slowed. Area factories that make everything from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) electric vehicles to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) laptops ran out of components and quarantines idled some truckers.
As the city returns to normal, trade should follow.
"We will have some form of a surge, given the delay of cargo volume from Shanghai and China overall," Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, said on the sidelines of a Reuters Events logistics conference in Chicago.
"To what extent that surge will be remains to be seen," Cordero said.
The Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex is the busiest in the United States. The Port of Shanghai is its second-biggest source of container trade cargo, behind Port of Shenzen.
When Shanghai closed, some factories there re-routed goods to other ports that trade with Southern California.
April imports soared 9.2% to a new monthly record at the Port of Long Beach.
"The question is - but for lockdowns and slowdowns, what would have been that percentile?" said Cordero. He expects the Shanghai surge to begin this month - landing alongside back-to-school goods, Fall fashions and early Christmas shipments.
April imports fell 6.8% at the Port of Los Angeles, giving it a chance to prepare for the Shanghai uptick. The port thinned its cargo backlog and cut the queue of ships waiting to unload to about two dozen - the lowest number in about a year, Executive Director Gene Seroka, said in a telephone interview.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.