Container Ship Bottlenecks at Southern California Ports End

The queue of cargo ships waiting to unload at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has effectively disappeared, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California. The number of ships queued at the Southern California ports fell from a high of 109 in January to four the last week of October. Container ship backup off the southern coast of California has been a major cause of congestion since October 15^th, 2020.

The reduced number of cargo vessels at Southern California ports has led to a drop in shipping costs as well. The average cost to ship a container from Asia to ports in Southern California was over $20,000 in September 2021, however the shipping cost per container is less than $2,800 today.

Shipping experts say that the reduction of congestion at Southern California ports is due to a rise in Asian vessels travelling to ports at Savannah, Georgia, Houston, Texas, New York, and New Jersey. In September, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handled a combined 686,133 import containers, down 18% from a year earlier.

White House officials suggest that the ease in congestion stems from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law projects at the Southern California ports. Investments include new container yards that opened space at docks and a more streamlined vessel queuing system.

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Mann Packing Invests $2.5 Million Into Sortation Systems

Fresh Del Monte has announced a $2.5 million investment in two snap pea sortation systems for its vegetable division, Mann Packing. The optical sorters will be installed at the company’s automated facility in Gonzales, California and are expected to expand Del Monte’s food processing infrastructure. The new equipment will improve Mann Packing’s efficiency and production as well as enable swift quality assurance checks. The companies believe that their collaboration will help hasten Mann’s East Coast expansion and increase Del Monte’s West Coast influence.

Fresh Del Monte purchased Mann Packing in 2018 for $361 million, adding fresh vegetables to its business portfolio. The integration of the companies provides Mann with not only greater access to capital, but also access to Del Monte’s shipping fleets.

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UPS to Advance Revenue Stream with Logistics-As-A-Service

United Parcel Service has announced a plan to build out revenue streams by developing and launching a logistics-as-a-service. The offering will combine several UPS standalone services including, Roadie, 3PL Coyote Logistics, Delivery Solutions, and UPS Capital.

Executives believe that the integration of the logistics-as-a-service with UPS’s physical network will improve the company’s end-to-end visibility and delivery density. This will allow UPS to deliver more packages in fewer stops, improving route efficiency. The offering will also utilize advanced technologies to help customers enhance their supply chains via warehousing, fulfillment, or shipping.

Earlier in 2022, FedEx and Microsoft partnered to launch a logistics-as-a-service program. This offering helps businesses better optimize order fulfillment and deliver real-time data on deliveries.

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