One of the main drivers of the supply chain problems facing the United States is the lack of warehouse space coupled with a dramatic increase in demand from American consumers.

On November 5, the National Conference of State Legislatures hosted a summit where supply chain issues were discussed. Ray LaHood, co-chair of Building America’s Future, said during the pandemic people ordered 28% more goods. This increase in demand is leading to ships resting off ports awaiting unloading. And despite cooperation between ports, railways and trucking companies, the crisis is expected to last for months.

“They are trying to find a solution,” LaHood said. “Ultimately, this probably won’t be resolved until the first quarter of next year.”

Warehouses and trucking companies that used to move and store a certain amount of cargo were not suited to the increased demand, said Susan Gardner, senior director of operations and projects at Georgia. Ports Authority.

The fact that the US economy is based on a just-in-time commodity delivery model, said Chris Jones, president of Florida Economic Advisors. Most retailers are used to getting their goods hours before they are wanted by consumers, thanks to complex algorithms that help predict demand. While this helps reduce overhead costs and reduce the need to store goods, it also means that any disruption between producer and consumer disrupts them.

“If you don’t have a cushion, if you don’t have warehouse space for excess inventory to deal with these increases in demand, you have a problem,” Jones said.

As evidence, he pointed to the Port of Long Beach in California, the second busiest port in the country, which had said the previous week that it had about 60% more tonnage waiting to be unloaded than the facility does. has the capacity to process. The infrastructure to handle an increase in volume will take time and money to develop.

For LaHood, the infrastructure bill, which was passed by Congress last week, offers hope to fix problems in the future. It includes millions of dollars to improve port infrastructure. It’s a break from the status quo, he said.

“There has never been any real money at the federal level to improve ports,” LaHood said. “Now there will be. ”

A White House analysis of the $ 1,000 billion infrastructure bill indicates that it will invest $ 17 billion in port infrastructure and waterways, and $ 25 billion in airports to address backlogs. repair and maintenance.

In Washington state, the Seattle Times reported in mid-October that about 15 freighters were waiting to dock in the ports of Seattle or Tacoma.

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