In 2002, when the ‘West Coast’ ports went through a 10 day long lockdown, the Us economy suffered a blow of almost a billion dollars a day and the resulting backlog took a year to clear out.
The ports on the west coast of the country, especially Long Beach and Seattle-Tacoma are points of contact with the influx of imported goods from East Asian markets. Everything from the meat and poultry industry to fruit exporters and consumer electronics depends upon components that are shipped in and distributed from these ports. Anything is short of smooth and effortless co-ordination at these terminals results in delays that are magnified down the supply chain.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Starting late 2014, because of brewing discontent and a lack of clear communication between terminal authorities and the labour union, the congestion at these ports has escalated to touch epic proportions. What is a three-week long delay is now anywhere between six to seven weeks, leaving manufacturing lines depleted of raw material and the production potential of the nation on a leash.
WHAT IS THE REASON?
The hypothesis is murky at best with an ongoing ‘blame’ game. The terminal authorities claim that the port workers are intentionally reducing their productivity to fan an already volatile situation into a complete lockdown. The port labourers who are dissatisfied with poor working conditions and the lack of formal contracts are pointing in the direction of the management stating that out of 1000 employees who report for work, only 200 are mobilized and allowed to engage in actively moving the imported goods to ease the congestion issue.
It is impossible conclusively to vouch the verity of a particular perspective, but the resulting delays are forcing factories to pay for airfreight and make do with limited supply of raw materials. In extreme cases, contracts have been voided because of deadline violations.
HOW CAN CHICAGO NUT AND BOLT?
In the midst of this chaos, Fasteners Nut and Bolt can facilitate the delivery of ‘contingency’ consignments of up to 5000 pieces to help companies that rely on nuts and bolts to keep production lines moving.
If your imported raw materials are stuck in transit and your inventory is running dangerously low, we can fill in the gap with high-quality pieces crafted to ensure robustness and compliance to industry standards.
To know more about our fastener products and operational services, visit https://www.fastenersboltnut.com/index.html or write to us at inquiry@fastenersboltnut.com.